We鈥檝e been noticing a trend in Nollywood where it seems like the darkest political secrets of Lagos are being brought to light. In the Netflix series, Shantytown, we saw an influential politician in charge of prostitution rings, thugs and drug trafficking; frighteningly similar to the Commander-in-Chief of the agbado army.
On April 7, 2023, a movie titled Gangs of Lagos was released that gave insight into how thugs in Isale-Eko, Lagos, are used during Nigerian elections. However, there has been outrage from the Lagos state government recently over a scene that portrayed the Eyo masquerade as a villain.
The Isale Eko Descendants Union released a statement on April 12, 2023, saying the movie defamed Isale Eko and the Eyo masquerade. On the same day, the Lagos state government called the film a total abomination derogating Yoruba culture.
What鈥檚 amusing is that the Lagos state government is paying more attention to the 鈥渕isinterpretation鈥 of the Eyo masquerade than violence during elections which was the movie鈥檚 focal point.
Is the government intentionally turning a blind eye to the message Gangs of Lagos tried to pass, or is the outrage from them performative because Nollywood is hitting too close to home this time?
What else happened this week?
NUPENG Raises Red Flag Over Fuel Subsidy Removal
When it comes to Nigeria, problem no dey finish. On January 5, 2023, the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning reminded us again that by mid-2023, the federal government would cease fuel subsidies. This means we鈥檒l pay up to three times more than the current fuel price.
However, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) is warning the federal government that it may be over its head as our local refineries still aren鈥檛 operating fully. As a result, the removal of fuel subsidy might have negative economic impacts on Nigerians that the government is unprepared for.
Hopefully, the government will work towards this and put the right structures in place to ensure that when fuel subsidies are finally removed, we won鈥檛 be plunged into multidimensional suffering.
Video of the week
Question of the week
Nigeria鈥檚 president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was listed on the Times 100 most influential list of 2023. On a scale of 鈥渢his is a win for Nigeria鈥 to 鈥渆veryone is on drugs鈥; what do you think about this?
Ehen one more thing鈥
There was an unfortunate accident on April 13, 2023, where a seven-story building collapsed in Banana Island, Lagos. Here鈥檚 everything to know about the tragedy.
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