THE AFRICAN GENERATION LOST IN THE INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS(1).docx

THEAFRICAN GENERATIONLOSTIN THE RAMPANTDINGY SLUMS AND OTHER
INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS
AN ARTICLE PAPER
BY
DUNCAN ISAIAH ODUOR ONYANGO ABWAO
Email; gombas2002@gmail.com, asp0399@spu.ac.ke
Phone; +254702235859
MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION LECTURER
ST, PAUL’S UNIVERSITY,
MULTI MEDIA UNIVERSITY OF KENYA,
THE PRESBYTERIAN UNIVERSITY OF EAST AFRICA,
FORMER LECTURER AT RONGO UNIVERSITY AND MOUNT KENYA
UNIVERSITY VIRTUAL CAMPUS RESPECTIVELY
FORMER LECURER AT GTI-Geothermal Research Training Institute- Faridabad
India
Introductory Concept
A lost generation is a people who are not dead and non in that category
could have their lives extinguished by certain elements any time soon.
They are just expected in the most uncomfortable way to stay tight and
watch themselves fade away under the sun. Most of these people across
the African continent are not even aware that they had long been
configured to lead certain ways of life and if need be, remain so for the
rest of their lives under such environment and the lifestyles. They ought
to remain completely habitual andcomfortable atall times even when the
roof over their heads could come down crumbling over their heads.
That’s why the term being referred to as a generation strictly confined to
the third world mentalityis still more less and English phrase and not an
abuse. The pioneers of Language whocame up with the term third world
were very clear in their narratives that certain races and communities
from differentparts of the globe were to be confined to the wheel chair of
third world for the memorable years of their lives under the sun. It so
happened that such tag and the flag of the third was later to be handed

over to the African generation whofound themselves already segregated
from the mainstream society.
They have no idea of what being confined to the wheel of the third world
is all about. To them life must go on with or without the rising sun since
they had long parted ways with the rest of their peers throughout the
continent rightfrom families, close contacts and even the largerclans. The
interesting bit is that whenever this generation is tired, helpless and
overwhelmed, the larger society would plead with them to worry less
since one day and at some point in time, they may pass through another
fire of redemption and physical freedom. For the meantime, the lost
African generation should just embrace their status, continue singing
Halleluiah even if the flames beneath their skins is almost to the
unbearable temperatures. Itis in thatkind of shelter thatsuch African lost
generation are expected to fulfil their dreams, raise their families and also
maintain some socialdistance from the restoftheir peers in differentparts
of the African continent.
Even with the best knowledge they have struggled to acquire over the
years, their modus operandi had long been earmarkedand attempting to
pull out of the shell have ended up in the lonely graves. The least they
could do is to continue cursing the unknown but thatshould be done with
lips completely sealed lestthey are accused in courts of the African public
opinion for demanding more than they could chew. Protests, anger and
finger pointing mustremain partof their daily delicacies even ifit is to an
extend of being chocked to the point of death. They mustjust embrace the
African democracy which is quite categorical that non in the continent
had applied to the Creator to be what they are today and also to be
confined to another level of life.
It is the prevailing circumstances and quite several invented ideologies
which would later ensure that a majority ofAfricans were to spend to the
rest of their lives in the informal settlements and other peers completely
comfortable somewhere almost equitable to the famous Biblical Garden
of Eden. In the several treks of their journeys on earth, these lost African
generation must use similar routes to go back to where they happened to
have come from. That’s similartothe wheel of Mary goround where after
making several rounds, the outcome ought to remain the same. In fact,

they have watched in disbelief as the planet transform itself into
something else despite being bombarded by themes like at one point in
time, their efforts shall never gointowaste since they tooare just like their
prosperous peers who have vowed never to share a platform with them.
Such segregations are not supposed to be equated with the modern day
apartheid currently prevalence in different parts of the continent since
Africans believe thatthere is no difference between them apartfrom may
be environment and other extreme features. The attitude and the
narratives in the minds of the majority Africans are very simple; that we
were all born the same and with the same ways of thinking but only that
down the line of life something unthinkable happened which later pulled
Africans in so many directions.
It is unclear how the unnatural events peeked into the lives of Africans
which saw a huge population being naturallypulled away from the rest.
Though the growth and spread of informal settlements could be as a
resultof both favourable andunfavourable policies butnone in their right
thinking minds in different parts of the African continent is expected to
take responsibility. Whatlater emerged is thatthe most favoured lot later
found themselves in one side of the bed while their peers got a share of
the uncomfortable and dehumanised sides of the bed.
Still both are expected to sleep comfortably till dawn and then be pulled
in separate ways by the day break routine affairs. What is clear is that
certain dreams and even wild aspirations shall remain unfulfilled while
the others while another lotjustgetoverwhelmedwith positive hopes and
ambitions. That’s why when another sections of the African continent
heads to the informal settlements now dotted with infamous globalslums
after toiling for the better part of the day, another category would turn
their back and heads to the higher ground.
Thoseleft behind are notsupposed to harbour any badfeelings since that
could be just be termed as being too petty and jealous. We must embrace
what we found and fully embrace the environment we found ourselves
in without much groaningor unnecessary demandingfor whathad never
been earmarked for them. The argument is that those lost generations of
Africans happened to have chosen the infamous tunnel which later led
them to the dungeon and a section of those have so far found the African

continent to be one of the most attractive soil even to get buried after
death believe thatitis their determination which naturally forced them to
be where they are today, These sections of the prosperous Africans and
whosegenerations are juststaring ata jar full of honey on daily basishave
remained adamantand theirargumentis thatthe dance stage was opened
for all.
Even if the magnitude of hopeless ness is so huge and rampant in the
African informal settlements, it is expected that the victims stay put for
the better of their lives since the unthinkable could happen leading toan
overhaul of the entire scenario. What has finally emerged is the African
open book manifesto which is a reality of a life being led right with the
implementations of the jungle laws. It is in such weird documents which
have revealed the true nature of how life is evolving throughout the
African continentsomething which the most prosperous world struggled
to get away from more than two hundred years back.
The African manifesto is clear and non can run away from it that all
Africans shall remain the same but more unequal as the global clock
continue to tick. That’s why there are the most disenfranchised sick
Africans while the other lot are just heading to the sea of Galilee and not
ready to look back no matter the positive ridicule. Gnashing of the teeth
for those Africans whose claims are that something golden was snatched
from their jaws has been condemned by the prosperous lot who are not
also to carry any further burden on their shoulder. The emergence of the
informal settlements in different parts of the African continent was a
symbol thatsome mysterious circumstances had emergedand was bound
to create a permanent demarcation between the larger society in the
region.
That’s not something to cry about since the wage was bound to emerge
with each leading todifferentdestinies where emerging results are bound
to remain completely conflicting. It has become such a scene for the
residents ofthe informal settlements andother notorious slums where life
is more less like playing a game of chess. It is a life so much
choreographed to an extend even that even clean water and a better
housing provided, the residents always havea differentargumenton that.
They remain afraid and scared to drink clean water nor stay in well-

furnished apartments since that to them could be a strategy to destroy
their lives and away of eliminating them all together. It could be the
reason those favoured and even tasked with the powers that be to
transform their lives hadlong been forced towatched from a safe distance
in fear that the toxic conversation could go beyond the elimination of
human lives. To the generation of the well to do section of the African
society, the informal settlement is a no go zone and quite scary
considering the images of the type of shelters, sanitations and the general
ways of cohabitations.
The African manifesto isn’t a written document but it is something
programmed deep inside their minds in a distinctive manner with each
having their own unique methodologies of implementations. That’s why
when the inhabitants of the informal settlements are implementing their
own manifestos and alsodesigning their own ways oflife, they are forced
to take into account quite a number of factors like early deaths, sexual
exploitations, early marriages gang violence, suicide and drunkenness
among others. There are those families who are likely to get lost into the
drug and alcohol as well but most of the casualties are expected just
remain a way of life. For the young girls who happened to have been
raped and could be havingchildren in the name teen mothers, those could
just be regarded as normal game of chess in the larger life paradigms.
Whatever happen in the informal settlements and the larger slums in the
African continent remains part and parcel of life pus the normal ways of
doing things. Even the deadly episodes where locals might have been
murdered by their own colleagues or even executed by the law
enforcementagencies, such are often considered as bad lack as well as the
emerging unfortunate ends. Any negative happenings of unfortunate
scenarios in emanating from the informal settlements are expected to be
executed with a lot of care, professionalism while takingintoaccount the
nature of laws prevailing in the slums. Whenever the law enforcement
comes calling in any larger informal settlement in different parts of the
African continent, they are always prepared for blood bath.
Theirs is to spare none and several lives are likely to end in their attempt
to carry out the usual crackdown and also flush out those regarded as
dangerous elements running a parallel government of their own. This is
a scenario where both the police and the local inhabitants are already

