Love = Responsibility

I'm always telling my boys how television rots the brain. Mostly they just ignore me but every once in a while will actually humour me: "Do you mean like your brain stops working, mum?" "EXACTLY!" I tell them.

It’s the age old dilemma of doing as I say rather than as I do because (I admit) I probably watch more TV than I need to. Though there is some real junk out there on the silver screen these days (Eastenders and Total Wipeout not included) every once in a while the networks come up with a real gem.

Welcome to Lagos on BBC Two is, in my opinion, is one such diamond in the rough (with emphasis on the word rough).

This programme focuses on the lives of people of the slums of Lagos and on the face of it, the inhabitants should be pitied. But on the contrary, they are rich in the ways of family, work ethic and get-up-and-go-go-go!

There are many lessons that one may take away from the BBC three-part series. For example, in the lesson on recycling we see how the discarded waste is trawled through and used in enterprising ways such as for creating landfills and profitable industry. Onto 'Determination 101' and we see how our protagonists work long, hard hours in extreme conditions (we're talking waste grounds and sewers here) in order to support their families. This syllabus in this school of life in Lagos including 'Citizenship', 'Home Economics' and my personal favourite, 'Every-Cloud-has-a-Silver-Lining'.

It's the kind of television I'm happy to watch with children as it raises interesting topics for thinking and discussing and learning. It simply reminds us of the basic values of family and the equation relating love and responsibility.