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A tale of love, lust, a thirst for power and affluence, and a hunger for vengeance, Ijakumo tells the story of Olajide, a young, seemingly hopeless man who has nothing but the love and support of his lover, Ashabi, and his dreams of becoming an influential evangelist. Ashabi, who happens to be the daughter of an Ifa priest, decides to help her man out of his misery by taking him to her father to obtain a charm that would be his ticket to fame and success.
However, the father foresees that Olajide will let the power get to his head and warns his daughter about the potential danger that lies ahead, but as love would have it, Ashabi finds a way to get him that power, and true to her father’s warnings, she becomes the sacrifice; well, her unborn child, at least. Twenty years down the line, both Olajide and Ashabi become wealthy individuals; Olajide becomes an influential “pastor”, and Ashabi, who runs one of the most prominent nightclubs in the city, employs the service of a stripper to bring him down.
The movie originally premiered in the cinemas on December 23, 2022, but started streaming on Netflix on June 23, 2023, and was produced by Toyin Abraham, some of whose past work includes The Ghost and the Tout, Fate of Alakada, and Listening Ears. It was scripted by Kehinde Joseph and directed by Adebayo Tijani.
Young Olajide was played by Olumide Oworu, young Ashabi by Debbie Shokoya, their older versions were then played by Kunle Remi and Toyin Abraham respectively, and some of the other main characters were played by Lolade Okunsanya (Sharon/Mary), Ganiu Nofiu (Baba Ashabi), Bimbo Akintola (Madam Olanitemi), Eso Dike (Wale), and Tomiwa Tegbe (young Wale).
So, let’s get into the review.
The Good
The movie had an excellent soundtrack that suited the story. It was a healthy blend of Yoruba, the Nigerian native language of the film, and English. All the songs sat comfortably in their respective scenes and did their own part in telling the story. The movie was properly cast as well. There was a striking resemblance between the younger and older versions of Olajide and Ashabi; the attention to that detail is commendable. Each of the actors also delivered their parts wonderfully, particularly Debbie Shokoya, Kunle Remi, and Lolade Okunsanya.
The movie’s plot unfolded nicely through the appropriate use of flashback scenes, and in terms of cinematography, the lighting and camera angles were handled satisfactorily.
On the part of the story, the stripper turning out to be the choir mistress’s long-lost twin, and not the choir mistress herself, was a nice twist.
The Harsh Reality
Unfortunately, one of the primary issues with Ijakumo: The Born Again Stripper starts from the title itself. The ‘born again stripper’ factor easily misleads the viewers and exaggerates the relevance of the stripper to the plot. Yes, it was through her that Ashabi was able to take Olajide down, but let’s face it; we were made to believe that Ashabi had strong extra-terrestrial powers; she could have singlehandedly taken down Olajide if she wanted. Did she really need to hire an ‘expatriate’ from Uganda to get the job done? And this leads us to the second major flaw of the production – the story.
When the awe and amazement of the movie die down, you would realise that the story is not that fantastic. The producers categorise the movie as a thriller, but it really is more of a drama. Suspense is a key ingredient for every thriller, and there is almost no element of suspense in the movie. It’s easy to predict the plot while watching. It is a very simple story – with quite a number of potholes – that was carried by great cinematography and a long list of stars. So, what are these potholes?
There was a visible struggle to fuse different plots together. The story is simply about how Olajide became successful by sacrificing his unborn child and how Ashabi, his estranged fiancee, sought to take revenge on him, so, why the struggle to fit a stripper’s story into the grand scheme of things? The relevance given to Sharon was excessive and came across as a desperate desire to add a tablespoon of nudity to the movie’s recipe, not to mention her elongated appearances. The scenes of the conversations between Sharon and Olajide took up more space than necessary; all that space could have been allocated to scenes that might have done the story more justice like showing different ways in which Olajide was scamming his congregation, for example.
Also, certain characters were given a reasonable share of the spotlight and got dumped shortly after. You would expect that the lady who was present and even vocal at the beginning when Ashabi was choosing a stripper would maintain the same level of relevance throughout the story, but she was pretty much useless after that scene. Also, the story did no justice to Olajide’s wife. Where was she on the night when the police came to arrest her husband? In a vigil with the good women of the church? If so, the story should have told us that. She was shabbily cut out of the story when the whole matter should have concerned her as well.
Another stone that was left unturned in the writing of the story was Ashabi’s occupation. She also became rich and successful, but how? We are not given so much as a clue of what the almighty Ijakumo does for a living. Is she the owner of the nightclub where Olajide is a regular patron and a VIP customer? This was not properly established. Regarding this same character, how was it so easy for Olajide to poison her despite the fortification her father had been giving her from a young age? She had powers at the time, so eating poison should not have done her as much harm as it did, but, I stand to be corrected. She as well was not given the spotlight she was due. Apart from the flashback scenes, we didn’t get to know her enough. She should have been given as much time in front of the camera as Olajide.
The movie however teaches valuable lessons about the importance of heeding parents’ advice and the extent of destruction that greed can bring to a man. It also does a good job ‘exposing’ the open secrets of some people in ‘high places’ – the cults, cabals, the oaths they take, and the sacrifices they make to attain and maintain their power and influence.
Out of 10, Ijakumo: The Born Again Stripper, is a solid 5.5.
The post A Fan Review: Ijakumo – A ‘Thriller’ Without The Suspense appeared first on Nigerian Entertainment Today.