seeing each other as enemies hence seeing each eye to eye may never be a
reality. According to the police even children playing on the muddy
roadsides and footpaths are likely to be casualties in an attempt to
disquiet such notorious neighbourhoods once and for all. Any lady
reporting about a rape case may end up being handcuffed in the police
station for having displayedtheir body parts,otherwise they oughtnot to
have been sexually been molested.Itis for these reasons why Africans are
expected to think differently depending on ways of life right from
settlements, level of education and nature of human interactivities.
Those residents who mightbeen grieved with tears constantly rolling are
expected to so uncontrollablyfor the better partof times until such a time
when some home grown solutions may one day come calling. It is
expected that as time goes by tears in the informal settlements should
dramatically turn into joy without causing unnecessary fun fare. It is to
the anguish parties to come up with relevant amicable solutions which
they deem fit for their current predicaments. That’s a typical life African
manifesto for the residents of the informal settlements where both the
thinking and ideologies have been programmed as their own status and
preferences. There ought to be no complaints and yelling about the lack
of basic amenities unless something extreme happen when the
government of the day often comes in for technical manoeuvrings.
Anyone wearing any gloomy face in the informal settlement
automaticallyfalls under the unwanted member of the society since such
a display normally takes the local back to the bad times. Life remains
shaky and may never be better anytime soon no matter the struggle, the
determination and the display of comradeship. They ought to get used to
encountering the dead ones outside the dingy shelters and also coming
across the scenes of those murdered and then dumped on the flowing
sewers in the name of rivers. Whenever such lifeless bodies are retrieved,
some lucky families may identify their lost ones while those which have
turned into bones are expected to flow till to the next large water bodies
enroot to the ocean or sea. Those are ways of life which the concerned
parties must get used to because after all, that’s the way the society, the
people and the mentality have been shaped up. Several young boys and
girls who found themselves in such cruelty are always expected to move
with speed and adopt to whatthey found existing withoutwasting much

of the time. They shouldn’tbother admiring whatgoes on a cross the fence
but instead save their energy for the larger battle staring at them on the
face. For them they have nothing to lose since they found their parents
living in the same environment and at the same time expect nothing
positive to come their way anytime soon. Anyone born and raised in any
African settlement consider him/herself already in the battle zone with
eyes wide open on untimely deaths, desperations, childmarriages and the
ideal realityof fully embracingcruelty ways of life like robbery with and
without violence. For the lucky ones who mighthave made it to the next
day, the environmentdictates that they ought to retreat for another day.
Even after retreating in what could only be termed as immediate
surrender to their current state of affairs, the African slum dwellers are
well versed to the fact that another day of their existence can either turn
negative or positive. There are three major luxuries which dictates the
lives ofthe ordinary slum dwellers and they have nochoice buttoletthem
remain so for the better part of their lives under the sun; these are time,
food and leisure. Every day is the same despite being comforted the
rampant spread of various churches or the several religious splinter
groups to take heart and remain calm. Life in the morning may never be
the same with what goes on during the day even as the evening
approaches. There are cases of tragicends, attacks and counter attacks by
a rival slum gang while the rest can just sit back and wait for the next
prey. The fruitful times are when something valuable has been snatched
from a passers-by and to them that’s the beautiful which the Creator had
made for them. Thosecornered when the local slum dwellers are in action
in their attempt to have their presence felt, are likely to be killed or get
baptised with some permanent consequences. The fact is that time is no
longer an issue for the Africans whohave been confined in the slums since
both nights and day are equally good for whatever activities one has in
mind. Parents in the slum need not to worry of the whereabouts of their
sons and daughters since everyone is on a mission both young and old
with one agenda on the red carpet that’s to accomplish one, two three or
four missions at a time. So critical is the time spent in searching for what
could be for sustainability and that’s why the sound of any gun shot is
likely to be condemned in unison by local brethren across African slums
since it could be a tragic end for one of the comrades. The sympathy of a

comrade lost shouldn’t be prolonged that long since anytime lost is a
targetmissed. Young girls whohad spenttheir times meandering in such
of livelihoods mustalways have a plan B in case their missions duringthe
day or might have nothave borne anyfruit. In case there are noactivities,
the rest of the society in the informal settlement especially teens would
just sit by the od sides and wonder at the mental status of the passers-by.
There are several Factors why time is such a major luxury depending on
how both night and day break had been utilised by those on several
missions. First of all, there is no gaze work in whatever lies ahead. If its
murder, it ought to be accomplished with speed and accuracy.
In case of missed opportunities due to the security arrangements by the
powers that be, there is always room for another day. Of course food is a
luxury depending in whichever slum one is dwellingatin differentparts
of the African continent. One thing which has to be taken into account is
that there is nothing to eat in the slums or informal settlementsince life is
a struggle and at the same time hand to mouth. Any attempt to have a
balance diet is something which the inhabitants of the slum dwellers
ought to deviate from since it is just mirage.Eating healthy is considered
a farfetched concept since whatever is to be consumed is not easily
available. Basic foods in the slums or any other informal settlements are
meant for sustainability and not to prolong lives. Whatever one lays
his/her hands on in terms of edible items should be just be consumed
with ease and with a lot of peace. There shouldn’tbe any argumentabout
such since life in the slums or informal settlements mustalsobe consumed
to the till. In case frustrations and hopelessness crop in, that shouldn’t be
a big deal since members of the comrades have always been ready with
quite some unimaginable solutions. They could be reminded that life is
too short and whatever one has or have must be swallowed with
precision. That’s the time when members ofthe slum dwellers would find
themselves in one of the corners of the drinkingden where an African had
done some chemistry and came up with a drink. The government o the
day would be quick to term it as illicit brew which kills and maims lives
but for the local dwellers, it’s simply their mental status at work in the
name of technology. In such a scenario, quite a number of slum dwellers
would drink themselves uncontrollablywhile the unlucky ones would go
blind for the rest of their lives after just a tot. Permanent casualties after

consuming any item brewed in the slum should just be another form of
casualty and non should be condemned for having brought a lethal
product. Though quite several generations might have been lost in the
unfortunate event or events, life is expected to go on undisturbed. Of
course the government of the day would be swift to arrest the so called
culprits for the lethal manufactures, but the story would end up there
with the same culprits being releasedfor lack ofevidence. Members ofthe
comrades from the slum and informal settlements would spend the rest
of their times chanting slogans against the enemy which was bound to
spoil the party.
Their journey to the final fulfilmentshouldn’t be spoiled by the so called
unknown enemy whether from within or from those claiming to be the
enforcers of the law of the land. Another rare commodity is luxury and it
remains one ofthe most rare commodityamongthe members ofthe slums
and the larger informal settlements. Luxury seems to be extremely
expensive since a lot are bound to take place in between. These are
comrades who are used to several items and ending up with the same
results and non is supposed to complain in case of being overwhelmed.
There shouldn’t be any luxury since according to the doctrine of times,
life is expected to remain sotill something extremely impossible and also
cruel does everybody apart. The luxury though one of the most desired
commodity in the lives of slum dwellers oughttobe enjoyed from yonder
since it is simply something quite elusive. This is because it is an item
which can’t be just got on a silver platter no matter the status in the slum
dwelling community. What luxurious moments are duly spent as the
locals wonder as to what might have blocked their drainage paths of
progress and eventual success. For the better part of the golden moments
the majority of the people should just stay put and remain calm and
wonder quite a loud on what mighthave become of them. In their nature
of spending the rest of the times, slum dwellers and their counter parts
dotted in the larger informal settlements throughout the African
continent, they are expected to continue to solving several mathematical
equations which could be easily declared wrong on arrival or remain
correct at the very extreme end. It is such very moment in time when
underage children might have been swept aside by certain wild
excitements and gotten married with the hope of correctly fixing their

destinies at the much desired times only to end up with another wrong
mathematical equation. These are the generations who could easily be
spotted in the various slum clinics in search of advice on what ought to
be their next move on a journey which seems to be quite exciting,
torturous but at the same time quite fulfilling since after all everyone has
reached the very dead end. That’s a reflection ofa society where everyone
is on a roller-coaster as they painfully search for something quote fruitful
to fulfil their desires. With young kids becoming parents because of the
prevailing predicaments, it is a huge baggage on their back which
requires individual responsibility since the general life in the informal
settlement requires that everyone both young and old should always
carry their own cross. The unlucky lot who appear to be overwhelmed by
the weightof the cross on both their shoulder and back are often advised
to give way since both time is such a rare commodity in the informal
settlement hence it ought to be utilised with speed. The overwhelmed lot
are not differentfrom their peers since they share similarpredicaments in
the slums but are just unable just to cross the river with a burden. They
are left to scratch their heads and continuously plan for another golden
moment when the warm sun could warm their back with some form of
luck. The young toddlers who become parents at the unexpected time
though worried of what lies ahead of them but are expected to regain
some consciousness and put the past behind them. There are those on the
struggle solely without parents who happened to have been brought up
in the same fiasco or environment as them but that shouldn’t overwhelm
to an extend of falling by the roadside. By the time they were being
brought up in the rough earth where they are even lucky to have pulled
through in life, the message then was that the future had to be dictated.
Most cities in differentparts of Africa are now a permanenthome to such
a group young and old people whose entire lives had long been dictated
by the ordeals. Attimes when the baggage blocks one path in battle field,
quick remedies come handy and quite some options are always bare right
from quick demise, abortion and even opting to go for the impossible like
inhaling toxic substances. Images of stray dogs carrying foetus they
happened to have picked from open drainagesewer lines and dumpsites
shouldn’t scare anyone since that’s just an extreme way of life. Abortion
is always the better option since the young kids who found themselves
parenting ought to figure out the way forward so that the next day while

