The megacity Lagos is growing faster than any other city in the world. According to estimates, around 25 million people live in Africa's second largest city, although not even the city administration knows exactly. By 2050 the number is expected to have doubled. Every day hundreds of children are born and new people move to the city in the hope of a better future, a job, a perspective.
His name is his trademark, his career is so typical of the port city of Lagos: Whitemoney, real name Hazel Onoudunyi, won Nigeria's Big Brother final in 2021 and the masses have loved him ever since. His social media channels are clicked millions of times every day. The 32-year-old cruises through the streets of the huge metropolis at night in his Maybach and is a welcome guest at the city's many top events. “You can make your dreams come true in Lagos,” says the mega-influencer, who was a simple salesman until before he started his career. The ZDF team accompanied him through his nights and also found out why people like Whitemoney make Lagos the trendy city in Africa.
Not far from the luxury district of Victoria Island, hundreds of thousands live in simple shacks on stilts that stand in the Brake of Lagos. Makoko Island is one of the worst slums in Africa. Hundreds of thousands live here, most of them are fishermen like Banuso Kokpe. He never went to school and his family couldn't afford the fees. So the 28-year-old fisherman became like generations before him. But his traditional life is becoming increasingly difficult to manage. Because the population in Makoko is exploding, the fight for fish has become fierce. Banuso Kokpe fears for the future of his three children. He only wants one thing – to get out of Makoko
The city of Lagos stops at nothing in its search for new living space: the houses of Doyn Ajanlekoko and her neighbors were simply flattened by bulldozers overnight. The suspicion: New luxury apartments are to be built on the picturesque lagoon, where ordinary people now live. But the 63-year-old and her friends don't want to put up with that. They went to court and the demolition was stopped. Since then, Doyn Ajanlekoko has also tried to encourage other communities to band together in the fight against the authorities.
The cameraman Bishop Kagho Idhebor is a wanderer between worlds. The 39-year-old has just been awarded the African Oscar, the African Movie Academy Award. But he prefers to spend his time photographing the so-called Area Boyz – the street gangs that have control over every neighborhood in Lagos. Wherever the Area Boyz show up, there's a riot - or so they want you to believe. Behind their loud and violent demeanor there is usually something completely different hidden: the desire for a home, a family, a different life.
