#ShelterMatters – What’s your definition of a GHETTO?

According to wiki, “A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure. The term was originally used in Venice to describe the part of the city to which Jews were restricted and segregated.”

That definition does little or no justice to what the word ghetto pictures in the minds of many out there.

Personally, I will say Ghetto is a slum or an unplanned residential area, housing people mainly of low income and is mostly overlooked by the government in terms of amenities and basic infrastructure. For instance – Dustbin estate and Makoko.

Dustbin Estate in Lagos Nigeria

But for some residing in Lagos state, if asked where they classify as ‘Ghetto’, the word ‘Ajegunle’ escapes their mouth faster than fart (emit gas from the anus) albeit they have never been to Ajegunle or don’t even know how to get there. To them, every part of Ajegunle is a ghetto. And for those in other parts of the country, they definitely have areas they see as ghetto. Just as some people who reside in Lagos could see the whole of Ibadan as a ghetto (No disrespect intended to my Ibadan people)

I started a conversation offline with some acquaintances and the first guy to answer who goes by the name Rasaq said there can be ghetto in any part of the country. Noting that ghetto for him is a place where people smoke weed openly without fear of being caught. Lawlessness is a way of life for people in that area and since the government does little or nothing to care for these individuals or to provide them the basic amenities and Infrastructure, they don’t expect the government coming into their hood to demand or impose any form of law on them.

Another said it is a place whereby the highest level of degradation meets the eye. It’s usually a case of the survival of the fittest. If you are not strong enough to fight for it, then you can’t have it. People in this area feed from hand to mouth and would do anything possible to survive the day.

Share your opinion with us on the word GHETTO. What is your definition of a ghetto? when the word ghetto comes to hearing, what picture comes to play in your mind? What area around you would you mention first?

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