in action, nothing should block their path. Itis a ruthless side oflife where
since there is no a better tomorrow because they were simply born in the
dark past which nearly all of them have to wholeheartedly embrace. The
ruthless side of life is an indication ofa generation whose better sides had
on been aborted and when young girls immediately go the real abortion
where foetus are just thrown like a tissue, itmay symbolize the end of the
road. In case of deaths when trying the risky business since most
abortions are supposed to be carried out in utmost secrecy, it will just go
down as another luck gone awry. The factthat such acts can be done with
all the human boldness, is an indication of a society whose plate is full.
A CRITAL OVERVIEW AT AFRICA’S MAJOR CITIES AND THE
IMPACT OF INFORMAL SETLEMENTS OR SLUMS.
A closer look at Nairobi City
The future of Kenya’s glamorous capital and Africa’s fastest growing
cities appears to be in jeopardy going by the number of slums and several
informal settlements in its environ. From its inception as Africa’s hub in
terms of education and infrastructure, Nairobi was poised to be
something else in Africa. There was no mentioning of Africa without
mentioning Kenya’s capital. Something stillwenthorribly wrong possibly
after independence when most nations in the African continent were to
be under the custodian of the local leadership. Kenya and Kenyans are
equally proud that their beloved city Nairobi is the only one of its kind
with a national park safely guarded right within the capital. Today fifty
years after the Kenya became sovereign state, the capital city Nairobi is at
large and under serious from the very people who are meant to guard it.
Even the national park which is almost like the world’s Natural treasure
and heritage could be wiped out by the turn of the next century and time
is almostrunning out. There has never been any effort laid on the table to
ensure that the city despite immense pressure from the patriotic citizens
and environmentalists to bring glory to one of Africa’s major city which
at the dawn of Independence was expected to be easily located on the
wold map. All the efforts to preserver Nairobi and its national Park are
proving futile because of pressure emanating from both the restless
displaced citizens andhungryled capitalists whose appetite for any space

cannot measured. The displaced Kenyancitizens have gangedup against
a system which they claim has ensured that they don’t count and their
status in the African society completely demeaned. These are a people
whohave literary surroundedthe city from their informal settlements and
larger slums which where the capital has literary been placed in the
middle. These slums which are where millions of these Kenyans reside
are huge, ungoverned, dilapidated and are a symbol of both anger and
hunger. From the East, North, South and West of the capital there are
slums and experts are now worried that these restless citizens may one
overrun both the city and the country’s iconic national park.
From Kibera slums, to Mukuru kwa Njenga, Mukuru Kayaba, Kangemi
slums, to Mathare and Korogocho etc are an indication of a nation where
neglect might have planted much earlier perhaps even before
independence. The harvesting time is now with the East African nation
and the society cannotrun away from the fact thatis whatthe people plus
heir leaders sowed. Those populous largest slums or the so called
informal settlements which have synonymous with Kenya’s capital city
are simply an indication of a restless generation who found themselves
being pushed down the filthy drain perhaps unknowingly. They are the
generation whose parents were promised all the honey and gold at the
dawn of the country’s freedom only for some missteps to emerge on the
way. Nairobi is now under siege and the competition for survival
replicates that a bloody warzone where by any soul can easily be sold for
a penny. What often angered the informal settlers and the inhabitants of
the larger slums is the already existing notion is that they matter only
during certain times.The largerlocals ofthe of the city beginningwith the
middle class are alreadyfeelingthe heatemanatingfrom a section of their
own. What makes Nairobi resemble a war zone are certain norms which
have completely deviated from the paths of humanity and civilization.
There is an already clear demarcation which separates the city dwellers
from each other despite having the vague narratives Kenya is one and the
country’s only enemy are poverty, ignorance and diseases.
Also members from the slum dwellers have been made to believe that
they have to be comfortable at all fronts having made distinctive choices
of their own. Their belief is that they are no longer ignorantgoing by the
manner in which they have kept a section of city dwellers on their toes.

They have made sure that all manner of unhealthy activities also thrives
in an environment where people from the same nation have been made
to believe that some people could simply be the descendants of a lesser
Creator of the universe. Their road map to survival is so basic and it
portrays a people with nothing to lose despite that every hour a member
of their own could end up being placed comfortably under the warm
earth. Their styles of lawlessness are indeed working given the fact that
they are not ready to let go whatever they have laid their hands on. The
other side of the city are also a group of city dwellers who are not ready
to give an inch to a section of their own brethren who appeared so
comfortable in the dingy surroundings.
The log running battle has already pitched Kenyans against each other
and there seemed to be no side which is willing to surrender. Though
temporary measures have been put in place at least ensure that those in
the informal settlementcategories are notleftout when it comes to slicing
a piece of the country’s cake, the milk had long been spilled on the floor
and there seemed to be no turning back. Though fully embracinga slum
as the most comfortable dwelling place under the planet is a painful
ordeal, none should be to blame the currentpredicaments. From Mathare
to Kibera slums pus many others, the pool of humanities who happened
to be majority among the city dwellers have nochoice but to go with such
terms and conditions. It is a classical way of segregating a people born in
the same nation and at the same time one harboured one dream
something similar what Martin Luther King once came about in the
United States. Such dreams had long been shattered anditis now an open
war where all the strength and energy are simply diverted so as to deal
with issues which are simply a portrayal of residents of the third world.
They are a generation who are often united in greed and grief as long as
a portion of the body may go unscathed.
Nairobi slums are a reflection of the darkest world thriving side by side
with the best infrastructures ever in Africa and some of the tallest
skyscrapers in the region. In the dark world where the fates of the
majority had long been sealed, there is nowhere torun since all roads will
still take one back to the same spot. It is a lifestyle which is so addictive
once it has gotten inside the veins of the inhabitants and the members are
also comforted by the fact that they are not alone in the struggle. The

millions ofthem whether in Mathare, Kibera and Majengohave one thing
in common that they have to find some solace on their own. They
shouldn’t worry of what tomorrow may bring because already there is
none. Tired angry children can be seen toiling slowly back to where the
usual shanty dwellings after having a fill of what the city is all about
which a gain shouldn’tworry the members since they are allin borrowing
times. Even the internationalcommunity has never been bothered by the
lifestyles in any notorious African slums because after all, their interests
are more than a group of people not ready to scratch the soil for manner.
The soil could be scratched for days, weeks, months and year in and year
out but with little gains to fill an already empty belly.The majority in the
informal settlements and in the larger slums which have literary
surrounded Nairobi from all corners, had long foregone anything called
a meal. It is almostlike thinkingabouta meal is a crime since anytime one
have a bite, that may be just accidental. Many a times sleeping hungry is
a part of the normal daily life experience and the endurance ought to be
encountered with all forms of endurance. Whatever is consumed isn’t
even food after all but something just to fill the belly with the hope that
the next day, the lucky ones could gather some strength have a glimpse
at the city’s skyscrapers. Staring at the unkind Kenya’s capital and those
residing at the other side of the isle is a daily routine lifestyle and with
hungry faces and tiredness, comrades in the informal settlements have to
shoulder on. By staying hungry for the better times of their lives in such
dingy conditions, there is no hope of even the best coming out of them. It
means thattheir lifespan had longbeen reduced byalmosttwenty or more
years hence chances of dying early is always guaranteed. The younger
generation from such environment would be seen struggling to acquire
some form of basic education but their chances of climbing the ladder
remains is always slim.
All their hopes and aspirations had long been dictated by the prevailing
circumstances which they were born in. They found their parents
wondering aloud in the strange wilderness where both were often
expected to remain jovial a mid-social theatrics. A life based on hand to
mouth is likely togoallthe way todictate andinfluence a person’s dignity
etc. That’s a life in the slums where millions of Kenyans started raising
their generation rightfrom the many years Kenya had become sovereign

nation. It is a mess which was intentionallysowed and those in charge of
the nation could only be seen running scared. That’s because such living
conditions are a source of ideologies which are just misplaced and can
hardly help a nation stamp her authority. If for example a whole year
spend without millions consuming something balance in the form of
whichever meal, then it means they had already been cut off from the
main stream of the Kenya’s society. Even their meaningful contributions
to the nation and work force may never be given any room or platform.
In simple terms they are just walking dead human beings only that the
final burial rights cannot be announced just yet.
After being subjected to all manner of inhuman dignity and slavery
conditions, members of the slum came up in arms which immediately
portrayed the hidden dark side of the nation. It was an invention which
came about due to lack of basic amities like toilets and rampant poor
sanitations. For the first time in the history of the independent Kenya,
Nairobi residence and the rest of the world got a taste of the so called
flying toilet. The undignified human character did not just happen but
was away of displaying their hidden displeasure on a society and its
people which for a long time had given a raw deal. Such a behaviour
though taken lightly right from the time it came into the public domain,
shocked the nation. Interestingly, the flying toilet turned into business
with several non-governmental organizations from both within the
country cashing on it to reapmillions.The nature of the Kenyan society is
unique in the sense that tragedies can be a major source of earning
revenues becauseof the uncaring heartless culture which somehow made
its way onto the people. It was a practise where the majority residences
would relieve themselves on a polythene paper mostly under the cover of
darkness and throw them on the roof tops of their neighbours and also
road sides. At times the unlucky residence would encounter the wrath of
the practice when the covered human wastes lands on their heads at
night. Instead of just telling the Africans thatsuch a behaviour was recipe
for deadly water borne diseases, most international Non-Governmental
organizations would simply have camped into Kibera, Mathare and
Majengo slums just to have a taste of what flying toilet is all about. The
embarrassedKenyan governmentfound itselftalking aboutthe notorious
inhuman behaviour which was in the form of flying toilet instead of

