Gangs of Lagos is a film produced by Jade Osiberu. It is a realist movie, one with which the audience can reasonate.
Events happen in Isale Eko, a known venue to every Lagosian.
Gangs Of Lagos Movie
The movie, Gangs of Lagos starts with the performance of the Éyo masquerade. An Oba has died and burial rites are put in place. The sight of masquerades on the street is not foreign to dwellers in Lagos.
Even though they may not know the significance of each masquerade, they cheer on and watch their performance.
But there is an intruder who abuses the sacredness of the Éyo and commits murder during the rituals. Murder or any other mentionable atrocity is not recognised with the Éyo whose sacred duty is to escort the souls of departed kings to the other world and welcome new ones to the land of the living.
A successful infiltration into the Éyo by a desperate aspiring politician leads to the murder of another rising popular politician in front of his wife, splashing the blood on their new born baby.
The two appearances of the Éyo in the movie come with murder. The first serving as a cause, the second, the effect. The baby grows to be a gangster in the step of his father, which is a quick way to death, according to his mother.
From their first robbery as children, Oba relinquishes his position to be Capo to Ifeanyi, for the love of Teni, the daughter of a potential prominent politician, who later becomes his boss.
Oba appears in the palace of Eleniyan to remit his spoil same day Kazeem and Nino visit. Nino sees potentials in the boy as he displays intelligence in answering Alaye Bam Bam, the current Eleniyan (owner of men), where the victim of his robbery has laid complain.
He intelligently deduces, without interogation, that she has reported at the police station before making her way to Eleniyan. Nino invites him to a breaded life, different from street life that must go through education.
Same day, Oba is physically abused in the name of deliverance from the spirit of premature death, by a religious group his parents belong to. He runs to Ninalowo for shelter, much to the chargrin of his mum. Oba’s life transforms afterwards. Nino, an emerging Eleniyan puts Oba and his two street siblings, Gift and Ifeanyi in the same school Teni attends.
Obalola tells Teni of his new dream, patterned by Nino, to either be like Wóle Soyinka or the CBN governor.
Teni wants to be a Barrister, Ifeanyi a musician and Gift, Ify’s manager. Life is turned upside down for this baby and his siblings again as for the second time, his father is murdered, butchered on the street, and his corpse dumped in a wheel barrow.
Their dreams are shattered and immediately these kids become enrolled in Kazeem’s gang (a mercenary for organised crime).
In a state, where only one party, PND, has always emerged winner in all gubernatorial elections, a threat has surficed.
A woman has defected and is campaigning for the end of the reign of the PND and for the emergence of a new party, NPP. Gangs who have been loyal to PND begin to desist and take sides.
Londoner and the rest of Nino’s protége follow her. War breaks out. It is the reign of murder again to eliminate all threat.Kazeem seeks to take out more lives as his political ladder becomes shaky.
He visits Londoner at his barbing salon and murders him in cold blood, in the presence of Ify who has no stomach for murder, unlike Oba who has witnessed it in the most horror forms from childhood.
Having gathered intel on Londoner’s death, Ekun demands the sanction for Kazeem’s death, but Kazeem insists that Ify had pulled the trigger because Londoner fired first. The responsibility is then placed on Kazeem to avenge Londoner on the night Ify is to perform before a producer who will launch him into his career.
Kazeem deceitfully sends Ify to assasinate the barber since he is a witness. Chicken hearted Ify goes to Oba who instructs him to do nothing until he arrives. Meanwhile, Oba is on another assignment. Teni has just arrived from USA. Her father has secured a job and acquired a mansion for her and Oba is assigned to be her bodyguard.
Upon arrival in Banana Island with Teni, Oba realizes that he has been serving the wrong master. He’s been risking his life, recovering money for Kazeem for a penny while he enriches himself and his daughter alone.
Teni alone is living the life Nino envisioned for him, Gift and Ify. Although Teni returns educated and sophisticated, she’s aware that education does not make you a winner in politics.
While Ify waits for Oba in front of the barber’s house, an attack is attempted on Teni and Oba by Londoner’s gang.
They go home to tend to her wound which triggers a moment of intimacy.
Gift calls Ify to hurry up as the producer has arrived. Ify decides that he has waited enough and goes in to tell Bolaji about his death warrant and urge him to leave town pronto. Upon his exit, an assassin goes in, kills Bolaji and kills Ify on the street.
Oba jumps out of bed as he suddenly remembers that he has kept Ify waiting. Ify’s butchered body is first found by Gift and the mother of Ify’s child. Gift’s agony is that Ify was alone when he was killed.
Oba is of the suspicion that Londoner’s gang is responsible since one of them saw Ify at the salon where Londoner was murdered.
So he gathers the gang to avenge Ify in accordance to the blood bath prayer Ify’s mother declares at his funeral.
Truth is revealed when Oba comes face to face with Kash and Ekun, Londoner’s deputies.
The table turns here as he is told that Ify’s death was arranged by a family member, Kazeem. The code that ‘you don’t harm your own people’ has been defiled.
Terrible had shot Ify. Oba realizes again that he has been foolish. An alliance is automatically made with Ekun.
Terrible at gun point reveals a secret he thinks will save his life. He tells Oba that Kazeem killed his father and Ify’s father. Kazeem is to be taken down at the burial ceremony of Londoner.
Ekun raises an army from all round Lagos for the last fight. There is slow motion as the Éyo masquerades dance into the hall, Kazeem looking somewhat suspiciously in his dark glasses.
He is ambushed the same way he ambushed Oba’s Dad decades ago. The Éyo pull out their guns and there is pandemonium.
Kazeem takes cover, fires back and heads to the top of the building where a fight ensues between him and Oba. Oba challenges him of his atrocities, which Kazeem does not deny.
It is then that Oba gets the inkling that Kazeem killed Nino, their only chance to a better life.
Gift fires the shot that ends his life. He falls off and lands on a car, evoking painful screams from Teni as she looks up to see her childhood lover and friend looking down from the top of the building.
The last scene shows Oba in his mansion as he receives guests in person of the new governor, nine days after her inauguration. She arrives with Gift and a few member of the gang.
It is a very interesting movie full of blood and gore. It is insightful and rid of mediocrity.