BY ‘SEGUN ODEJIMI
The opening of Ajoche reveals former Big Brother Naija housemate, T-Boss as a pregnant queen. Femi Branch was the king. Judging by her performance in the early parts, it is safe to say, of all things T-Boss might be great at, acting is not one of them. But Africa Magic‘s latest offering isn’t about T-Boss’ acting or non-acting. It is about its dares.
When a king is riled by a tragic incidence he attributes to his kingdom’s neighbours, he finds himself thinking with his emotions. So, love and revenge, the two predominant themes of Ajoche, is what the character played by Femi Branch is all about.
If epic is what does it for you, be ready for 260 episodes of a Benue-set story with all the daring gestures perhaps only M-Net has the budget to deliver on a consistent basis in Nigeria. This, M-Net’s gesture, remains one of the biggest things happening to Nollywood for several years.
M-Net deserves some accolades (erm, sorry Charles Okocha) for their resolve to deliver huge content in the Nigerian filmmaking/tv production space. Accolades are deserved as their resolve thousands of jobs opportunities are created. Regardless of how you choose to look at it, what they are doing has a positive knock-on effect on the industry.
The kind of budget M-Net projects have behind them, it is “easy” to dare. But it is also a big risk. No one wants to put a lot of money behind a project that ends up falling flat. With what James Omokwe and his team have done with Ajoche, falling flat should not be a fear that needs to be harbored. Well, except the story is dead on arrival. Pulse seems to be present on the evidence available in the first episode. Will the fans be kept at the edge of their seats through 260 nights is a question the writing team will have to answer through the work we see as the weeks unfold.
Without a doubt though, a lot of work has gone into taking the technical output of the production to the level viewers will be presented with from Monday, April 30. From an impressive set design imposed on four acres of land in Amen Estate, Lagos to the effort put into costuming the characters to depict natives of the community in Benue state the show is supposed to be set in, this new offering is one to look forward to.
Now, would it say “keep watching me” or “you have better things you can do tonight”, time will tell. But I will definitely be watching it tomorrow.
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