tackling poor sanitations in the informal settlements and other rampant
poor living conditions. By the time some city slums were earmarked for
slum upgradation which a dozen toilet and water facilities being
constructed, some western tourists and local had already camped made
their ways in to such settlements for a familiarization tour. It is still
shocking that in a nation of less than fifty million people, nearly a half of
the people would turn slums into homes and later inventthe flying toilet.
It is such living conditions which is now being blamed for
completely distorting the entire landscape of Nairobi, county the
capital which a host to most international Organization offices.
Nairobi is now chocking due deadly pollution emanating from
the larger informal settlements where all manner of illegal
activities are the order of the day. In fact, so dangerous is the
practice that even the famous Nairobi river and its source are
now chocking under human wastes and other dirty waters being
pumped on the iconic gf of nature. Another source of major
pollutant for the Nairobi river is the Industrial wastes full of
deadly chemicals being pumped into the already overwhelmed
water body. Quite a number of industries got constructed a long
Nairobi river and being one of the most corrupt country in the
world, chemical industrial wastes were bound to be pumped
into one of the river which at the dawn of independence was one
of the cleanest. Having gained the notoriety of being one of the
emerging heartless society, the Nairobi River is now under
extinction and those responsible are the city industrialists, the
million slum dwellers plus the government itself. It is the same
polluted Nairobi river which is again the major source of
diseases in counties and towns bordering the city because the
water is being consumed by both humans and animals. The fact
that cancer disease is no longer an urban disease is an indication
of a tilted landscape where local population could be consuming

edible substances which are already chemical in nature. It is just
unfortunate that very few people are seeing this practice as a
threat which could completely wipe out the future generation
who longed to be the inhabitants of the city. The only people
who are currently struggling to safe guard Nairobi and its
landscape are the environmentalists but even them are already
overwhelmed especially when dealing with millions with
uncaring attitude.
11-3pmThe uncaring and non-patriotism is so grave among the
majority of Kenyans and the comrades at arms from the slums
and other informal settlements shouldn’t be the only ones to be
publically condemned and then lynched by an agitated society.
The larger families who spent most their presiding over such a
delicate future aren’t bothered much by anything called the
cohesiveness of the nation and even patriotic ideologies. They
are happy in their terms and whatever lifestyles before them
shall always remain a better option. Any attempt to make life
better for the slum dwellers hasn’t been received well by the
majority of property owners whose dilapidated mud houses and
several shanties ranges between one to two US dollars which is
still quite attractive and very appealing to the majority. The
landlords in such environment are a happy lot since they are
sure of constant tax free earnings on weekly basis. Most
occupants are members from the slums who toil in the busy
sprawling industrial are for peanut wages but at least is enough
to keep them going. The fact that most slums which have
surrounded the city are a breeding cell for all manner of evil
deeds right from terror cells, kidnappings, human trafficking
plus the infamous illicit brew and drug business, those are
simply a way of life which they cannot just let go. Life is a matter
of luck and any unfortunate scenario is just silently moaned and
a new chapter should just begin henceforth. There are always

numerous cases of young girls being ganged raped and the rest
of the grownups feel comfortable with multiple sexual partners,
those are just forms of extra curriculum activities in the
sprawling Mathare slums, Majengo, Kibera and Korogocho. It is
a scary upbringing but the locals have gotten used to it to an
extend that they are hardly bothered by any other noise. To them
the existence is all about competition and the winner can either
loose everything while another lot can be lucky to own it all.
The worrisome is the future of Kenya’s iconic natural gift located
right within the city now famously referred to as Nairobi
National Park. Because of the stiff competition between the city
elites and the million slum dwellers, one of the largest African
park could be run down by the next century. Nearly everyone in
the city has been struggling to encroach the park because
according to them the land is so big to an extend that it cannot
just be left to the wild. That’s why whenever jumbos are
massacred and tusks removed, it should be business as usual
because after all, everyone is baying for a piece of the park. The
sorry story of Nairobi national park is an indication that
corruption and corrupt deeds in Kenya is a shared responsibility
where nearly everyone is just angry and baying for the blood of
something. The slum dwellers may appear comfortable in their
local environment but going by their deeds over the past years,
there is an already open war by the so called their enemies cum
brethren. According to these dwellers there is an all-out rush to
attain success only what varies is how both missions are
accomplished. There has been some silent debate in the public
opinion that the moment will get their own final node and
eventually overrun the capital city, they would definitely not
even spare the Nairobi National park. They will too would love
to go after the big four especially the elephants for their much
desired tusks. This is one scenario which continue to elude them

simply by the manner by which they live and operate. Tiredness
and perhaps lack of the much needed logistics has kept them
away from any attempt to capture a jumbo and slaughter for
their tusks. Because their future is in the slums and all the
numerous informal settlements whether upgraded or not, there
is no generation they can be told to lay some better foundations
for.
At any illicit brew den in the slum, locals could gather for their
daily sips even as they strategize for the next move. It is a
gathering of all sexes and the even young the young ones can
easily intermingle with the old as they plan for the numerous
attack and counter attacks. It is in the den which is also located
just close to an open sewer drainage where hell would break
loose at times. Driven by intoxications, it always leads to anger
given the nature of frustrations they often go through on daily
basis. In most cases the illicit drinking den still remains a haven
for joy and happiness for the local slum which includes men and
women of all ages. There they would curse the entire city and its
entire environs for having brought them that in a status similar
to that of the animal farm. There is no time meant for the
consumption of illicit brews a popular drink which is composed
of all manner of chemicals and other even sewer water to make
it all appear tasty and relevant for the local consumers. There are
morning goers who prefer taking their drink as early as three or
four AM in the morning meaning the lady in charge has to make
sure that she doesn’t sleep and also there must be constant
supply. It is in the den where family break ups would occur but
after a heavy consumption of the favourite juice, couples who
had disagreed earlier and were almost butchering one another
to death, could be seen struggling to reach their next door mud
houses. The happiness can even triple beyond certain limits
especially if the mud thatched house owner was paid his two

hundred shillings due in the form of rent. Land or house owners
in the slums are again notorious whenever they visit the
populous illicit drinking den. With several mud thatched
houses, they are guaranteed some huge income either weekly or
monthly and that’s why whenever they passed by such
populous dens, they would ensure that their tenants are
completely spoiled to the bone.
Such landlord often spare a thousand Kenyan shillings which
they believe is enough to make their presence be felt in the entire
slums and also become the talk of the day. For the men and
women who are not able to iron their differences out even after
consuming two glasses of the local favourite juice, they are often
left at the nature of their own Creator. That alone is often a
ground for chaos and even domestic violence where only the
strong can easily go for gold. The victims of domestic violence
in the slums are always ready for any eventualities or casualties
because after all their lives are always short. Either a man or
woman is expected to emerge victorious after the entire bloody
ordeal given the fact that the locals and close neighbours are
always reluctant to intervene lest they too are wrongly accused
of triggering another stray bullet. There are always permanent
casualties as well where certain unlucky revellers may end up
not waking up at all after a daylong consumption of the local
brands. At times they are often visited by their drinking buddies
several days later after they have reportedly been spotted
missing in action or the moment they fail to report for their
morning dozes only to encounter the image of a dead soul on the
muddy floor. Those are normal casualties and since there is no
human auditing on the types of lifestyle which goes on in the
sums, such victims are often buried hurriedly in the next city
council cemetery so that life can roll back to normal as soon as
possible. There are also quite several men who have found

themselves overrun by their wives and one classic examples of
deadly love brewed in the slums and the larger informal
settlements. These are the men who have found their manhood
literary chopped off and smashed beyond recognition by the
women they once they once trusted with their lives. Women too
could also find their arms chopped off or faces burnt and all
these are as a result of the fact that there is simply no future.
Such forms extreme violence are justan indication ofa typically wounded
African family which had been left to struggle all alone. There are
numerous factors which are contributing to such emotional outbursts
which often lead to the loss of lives in the larger Kenyan slums. Firstand
foremost, itis all aboutextreme excitementdue tothe factthe perpetrators
of such heinous acts are often optimistic that to a larger extend, they
would get away with it because they both hail from a lawlessness
kingdom. The local authorities also want the inhabitants in the slums to
wake from which has taken a toll on them if that can make them come
back to their normal senses. These are also people with similarreasoning
capacity and appear to be completely caged to an extend that whatever
they lay their hands on can either turn tragic or beautifully ends well.
With the hope of finding something meaningful tofulfil their desires and
dreams, they spent a lot of time dealing with a completely wrong or
interesting narratives. The little knowledge some of them acquired in the
Kenyan schools which mighthave been situated in the same environment
had long evaporated leaving with a completely twisted reasoning
capacity. That’s why whenever the slum dwellers converge at the den
where a glass of illicit can easily be offered to an early visitor especially
those referred to as the early birds, they are simply driven by illusionary
ideas, long unnecessary conversations which are justmeanttoensure that
the day ends well and at times talks which are extremely fruitful but out
of touch. The worst scenario is also from the fact the long day toil might
have failed toprovides something tangible which one can lay on the table
especially after knocking at the gates of different industrial go downs in
differentparts of the city only to retreatempty handed. The bottom is that
there are limited or almostno opportunities for the majority in the slums
and that’s why whenever they gather in the dingy corners for a glass of

