I made sure I stayed awake to watch my now favorite program – Wetin dey. I have only two must-watch programs on TV( Wetin-Dey and Who wants to be a millionaire?-WWTBAM?**)
It meant keeping on the generator till eleven pm after watching it as Nepa ( i refuse to change their name, i grew up with Nepa) had acted in their usual manner.
For those of you who do not know ‘Wetin Dey’, where do i begin. I’m sorry ‘irohin o to afojuba’ ( a yoruba saying which means that seeing is better than hearing) I cannot start telling you what you have missed.
I’ll tell you what the program has done to me and why I cried (well, almost) while watching yesterdays episode.
Point One: It is acted VERY WELL! and its production is superb. Not suprising as its funded by the BBC World Service Trust.
I do not watch Nigerian home videos because I consider the acting amateurish and fake and the production HORRIBLE. No apologies. More money is needed in the film industry but that is a story for another day.
Wetin Dey is a breath of fresh cool air.
Its a mini drama series on HIV/AIDS. It tells the story of HIV and its impact on its various characters well. I did not realise there was so much discrimination towards people living with the virus. (Well in actual fact I do not know anyone who is positive) but it just made me sad and to imagine what people have to endure due to others ignorance.
I know that it cannot be caught by hugging, shaking or mere physical contact but its taken this drama series to open my eyes to that fact. Seeing characters in the play interact with family, friends and co-workers brought home that fact to me. People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are in fact normal people who can live a normal healthy life, It is not a death sentence.
What else? Yesterdays episode was sad as Halima killed herself! Her husbands deceit and failure to disclose his status to his wife caused this. She was pregnant and of course HIV positive.
The second is the vulnerability of HIV orphans. One of Semiu’s daughters was raped by a relation who was to care for her. My heart bled as I watched that scene, an innocent girl now scarred for life because of the heartlessness and lust of another human, supposedly an uncle.
Wetin Dey made me think of all the Semiu’s, Halimas and poor HIV affected people. It is not just those carrying the virus who suffer but all those who are connected to them in one way or the other.
Brothers, Sisters, Parents, Coworkers, Children… No one is exempt!
** I do not subscibe to its moving Wetin Dey from the 8:30pm slot to 10:30pm slot. I like WWTBAM but I believe Wetin Dey is a must-watch program for all of Nigeria. How many people are awake at 10:30pm to watch it?
Considering the threat of the HIV pandemic, its a vital program. Was it moved because another sponsor could pay mega bucks for a prime slot on TV? These are questions begging to be answered.
11/02/2008 at 1:11 pm Permalink
True talk my sister!
HiV is around us and nearer you than u can imagine, love is the key, and pls NTA move wetin de back to its original time slot@!
20/02/2008 at 3:43 am Permalink
I don’t watch the program but your explanation makes it sound very interesting. It is sad how people (myself included) discriminate against people with HIV/AIDS. It all balls down to ignorance like you rightfully stated and a program like that would be a very good enlightenment. Contrary to many beliefs HIV/AIDS is not written on people’s foreheads and so many are carriers who don’t even know yet. Thus one has to be very careful.