Finally, I watched the latest hit movie from Nollywood, “Gangs of Lagos”. The crime movie, released by Amazon Prime Video, has been amassing rave reviews from social media as one of the best crime movies produced by this fledgling industry.
I am a big fan of action/crime movies/series which makes me rigidly addicted to Hollywood. Having seen “Brotherhood” and now “Gangs of Lagos” it is safe to say Nollywood is on the path of progress and ready for real business.
The movie’s directing, picture quality, subtitling, editing, and plot arrangement are on a different level from the usual hogwash quality associated with the industry. For African lovers of Hollywood, Nollywood is gradually giving a desirable taste.
“Gangs of Lagos” is a replica of the British crime series “Gangs of London” which is in its third season. Just like Gangs of London, Gangs of Lagos chronicles the breeding of street and ‘celebrity’ thugs by political players in the bloody struggle to control the totality of Lagos, represented by the micro-neighborhood of Isale Eko. With many gory scenes, the clash of rival gangs along with the barbaric butchering of one another on the streets treats the audience to the inner and outer workings of men of the underworld in their coven.
Although the theme of gangsterism is not new to Nollywood, it has been taken to a deeper level by Gangs of Lagos.
Since its premiere, heavy criticisms have been trailing the movie and its producer and director, Jade Osiberu, over the misrepresentation of Isale Eko and Eyo masquerades.
Eyo Festival is also known as “Adamu Orisa” and is staged on Lagos Island. With its masquerades (Eyo), the festival is used to celebrate the life of an Oba or important chief and also marks the transition from one traditional ruler to another.
Some of the Eyo masquerades include Eyo Oniko, Eyo Laba-skin, Eyo Ologede, Eyo Iga-etti, Eyo Agere, Eyo Elegushi, Eyo Onikoyi, Eyo Bajulaiye, Eyo Oniru among others. As Africans, masquerades are considered sacred and festivals are rituals performed by communities to worship/celebrate a deity, natural phenomenon, or season. Considering how Africans hold tradition in high esteem, a little desecration will attract stiff resistance.
Eyo masquerade is very central to the development of themes in Gangs of Lagos. On the occasions that Eyo appears in the movie, it is used to commit criminal acts. Apparently, this has attracted condemnations from the Lagos State Government through its Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture.
A statement signed by its Commissioner, Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, described the movie as “a mockery of the Heritage of Lagos.”
“We think that the production of the film ‘The Gang of Lagos’ is very unprofessional and misleading while its content is derogatory of our culture, to desecrate the revered heritage of the people of Lagos. It is an unjust profiling of a people and culture as being barbaric and nefarious. It depicts a gang of murderers rampaging across the State,” she said.
Also, a Lagos Island cultural group, the Isale Eko Descendants’ Union, took its resistance higher by submitting a petition to the National Film and Censors Board, calling for the withdrawal of the movie. The union in a statement signed by its chairman, Mr. Yomi Tokosi, expressed its displeasure at the scandalous portrayal of the Isale Eko community and Eyo in the bad light of platforms for criminal activities.
“In the movie, the unique Eyo masquerade indigenous to the Isale Eko community in Lagos was illegally and scandalously depicted as being used as a camouflage, decoy, and subterfuge for murderers and gangsters operating in the Isale Eko area,” the statement added.
The union “requested that the NF&VCB withdraw the approval granted to the movie- Gangs of Lagos and direct the withdrawal of the movie from all viewing channels available to the public. The IDU and other community stakeholders will also be considering legal action for the damage done to the culture, tradition, and image of the Isale Eko community and the Eyo masquerade.”
The outrage from the government and indigenes of Lagos is not unexpected after the blatant defecation of their tradition. Portraying Eyo as a tool for crime/assassination is a bad PR for the tradition. One of the consequences is that people from home and abroad will be suspicious of Eyo even when making legitimate public appearances.
It is important to note that Nollywood has been notorious for the demarketing and misrepresentation of African culture and tradition over the years. Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, had once accused Nollywood producers of fueling the proliferation of money rituals, which he argued to be a myth. Religious-based movie producers such as Mount Zion have constantly dragged African religion in the mud in an unbridled manner as well.
While wading into the controversy trailing “Gangs of Lagos”, Director-General, of the National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, called for a strategic rethinking of cultural-related narratives by filmmakers in Nigeria to avoid public resentments and reactions.
“So, films with narratives on the ways of life of our people must trend on best acceptable and sensitive information profiling,” he said.
While making effort to rein in Nollywood producers, efforts of equal proportion must be made by traditionalists and custodians of culture to weed out intruders and bad eggs who are putting indigenous traditions in a bad light. Egungun festivals in some parts of the country have turned to a ground of violence as rival ‘gangs of masquerades’ unleash mayhem in society which creates a climate of fear whenever the festival approaches.
In August 2003, no fewer than two persons including an Eyo masquerade were reportedly killed during the final rite of passage for an Oba who had joined his ancestors. The violence reportedly ensued between two groups of masquerade, Eyo Oniko, and Eyo Iga-etti, leaving three persons dead while over eight vehicles were vandalized along Tokunbo Street on Lagos Island.
Also, in May 2017, violence had ensued between two Eyo ‘gangs’, Eyo Iga-etti and Eyo Laba-ekun, at Oke Popo area of Lagos Island. The mayhem was reported to have ensued during the festival used to mark Lagos @50 and dedicated to late Oba Yekini Adeniyi Elegushi Kusenla II.
Like the Yoruba saying “Eeyan ni n be leyin Oro ti Oro fin ke” (a human being is responsible for the whistling of Oro). Who are the carriers of these masquerades? Who are their supporters? Could the producers of Gangs of Lagos have leveraged on the brigandage that trailed some of the festivals that turned violent? It is imperative that our custodians of tradition educate all involved and weed out intruders to restore the spiritual significance of our traditions. It is a known fact that adherents of masquerades engage in superiority battles which leads to bringing the tradition into disrepute due to public show of shame of their followers.
Beyond the darts thrown at the producers of Gangs of London, our custodians of tradition must also look inward and do the necessary house cleansing to provide filmmakers with a sellable reality instead of romanticizing our reality. Aside from the cultural ‘gaffe’, the movie has accurately presented our ugly sociopolitical reality which must not be papered over through the aforementioned uproar.