their favourite local brands,all mannerofpains, excitements and physical
exchanges are likely to emerge. There are just no jobs for them and what
they need to hang on is hope for a better tomorrow which is a totally
misplaced idea. Though they remain to be referred to as a wounded
generation with very limited amount of time before them, the slum
dwellers are expected to continuously come up with numerous brain
based calculations which ifallgoes can lead them intoanotherroadwhich
is less bumpy and with some fruitful noise.
One of the most disheartening episodes in the lives of the city slum
dwellers to contend with the fact that the city of Nairobi had long been
auctioned by both the local elites and the members ofthe Kenyan societies
who have also refused to be completely be displaced. There is no corner
of the city which currently doesn’t have an illegal tenant and everybody
is earning billions an activity which is just out of arrogant entitlement.
From car parks, tostreetvendors, pullers and communitybus stops, there
owners who demands for some huge rents on hourly basis because that’s
what the society called Kenya had long come up with. It means that the
sowed seeds earliermentionedatthe beginningofthis chapter is now ripe
and the harvesting time is improvingtobe completely messy and bloody.
Anyone attempting to relocate the other is met with another full force of
the law whether legal or illegal since in a society which is completely
under the guidance of the jungle law, everyone is a government of its
own. It is improving to be an uphill task to manage Kenya’s capital since
becausenearly allcity dwellers have invented theirown setof regulations
meant to help them battle it out with the rest for a space in the capital. It
is easy to die and even never to be seen nor heard again for those who
have dared toquestion the authorities of an occupant of another territory.
Slum dwellers and the majority comrades from the informal settlement
are a live to the fact that the city of Nairobi requiresruthless approach in
an attempt to fit in.
Those with very options especially members from far Eastern part of
Nairobi too have decided not to be left out despite engaging in some of
the most lethal and inhuman acts to earn a living. These are the city
dwellers who had long converted one of the largest dumping site in the
capital as their permanenthomes. They too have refused to be interfered
with becausethey earn a living tothe tune of less than a dollar a day from

whatthey gather from the dumpsites. The lastthe governmentof the day
tried to relocate the dumpsite, itnearly turned tragicsince the filthy space
which host all the wastes from nearly every corner of the city is now a
personal property of the larger members Eastland’s. That’s a home to
members from the Majengo slums, Ngomongo, Dandora and informal
settlers from Eastleigh. They too are a happy lot despite their daily
encounters with remains of both humans and animals plus even babies
who might have been dumped there by the young mothers of the city.
The international community and even the rest of the world seems to
completely mesmerisedbythe images comingoutofa dumpsite just hand
full of kilometres from the capital. The site is now turning to be one of the
major pollutant of the city’s environs rightfrom the soil, to rivers and air.
Even the birds have never been spared especially the vultures which are
now on the brink of extinction from within and outside Nairobi. But it is
in that largest dumpsite where another thousands of souls would find
solace as it remains their only source of earning their dailybread. Despite
inhaling cancerous pollutants in search of the elusive manner, they these
pool of humanities remains adamantand ready to spend the rest of their
lives atthe infamous dumpsites. It is a place where all the wastes from the
city elites, factories etc are daily pumped and somebody in power might
have just watched it turn into the worst environmental catastrophes but
instead looked back. Today in as much as it’s a source which feeds
millions of households from the larger informal settlements and major
located in the Eastern part of the city, the dump site is also the source of
diseases and deaths among the city dwellers. Quite tons of wastes have
also found their way into the now chocked Nairobi river meaning the
residents of the capital may never be safe from the letter C disease and
that’s cancer. The assumption that the dumpsite is quite a distance from
your area of residence doesn’t hold much water since an environment
disaster can easily overrun anentire generation. That’s why the city water
is no longer safe for humans but for the helpless majority, they have no
choice but to consume whatever they can lay their hands on. The
dumpsite which is now a permanentdwelling place for the marginalised
city residents because of their status could turn out to be one of the most
dangerous place ever for pools of humanities to earn a living. Human
foetus as a resultof illegal abortions are a common encounter atthe dump

site something which has attracted quite a numberofthe city’s stray dogs.
It is an area which is a reflection of the entire Kenyan society and there is
no strong term which can be used to describe the dumpsite. Those city
dwellers who throng the site as early as dawn go there with one mission
that they hope to bump into something which can again be resold to
another peer in the capital. Dandora dumping is more less a battle zone
because very few slipping their fingers inside the smelly bins can prove
that they may never come out of it unscathed. That’s the nature of any
battle field where only two options are often laid bare; to die or make it.
An indication that Nairobicould be the next battle zone between the city
elites and the local slum dwellers is simplybases on the notorious appetite
of empty spaces. In fact, slums are turning out to be the next war zone
because there are quite a number of city elites who have come out in the
name of investors and they too are restless, ruthless and extremely
during. They are a group of Kenyans who are not bothered by anything
called human rights because according to them, some people are just
nothing but a nuisance and add no value to the glamorous capital. The
upcoming ruthless city investors having realised thatthey cannot literary
chase away the million slum dwellers immediately adopted some of the
most crude and heartless means of dealing with some equally stubborn
souls. They made sure that after every fortnight, there is fire in the slums
something which they hope with time will make such dwellers give room
for other activities to be initiated in some of those inhuman settling
grounds.
The fact that most if not all slum and informal settlements sits on some of
the most desired prime localities is what is causing jittery among the
inhabitants ofthe capital. The silentwar is solethaltoan extend thatthose
unscrupulous land grabbers have been forced to go back to the drawing
board and invent another appealing approach like they are not land
grabbers but local or at time foreign investors. Their aim is to make sure
that life is a complete hell and unbearable in the slums a strategy which is
almost becoming successful though a bit of some bloody resistance at
times. The unscrupulous land grabbers in the name of both local and
foreign investors have made sure that after every fortnight, there has to
be some deadly fires which can be planted from all directions within the
slums and informal settlements. These are the incidences which are

enough to cause more pain and anguish among the dwellers because it
means during the ordeals, they may temporarily not have anywhere to
lay their heads with both young and old completely displaced. For the
slum dwellers despite being attacked by such strange fires, they would
quickly pick up the pieces and immediatelyopen another chapter in their
lives. Tothe surpriseof the well-oiled landdealersthe slum dwellerswho
simply refused to be cowed would immediately begin reconstructing
their lives and shanties including the completely destroyed mud houses.
Normally they don’t give the land dealers plenty of time to go the next
level becauseeveryone is competing for space. The governmentofthe day
is often forced to come in to condemn the fire perpetrators whom
according to the law are expected to face the infamous full wrath of the
law. Under such sympathy the fire victims would again be assisted with
basic amenities like blankets, food, water together with reconstructions
materials much to the chagrin of the so called local and foreign investors.
Once the tragedy is laid to rest and everyone back to their line of control,
the slum locals often assume that all shall temporarilybe well till another
tragedy comes calling. In Kenya, such disasters are often approached by
the city middle class who often blame the slum dwellers for choosing to
lead a disastrous life style where all manner of activities remain the order
of the day from power theft to water dealings etc. The slum has remained
a happier lot because of the manner they have continued to respond
whenever they come under such attacks. Soon after reconstructing their
lives, they would retreat to their infamous local den where local brewed
poison in the name of working smart is served at a penny. It doesn’t
matter for those who would get worst of it by becoming permanently
blind or dying as a result because that’s the lives of the slum dwellers is
also expected to end differently for them and with different reasons and
causes. That’s why with the illegalactivities, the slum dwellers seemed to
have no choice but to continue to celebrating the lives of one another
whether in good times and extremely bad ones. Those land lords whose
mud houses were razed to the ground and have immediately risen have
no choices but to begin collecting their weekly or monthly rental income.
The slum area remains a place which is so dear to them and they appear
not ready to let it go just like that simply because everyone who first set
their foot in the capital had reasons of coming and those uncomfortable
with the entire lifestyle in Nairobi are also free to jet out. Kenya’s capital

is a free and for all battle zone and no one is ready to stoop low. That
could be the reason why since independence, Kenya’s National park
situated righthas had several encroaches atwill andithas been a gradual
slow exercisewhich again comes in the name of transformingthe overall
welfare those residing in the city. The slum dwellers are also working
smart by making sure that whatever empty space they have laid their
hands on is hold quite tightly closer to their chest since the capital city of
Kenya is one such murky war zone.
Every space is a penny and it doesn’tmatter the level of human casualties
right from the displacement etc. Sometimes even the government of the
day is forced to seek for any space to come up with a heath facility.
Sometimes such facilities which have been hailedas a major milestone for
the local slum dwellers who had long gotten used to diseases as well as
early deaths. Still the worst is still with the slum dwellers because the
congestion has become a breeding ground for diseases and even what
people are consuming adds completely no value to their lives. It is said
that the majority in the larger Kenyans slums could victims of diseases of
their own making. The population in the informal settlements and the
larger slums is skyrocketing since there is no proper policy placed to
monitor their lifestyles. Those completely overwhelmed have decided to
completely decampto the middle of the capital city in the name of street
families and hawing. The emergence ofstreetfamilies in Nairobiis justan
indication thatallis notgoing for EastAfrica’s mostglamorous city. These
are a group of families whohave got nothing to lose nor fight for because
the heartless capital has left them battle it out on their own. It is such
negative feeling which has made them to arrogantly occupy different
parts of the city something which they are doing with a lot of impunity
and arrogance. There is uncontrolled anger on both sides of the isle
among the city dwellers because of what is currently taking place
throughout the capital. The streetfamilies havesimplyresortedtosimply
go for full scale begging and they are even ready to use force or violence
if their goals are not met. There is no way they are going to hang around
the capital with empty bellies while another counter parts seemed to be
having more than they could chew. It simply the population pressure in
the slums which has forced most of the dwellers to permanently relocate
to the city centre which has literarybecome a home. It doesn’t matter the

