Afamefuna and the Importance of Storytelling

Late to the party, I know...

Mar 02, 2025

I don’t know the exact point where I became obsessed with storytelling but right now, it’s one of the few things I’m deeply passionate about. Maybe it began in 2022 when I started calling myself LamLam the storyteller. That is some divine future thinking if you ask me😅😅

Anyways, I watched Afamefuna recently and I was greatly impressed with the storytelling and attention to detail. And while I know I’m late to Afamefuna’s party (it’s been released since 2023), I had a great time regardless.

To be honest, after reading a review about Afamefuna titled Gender, Afamefuna and the Nwa Boi system written by N.F Kenure and published by The Republic, I was skeptical about posting my review because I felt it was going to be so substandard.

But I reminded myself that 2025 is the year I plan to become a better writer putting out great opinion pieces and personal essays and I wanted my Substack to reflect that. So, instead of suppressing myself, I can acknowledge the great review written by N.F Kenure, discuss some of the points she made and still share my opinion.

I found it a big deal that Afamefuna impressed me because I’m not really a movies person. In fact for the past year, I can count the number of movies I’ve seen on one hand, Nollywood and Hollywood combined. I’m more of a TV series person.

Though I’ve heard about Afamefuna when it trended online, I was spurred to watch it after reading Blessings by Chukwuebuka Ibeh. I was drawn to Aboy’s story and though he had a brief run in the book, his story gave a glimpse into the Nwa Boi Apprenticeship system practiced by the Nigerian Igbos.

The protagonist in the movie- Afamefuna was born and bred in Onitsha, Anambra State and he moves to Lagos to work for a family friend- Chief Odogwu who is into the sales of tiles and other businesses. The story began with Afamefuna’s father remembrance party where he got arrested by a detective for having a hand in Paul (a fellow Nwa Boi) death. Then we watch the movie play out what led up to that scene.

I liked that Igbo language was spoken most of the time because language plays a huge part in storytelling, our language is part of our story. It was also nice to see real life play on TV. The mannerisms of the young Igbo boys I see in Ikotun, Yaba, Oshodi, Ojuelegba, Post Office (Ilorin) matched that of the boys working in Odogwu shop. Even majority of the Igbo people selling foodstuff around where I live are into the Nwa Boi Apprenticeship system.

There were few sayings in the book that really stuck with me. They include- An Igbo man doesn’t beg. The Igbos are arguably the most hardworking tribe in Nigeria, a lot of them are in most commercial cities in the country and that’s part of the reason why these cities are thriving. In Lagos, go to Alaba International market, Oyingbo, Ladipo market, Oke-Arin in Balogun market, Oshodi, Mushin, Aswani and Yaba to mention a few and you’ll understand what I’m saying.

It was also said that if you go to a place and you don’t see an Igbo man, leave because nothing is there and I hundred percent agree. There’s this saying that you can always find a Nigerian in every country in the world, I think that instead it should be that you’d always find an Igbo man in every country in the world. I mean there are a lot of mixed-race Nigerians in the world whose paternity are majorly traced to the Eastern part of Nigeria.

The Nigerian-Biafran war which was a terrible period for the Igbos was also mentioned and I think any Igbo-centered movie or book that doesn’t mention this war has done a great injustice. Kanayo O. Kanayo who played Mr. Odogwu mentioned that regardless of the amount you had in your bank before the war, everyone was given 20 pounds to start their life again. That brought about a sense of community and brotherhood among the Igbos which still plays out today.

There was also this scene where a Northern businessman wanted to collaborate with Mr. Odogwu and he refused saying his heart wasn’t in the deal. The Northern man asked if he was sure and he replied saying his mind has been made up long before now. I think this meant that Mr. Odogwu found it hard to see the Northerner in a good light as a result of the Nigerian-Biafran war which is totally understandable. Sometimes, your predecessors have created a stereotype for you.

As the story progresses, Afamefuna gets his freedom from his boss much to the displeasure of Paul. Paul was already working for Mr. Odogwu before Afamefuna came and he was the one to show him the ropes of what it entails being an Nwa Boi. I understand Paul’s jealousy and anger but such is life, some things are out of our control, we can only do our part and hope for the best. Afamefuna goes on to become a successful entrepreneur running his own business.

As if there wasn’t enough strife already with both men, Afamefuna has had a big crush on Odogwu’s daughter ever since he came to Lagos and unfortunately for him, Amaka (Odogwu’s daughter) has been in a relationship with Paul from her teenage years into adulthood. Amaka ended up leaving Paul for Afamefuna and this doubled Paul’s hate as he felt Afamefuna was living the life that should have been his. Paul ended up getting himself in deep waters which eventually killed him. I have a conspiracy theory that Mr. Odogwu probably knew about his daughter’s relationship with Paul and he granted Afamefuna freedom before Paul to spite him.

N.F Kenure made some great points about the femininization of education by the Igbos as seen in Afamefuna where the girls are encouraged to go to school and the boys are sent to be Nwa Bois. She also mentioned that the movie made the female gender be seen as something that should be desired and acquired after being successful and I totally agree with her. As she said, this point is seen when Mr. Odogwu warned Afamefuna about Lagos women when he started working for him, only for him to encourage Afamefuna to get married to his daughter when he became successful. Big lol.

Overall, I’m impressed with the cast and crew of Afamefuna. If you like Nollywood, I think you should watch if you haven’t already.

LamLam the storyteller

Afamefuna and the Importance of Storytelling

Late to the party, I know...

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