Joseph Jonathan

politics
Why Nigerian Politics Keeps Producing the Same Kind of Leaders

The politicians a country repeatedly elects are rarely accidental. They are often the logical outcome…

Mirrors
“Mirrors” Review: Yemi Morafa’s Two-Hander Is Undone by Its Own Screenplay

For a film built on conversation and emotional intimacy, Mirrors never quite finds the depth…

June 12
Should We Actually Celebrate June 12 As Nigeria’s Democracy Day?

If June 12 means anything, it cannot simply be that Nigerians once demanded democracy. It…

African Cinema Classics
20 African Cinema Classics That Help Us Understand the Forces Shaping Africa Today

To watch these films is not simply to revisit African cinema’s past. It is to…

EndSars
The Comment Section Republic: Where Does the Nigerian Anger Go?

Expression and accountability are not the same thing, and the architecture of every major social…

Efunroye
“Efunroye: The Unicorn” Review: Nollywood’s Most Politically Charged Historical Epic Chooses Devotion Over Truth

The film that genuinely reckons with Efunroye Tinubu will not be able to leave its…

Trade by Bata
“Trade by Bata” Review: Biodun Stephen’s Culture-Clash Comedy Has One Brilliant Idea but Doesn’t Know What To Do With It

What Trade by Bata is really staging is a transaction in aspiration: the exchange of…

Silence is Loud
“Silence is Loud” Review: Abba T. Makama’s Film Finds Courage Where Society Tells Us to Be Quiet

Silence is Loud is a film that knows what it is about and has the…

180
“180” Review: Alex Yazbekʼs Revenge Thriller Is Well-Shot But Lacking In Substance

What 180 needed was a screenplay willing to sit with its characters long enough to…

The Creek
“The Creek” Review: Toka McBaror’s Niger Delta Thriller Has the Right Setting and the Wrong Convictions

What The Creek ultimately reveals is a tension at the heart of Nollywood’s engagement with…