harassment, intimidation and the constant evacuations which by the ned
of the day often ends in disarray with quite some casualties. The street
families are always readyto battle it out for the rest of their lives because
they had long prepared for the eventual outcome which is just death.
They are happy with glue stuck on their mouths and wearing dirty rags
in the name of clothes at least to show the well to do city dwellers that
there is already class distinction among the residents residing in the
capital. Life to them had long reached a dead end unless something
miraculously enters the hearts of the general population for redemption.
Kenyans now have no choice before them but to live side by side with
slums and all manner of informal settlements which are spreading quite
rapidly.Nearlyevery Kenyan cities and towns are the becoming a haven
for informal settlers and slum expansions with the most chocking city
being the capital Nairobi. Itis extremely impossible todo with away with
slums perhaps in Kenya and particularly the capital Nairobi. Reasons
being that it is an environment where life is so cheap, reckless and
extremely addictive. The moment one gets swallowed by such an
environment, getting them out is a tall order and quite impossible. What
makes the general life in the slum quite strange is the lack direction and
inability to be serious with one aspect low quality of living. Life in itself
doesn’t have much value because there have never been vigorous efforts
laid down by the local dwellers to come out of the mess. Theirs is to live
once and at that particular time and with very little mentioning of
tomorrow. The settlements are no longer just slums but homes to the
thousands and sweet homes to the millions. The interactions and the
nature of socialization remains something so dear to their hearts which
they can’t just part ways with that easily. Luck has just to be tried on
anything as long as something can be placed on the table while in dry
times in the case of unlucky times, members ofthe comrades brethrencan
just go to be hungry. Going to be on an empty belly isn’t something so
strange but should just be treated as just another way of life since in the
line of struggle and duty of the slum dwellers, bad luck has never been
ruled out. Theirs is to hope for another day where goodies and even
manner might accidentally land on someone’s door. Even the failure to
wake up a live the following morning due to the numerous challenges at
hand shouldn’t be strange at all because of the casual manner in which

life is approached. There is another category of members whom during
the day and part of the nightmighthave succeeded in pickpocketing and
mugging something which can be received with a lot of pride and
jubilations since they all managed tosneak back a life into their dens. The
goodies gathered and supposed to be shared even with the parents who
had long left the practice to the new generation due to age related factors.
The new generation of slum dwellers handed over the task by their
seniors including parents and trusted allies, have embraced the tasks with
a lot pride. This is a combination ofteens from both sexes and are fearless.
ACRITICAL LOOK OF THE SLUMS WITHIN LAGOS AND ABUJA IN NIGERA
The worstform of human survivalofits kind has now emerged in Nigeria
a Nation popularly described by manyaround the world an even Nigeria
as one of the most progressive societies of its kind in the Africa and
perhaps the world. When most African nations were struggling with
freedom and settling after the colonial flag was lowered, Nigeria as a
Nation had alreadygainedher ground and whatfollowed was simply an
oil boom. It that economic scenariowhich saw most Nigerians becoming
the talk ofthe African continentand one could talk the land ofNollywood
before mentioning Nigeria. Unfortunately, what later emerged in the
history of the world has continued to shock the world considering the
Economicgains which the country has gained since becominga sovereign
nation. None in his/her righthad imaginedthat at one point in time and
the social, economic and political lifestyle of the Nation, there would
emerge one of the most talked about and highly documented floating
slums in the world. It is just a stone throw away from Nigerian city of
Lagos where the international communitywould later have a glimpse of
perhaps the only slum in the planetin the name of Makolo. The fishermen
from Benin who first set their foot in Makolohad no idea that they might
have participated in erecting one of the only floating slum of its kind
under the sun. The slum is located on a lagoon which is just metres from
the Indian Ocean which for the fishermen from Benn had once called
home more than close to two decades back. The floating slum is now the
much talked abouthuman settlementin the world perhaps more than the
latest human inventions like landing human species in the moon. As the

clock tickle, Makolo floating could be celebrating its more than hundred
years as one of the world’s historical settlement.
Nigerians are equally shocked and the leadershipof the populous nation
completely held hostage by what they are encountering fifty years after
the country got freed from the yoke of the British rule. It is turning out
that even Kenya’s Kibera slum where the flying toilet was first could
much more modern compared to Makolo. Any driving their vehicles
along the third mainland bridge, is forced to slow down just to have a
glimpse at the pool of humanity who have simply decided to settle on
dilapidated floating houses on a lagoon. It is a human settlementwhich is
almost impossible to figure out the population size having been in
existence more than a hundred years ago. It is composed of families and
hard core section of the Nigerian locals who have often dared the local
governmentto make a horribleblunder oftrying to forcefully evict them.
They could close to more than three hundred thousand strong families
who had no choice but to forcefully grab a space from the lagoon and
turned it into a home. Under the Nigerianten kilometres bridge, itis like
two pool of humanities could just helplessly stare at one another and
move on with their chores. The activities going at the Makolocan simply
be equated to a movie often released from the heart of Nollywood. Just
close to the Makoloare modern apartments of Lagos a city said to be the
country’s industrial city but now threatened by the wildly spreading
Makolo slum under its watch. It is in the floating slum that the younger
generation of the nation are forced to go school and those not interested
in learning can just spend their time swimming as well as engaging in
fishing. The lagoon water is full of human wastes and at the same time
smelling horrible but that’s what some African have decided to embrace
as their permanent home. It is said that there could be no fish existing in
such waters but couldn’t deter the local children for spending their
valuable time sleeping. It is just like swimming right inside raw human
wastes mixed with water flowing intothe Indian ocean. It is unclear if the
entire human settlement in Makolo are all Nigerians since the debate in
the publicopinion states thatthe majority could be WestAfrican migrants
who found themselves in Nigeriain search of the much goodies from the
land ofNollywood. Nigerianswhoare notready tobe associated with the
sprawling Makolo slum, now a describe it as a human settlement

forcefully erected by illegal aliens from far off Western African nations
like Benin etc.
If indeed true that the entire Makolo slum could be a home to migrants
who once visited Nigeria just to try their lack on the oil boom goodies,
then it could speak volume of the neglect. These are a people who run
away from social upheaval and poverty, quite some circumstances which
are a true reflection of what goes on in the African continent but now
trapped under a smelly lagoon in the name of the floating slum. It is in
that environmentwhere these new generations of Africans have decided
to settle and bring up their families. It means that they are ready for any
eventuality includingeven death since the only survival before them is to
drench themselves on the smelly waters. Makolois highly ratedand much
talked about by international community plus the general population in
Nigeriaas an example of a huge hell on earth but those who referrer to it
as their only home, are unapologetic and quite daring. The residents OF
Africa’s largest floating slum are just a true reflection of the continent’s
weaker sides. It is on their canoes where members of Makolowould float
as they struggle to relieve themselves right inside the already chocked
water and it is the same place where they would swim and perhaps get
water for their daily chores. It means that life to them has reached such a
turning point given the fact they are totally under siege. The best that the
international community can do is just to ensure that the largest floating
slum in the African continent is well documented as well as popularised
for the human race to have a glimpse. The lagoon water has now turned
into a floating waste but that still remains the home of local community
who descended on the territory and annexedthe entire water body. Ithas
also turned out to be one of the poorest neighbourhood just a stone’s
throw away from Lagos. The children who found themselves born in the
floating canoes have to endure the ordeal and pick embrace all mannerof
circumstances and move on with speed. There is nolife which can be built
and transformedfor the better under such human catastrophes since there
is absolutely no future for them. The fact that they are not ready to be
relocated and even repatriated to their country of origin, towns or
villagers could be an indication that they are openly protestingagainstthe
cruelty which the African society unjustly bestowed on them. The entire
Makololocalityis now likea small governmenton its own and atthe same

time quite dangerous and hostile for anyone who is not a member of the
community.
The Nigerian police would never dare to go deep inside in search of any
wanted criminal gang or criminals because they too are not ready to lose
their lives. When these Africans descended on the lagoon perhaps with
the help of the locals, their sole mission was to engage in fishing and
eventually fend for themselves but somehow down the line, the tides
rapidly turned against their hopes and dreams. Years decades later after
setting up temporary structures on the largestlagoon, they mighthave no
idea the place would turn out to be their permanent home together with
their upcoming generation. It is now a place with its own set of rules and
regulations something which has made italmostnextto impossible toget
out of it. With children alsofloating toschool on the structures erected on
the lagoon it means that the members of the Makoloslums are there stay
for the restof their lives butt again for how long. Even as they stare at the
adjacent tall buildings within Lagos with all manner of disgusts, the
members of the larger Makolocommunity seemed to have no choice but
to get used with their own predicaments which includes anger, hate as
well as staying for long hours without food. The environment has
completely hardenedthe members ofthe Makolocommunity toan extend
that they hardlyharbour any amount of human feelings. They are just to
swim their way out in the already polluted environment now floating
with human wastes and even that of dead animals. For the general
Africans within the continent the floating settlement on a lagoon could
just be nothing but another eight wonder of the world and they too are
just in awe as to what might have gone wrong. Going by the history of
Nigeria from democracy to their own human to human internal human
revolt, the nation may not have the energy to divert on a people who
happened to be members ofa neighbouring country whosimply annexed
a portion of the country’s natural waters and later turn it into one of the
largest floating human wastes. The war at hand for the members of the
Makolois to ensure thatthe largestfloating human settlementperhaps in
the world becomes a better place to live a scenariowhich they know may
never become fruitful even by the turn of the next century. The first
generation from Benin who first set their foot on the lagoon and turned
into a human settlement had long died perhaps without fulfilling their

dreams. They had hoped of harvesting better returns in Africa’s largest
Oil producer but later got confined on the lagoon just close to the Indian
Ocean where they even introduced to the world the first ever floating
slum. The fact that a whole generation is wasting themselves on an
alreadyoverwhelmed waterbodyrightinside one ofthe mostprogressive
nation in the continent shouldn’t be taken as a score card against the
Nigeria and her people but a reflection of the African humane status. In
as much as the world continue to celebrate the African continent as the
sleeping economic giantand un upcoming Silicon Valley, itremains that
those who are likely tofind themselves in any dingy ghettoin any part of
the world are Africans. We are also likely to die in the same rough water
bodies on wrecked boats in an attempt to seek for the elusive bread and
wine in the west. Today Makolo floating slum is becoming a research
point and much talked about human settlement world over not because
it is in Nigeria but why the entire generation of Africans would still
nothing absolutely wrong as theyfloattomake a callofnature rightinside
the same water they are swimming inside. It is one such water body
where even crocodiles and snakes may not have a chance of survivalbut
the migrants from Benin are not ready toblink anytime soon. The tears of
sorrow had long dried up for the largest pool of humanity who calls
Makolofloating slum theironly home. Itis almostillegal in Makolotoyell
loud about hunger or the inhuman conditions prevailing in the lagoon
unless something completely odd takes place. That’s what we term as the
African neglect and they come in so many forms, shapes and sizes
depending on which baggage one walks along with on daily basis. The
reality on the ground from Makolo floating slum is an indication that an
African still has to embrace poverty and live side by side with it despite
the human consequences. The largest human settlement on a lagoon is
alreadya governmentofits and the local militias taskedwith the running
and monitoring the daily in the congested lagoon are said to be fearless
and quite ruthless. They are a hardened lot who seemed to have been
shaped as well as tamed by the inhuman conditions they found
themselves in. There is to ensure that their people are well guarded and
safe inside the filthy den a water body which even crocodiles and snakes
may not have any chances of survival. After every swim which is a daily
routine in the filthy lagoon, members of the Makolocommunity together
with their children would stare at the ten kilometre bride crossing over

them perhaps with displeasure and disgust butstill such negative feelings
shouldn’t be allowed to boil over. The strange factor is that the floating
slum is just within Lagos meaning that anyone visiting the city whether
local or foreign may have just to have a glimpse at the place from
whichever directions.
Members of the Makoloslum are very much a live to the fact they are the
descendants of the first refugees whom perhaps discovered the said
lagoon and immediately turned in to a hell called home. In the nation
where they happened to have come from, they seemed not to feature in
the family fabric of the people of Benin. They can as well be accused of
exporting poverty and inhuman governing structure intoanother country
for self-economic exploration which has so far turned tragic. Under such
circumstances it means that the members of the Makolocommunity have
no choice but to reap the fruits of their own sweat and also pick up the
pieces from what they might have inherited from their great
grandparents. Benin a country which they refer to their motherland isn’t
ready to take them back since it is also under siege and completely
overstretched by its own social and economic challenges. The Makolo
floating slum is a decade old inhuman catastrophe which non in both
nations either in Benin and Nigeria is willing to take up because it has
already turned into a complete social mess. The tragedy in the minds of
the Africans is that they are used to leaving certain circumstances die
naturally butthatmayneverhappen with Makolowhich has now become
another silentvolcano. It is like the way the settlers made their own ways
into the lagoon is the same manner they are expected to navigate through
another path out of the slum having been staredby members ofthe public
from the above ten kilometres stretch bridge for decades now. Those
staying in the Makoloslum are used to the horrible smell emanating from
the smell which normally welcomes those visiting the lagoon from a
distance. It means that even before setting foot inside the conjected
lagoon, the horrible smell welcoming one from a distance is just an
indication that the lagoon has just become unfit for any normal human
being to call it home. Still that’s not the case with the members from the
Makolocommunity who had long gotten used to such a life and even the
smell coming out of the already chocked lagoon hardly comes into their
minds. Their struggle is just how to live till next day unless another

misfortune suddenly erupts. Todie is normal, to be alive could accidental
and itremains such a pleasure for the members ofthe Makolocommunity
to continue intermingling with one another at all bad and good times.
Several years after most African nation including Nigeria had their first
taste of sovereignty in the name of independenthaving been occupied by
the so called imperialists, it is shocking that what would emerge in
Nigeria right at edge of the Indian Ocean is a floating school for Benin
migrants. Itis a double edge sword which is now cutting allAfricans from
both sides and they cannotescape from the realitywhether in government
or civilian. The Makolosettlementon a filthy lagoon is just a referendum
about the whole lifestyle and human conduct prevailing in the African
society. It means that the African continent is a territory of invention
where anything strange is likely to emerge having been predicted as the
only place on earth where the Garden mighthave existed manycenturies
before Christ. That’s why inhabitants of the Makolo floating slum are a
hardened community and they can hardly afford to protest against
inhuman conditions they constantly encounter. They have literary been
abandoned by the literary by the human race whether from within the
continent or outside such that the best they can be offered is a floating
school rightinside an alreadychocked water lagoon. Still one of the mist
illiterate people and the poorest in the Nigerian community is likely to
come from Makolo slum. It means that even with the provision of a
floating school right at the edge of the Indian Ocean, very little has
changed and not so many children may canoe themselves to swinging
learning centre. Most children and pupils would rather watch from their
own boats or dingy human settlements as their peers swim their way to
the floating school. These are the children who might have already
questioned the logic behind attending a floating school right inside the
lagoon water settlement. Given the current prevailing circumstances, it
may never be easy for any meaningful life to emerge from Makolowhere
the struggle on daily basis is to scavenge on what can fill their belly on
daily basis. Itis justa classicexample ofan alreadycondemnedgeneration
whose future had long been determined andcompletely sealed. They will
swim and die rightinside the already stanching lagoon a scenariowhich
to many in the African continent still remains a score card for the larger
families in whichever one hails from in the region. Makolofloating slum

is now under a gang which can attack the other side of the Nigerian at
will and then quickly disappear inside the lagoon where they know that
apprehending them is just next to impossible.
The group of people who migrated from Benin andlater descended in the
Lagoon which they later converted into a home now Makolo floating
might have felt unwelcomed hence the only empty space they could lay
their heads was just next to the Ocean. They too moved with speed since
in the African setupone step missed is a process completely gone. Todate
the majority offamilies whoresides in the sprawlingMakoloslum are still
referred toas those whocame from Benin just to try their luck in a foreign
country just like any other refugee. The best they could do was to
immediately come up with one floating home after the other and most
Nigerians might have taken it a joke gone way too far. Refugees or
migrants are always daring particularly on discovering that they may
never have it easy in a land which is not theirs. That’s why the makeshifts
which immediately greeted Nigerians right the lagoon where members
would start swimmingjust to a colleague wasn’t be a surprise. They had
to fit in the new wonder world and giventhe factthatthey run away from
their own motherland in search of a greener pasture. Today the family
that call Makolo slum their sweet home are ready to fight it out with
anyone trying to interfere with their own ways of life. Despite the fact
they are another groupof foreign alien from another country, they appear
ready to swim in the later in the filthy lagoon for the rest of their lives
until such a time when good times will come calling. Meanwhile the
world should continue admiring them even as Makolo settlement now
one of the largestfloating slum of its kind continue to surprise the entire
human race. The sprawling floating is now a project being studied by
scholars both from the continentand outside just how a whole generation
feel so much comfortable in a place that can just be another big hell on
earth. They don’t see anything when even the dead is just dumped into
the lagoon with the hope of getting swept with tides towards the Indian
Ocean. No wonder the horrible smell welcoming any visitor entering
Makoloslum is quite strong and strange. Floatingclinics are also erected
just in case the situation gets out of hand but one still wonders how a
paramedicwould continue inhaling the deadly lethal smellcoming outof
the lagoon. The Makolo slum members just need to swim their destinies

out perhaps for the rest of their lives unless until such a time when
wonders shall cease to end in the African continent. A huge generation is
completely lost in Makolo and even their bodily mechanism could be
altered by the prevailing environmental factors.
The most unfortunate scenariofor African cities and even urban towns is
that slums and informal settlements were given rooms to flourish side by
side. Itis whatmost Africans thoughtwas a normalhuman settlementbut
has now turned most cities and town across the continent. The casual
approach to such mushrooming of slums and numerous informal
settlements almostadjacenttoevery African city and towns was bound to
breed a completely new generation of dissatisfied communities. Initially
it was just a normal settlement before it started causing social and
economic upheavals a mong the city residents, planners and the
government alike. The worstnightmare before policy makers in different
cities across the continent is the strategic manner in which slums have
mushroomed. It means that with a dejected majority population residing
in such slums like Makolo, Kibera and Mathare etc plus one popularly
known as Sodom and Gomorrah in Ghana, chances of these people
running any African city can’t just be ruled out. Slums and informal
settlements are not just a place where a huge portion of families residesat
but has instead turned out to be a breeding ground for dejected
communities who always feel like they have been detached from the rest
of the world including their own countries of origin. Those a completely
new world with a unique human managementwhich further depends on
which direction the wind of the day shall blow. Very few African cities
may have the capacity to deal with roughly a hundred thousand slum
dwellers whomay decide one day to make their way into any part of the
city in revenge attacks which may include looting spree, killings ad a
complete breakdown of law and order. Sodom and Gomorrah in Ghana
is said to be a home of closely a hundred thousand or more local
populations a place which has emerged as the largestwaste dumping site
in the world followed by another three million who resides in Kibera
slums in Kenya. These are a pool of humanity who often feels that given
the manner the society has been shaped, they too should be given a go
ahead to plunder, make merry and also participates in filling the world.
Their only crime is thatthey stay in the slums and engagingin all manner

of activities which are synonymous with their lives andstatus. Theyknow
when to become completely inhuman and also portray certain faces of
humanity when calledfor. These people can easily predictthe number the
of years they are likely to stay a live under their prevailing social order.
The structure righton a Lagoon in Nigeriais a replica ofwhat the citizens
from Benin left in their homeland. They are a continuation of floating
houses which are visible along both the coasts of Benin and Nigeria
meaning that it is a creation of the mind. It is a scenario which could be
interpreted as an extension of illegal human settlement and if care is not
taken, mankindmay one day be judged harshly. The floatinghouses both
in Benin and alongthe Indian Oceanin Nigeriahas portrayedtothe world
the level at which humans can go to fully become destructive. It is a
scenario where the lives of both humans and marine wildlife are on the
verge of complete extinction. The population of is still quite low going by
the current counts a percentage which has left an egg on the face of the
Africans as the only people in the world who can hardly manage to
sustain a sizeable number of people. Today in the twenty first century a
huge chunk of population from Benin and another from Nigeria can only
find a space in the lagoon to lay or on the waters that was meant for
human consumption but has now turned toxic and a death trap. The
thousands of Citizens from Benin who left their motherland only to settle
on what is now a complete waste land where the floating waters can only
be compared to that of all manner filth from both humans and animals.
The floating houses in the name of slum erected on water bodies is a
common sight in different countries but are now becoming tourist
attraction from members of the local population and foreign. They are
some of the memorable human settlements which have attracted both
love and hate in equal measure plus billions of donor funds. Such
generosities from donors and well-wishers with always ambitious plans
of uplifting the lives of the majority Africans who had long surrendered
their lives to the deplorable conditions. But with the local slum
inhabitants still embracing the filthy conditions as a way of life and not
ready tolet go whathas remained partand parcel oftheir lives, the funds
meantfor such vulnerable often end up in the drain. That’s notnew going
by the manner in which corrupt ways of life has completely transfigured
the entire economic and social landscape of the majority in the African

continent. It is just impossible to relocate the majority African slum
dwellers because such dingy human settlements are another avenues of
milking huge chunks of Dollars which again end up enriching a sizeable
number of the foreigner donors and local population.
LIFE IN SODDOM AND GOMORAH SLUM IN GHANA
Acritical study ofa slum in Ghananamedafter ancientBiblical citySodom
and Gomorrah is a clear indication that something is just not adding up
with the mental status of Africans. Could it be that an African from any
part of the continent can be so delighted to catch a London flight just to
have a swim Thames in the United Kingdom? Again, having checked
themselves with all manner of toxic wastes, affluent would gather a long
River Seine which flows right at the heart of France Paris. It is utterly
unspiritual thata city which even Abraham had toplead with the Creator
to spare his family members like Lot and others in the eve of eventual
destruction is to emerge many decades backin Africa andrightwithin the
capital city of Ghana. Africans are just seeing it as fun that one of the
largest slum would later emerge in African and more so Ghana in the
name of Sodom and Gomorrah. The illegal settlement which emerged
and spread like bushfire simply caughtthe authorities napping since its
not such a decade old slum like the floating one on a Nigerian lagoon.
Sodom and Gomorrah slum is quite recent given the fact that human
activities began at the said place when the city of Ghana was being
transferred to Accra in the late fifties by the late president Kwame
Nkrumah who was also the country’s first Prime Minister. There was no
Sodom and Gomorrah then meaning that when African simply turn into
monsters a simple water clean water point can easily turned into a
dumping and with all the human waste flowing side by side. The only
dream which Kwame Nkrumah had for the African people and his native
Ghanian people was unity for the entire continent and that may the
togetherness reigns atall frontiers.Several leaders have emergedafter the
departure of Kwame Nkrumah only for the current generation of those
entrusted with power to getcompletely soaked intoone of the memorable
global digital human settlements cum slum in the name of Sodom and
Gomorrah. In the Biblical times the city of Sodom and Gomorrah had to
be set ablaze after humbly inviting the wrath of the Creator apart from
the few relatives of Abraham escaped the inferno. As the generation of

Abraham were hurriedly running away from the city of Sodom and
Gomorrah, the only casualty was Lot’s wife who according to the Bible
turned into a heapof saltafter looking back justto have a glimpse ofwhat
Godly flame was consuming their once called ancestral land.
In the present Sodom and Gomorrah now located in Ghana, itis humans
who have invited the painful ordeal into themselves by simply turning a
once clean beautiful river connecting to the Ocean into a floating human
waste. The international community especially those from the industrious
realized the weaker side of the African people and quickly moved with
speed to help them convert a beautiful landscape into one of the largest
digital dumping site in the world and later baptizing it with the ancient
Biblical name Sodom and Gomorrah. The slum is a symbolic failure on
the partof the entire African people thatthey can hurriedly come together
and convert the beautiful portion of the planet into a dumping site. It is
almostimpossible toprovides estimates ofthe number of people residing
within Sodom and Gomorrah butaccordingtoexperts, there may be close
to eighty thousand people or more who have permanently turned the
place into their only home on earth. It is interesting that Ghanaians are
provided with all the electronic wastes from the Western capital so that
they ruin themselves for the rest of their lives. There is no clean person
left in the present electronic waste dumping site who can stand up and
challenge the local brethren to stop ruining themselves and the nation
more so as the rest of the world takes a back seat. The local population
especially the more than a hundred thousand strong Ghanaians who
permanently made Sodom and Gomorrah their only sweet home just
need to stare each other in the eye and carry the burden. They simply
descended right on the edge of the once beautiful landscape and a clean
water then turn it into a flowing sewer. The rest of the society rightfrom
Africa and a cross the Atlanticon the realizing thatthen only place in the
world where they could damp all the electronic wastes was a place in
Ghana now famously referred to as Sodom and Gomorrah.It is currently
a dungeon and a place of death where the thousand Africans from Ghana
and perhaps other African countries claim to be the only place under the
sun where they can earn a living. Of course, the world is aware and the
environmentalists are also quite alarmed by the illegal shipment of all

manner of electronic wastes which illegally made their way into Africa
and eventually dumped in a tiny slum city now Sodom and Gomorrah.
Because Africans and the majority have never taken seriously the impact
of environment degradation, the best the rest of the world could do is to
help them cause more damage tothemselves by completely ruining their
own virgin habitat. The most tragic scenario is that any dysfunctional
electronics in the name of computers, fridges television sets etc from the
west can easily be sneaked into the African continent damping site right
inside a slum notoriously named after the destroyed Biblical city of
Sodom and Gomorrah. Most of these dysfunctional waste electronic
appear to be the only source of the African community who seemed to
have surrendered to the status of being third world global citizens in the
form of status. The western world is watching from a cross the Atlanticas
the laptop or television they recently disposed at one point are set on fire
just to extractsome valuable from them which later ends up in most cities
in the continent. The smokes coming out of the burnt electronic wastes
has ruined quite number of souls in Sodom and Gomorrah perhaps the
only central place in the world which was forcefully turned into a dump
site. It is like the world is extremely excited thatatleastsomewhere in the
twenty first century and just very close to the capital of Ghana Accra, a
dumping site would later emerge in the name of Sodom and Gomorrah.
It is a slum like no other and Africans residing in perhaps the most
polluted place in the world had all kissed life good bye. They are just
buying time and wasting themselves so that one day and at one point at
time, they will all call it a day in life. By residing in Sodom an Gomorrah
slum, it is like the local Ghanaians whohave made ittheir home had long
mad a unanimous decision thatthere is no any other avenue to stay afloat
in their troubled social lives. Because these Africans have lost direction
despite making less than a Dollar after enduring the heat and at the same
time inhaling the smoke emanating from the burntelectronics, there is no
value of life left. The best the internationalcommunity can dois to simply
help them unceremoniously end their dreams and lives. The fact that a
place can be named after a city which the Creator had earmarked for
destruction means that all manner of activities which are not for the
common good of the human race could be the order of the day. There is
no junk e-waste which are being dumped in the European cities and the

rest of the western world because there is always a place somewhere in
the third world where such lethal toxicitems can be dumped. The people
from the third world backyard who can comfortably entertain toxic e-
wastes happen to be Africans and that’s the birth of the so called Sodom
and Gomorrah slum. The fact that the nearby Korle-Bu Riverwhich was
once full of life is now a floating waste from both burnt electronics and
humans.
The poisonous fumes had long been inhaled by the over a hundred
thousand strong local members whoreside in Sodom and Gomorrah and
whatawaits them could just be cancerous deaths. Everyone has been held
hostage in the filthy slum both young and old and there is absolutely
nowhere to hide as the rest of the world stare from a distance. Whoever
has made such a slum their home and also a place where their children
seemed to be having nofuture, must ensure that they remain comfortable
since such are the only choices before them on the table. Just like slums
in every part of the globe, the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah have
remained helpless whenever deadlyinfernos in the form of fire erupts in
the vicinity. It is when an entire section of the slum can easily be razed
down leading tothe loss of lives and valuables.Despite the fire aftermath
and loss ofseveral lives, members ofSodom and Gomorrahcan never take
a retreat and literary abandon the only place they call home. They would
rather swallow their pride and immediately jump to the next rescue net
with the hope of making itthe next day. It is like since the residents have
simply turned the once beautiful landscape into a waste land, the fire
which often erupts in the slum could be the best doze to make them seek
a better alternative but that has completely failed flat. The most
unfortunate scenario is that more than sixty million tons of e-wastes,
could end und up in a slum in Ghana and eventually maimthousands of
Sodom and Gomorrah residents under the watch of global citizens, it
means that the goose of the Africans had long been cooked.
The Writer is an adjunct lecturer in the department of media and
communication in Kenya.
Can be reached at gombas2002@gmail.com, +254702235859

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