Nollywood movies are popular for their love stories but in recent years, they seem to be moving out of that genre. In movies like the 2018 King of Boys, 2018 Lionheart, 2019 The Set Up, 2020 Who’s the Boss and 2021 Dwindle, the storylines aren’t about the protagonists looking for love; they are about power, women empowerment, and friendships. In this new era of exploration, we find Nollywood movies that teach us lessons about life, platonic love, and money. While some of these lessons are deliberate (as in 2020 The Smart Money Woman), others (like 2018 Chief Daddy) are comedies that one can take lessons from. Whatever the case may be, the point is being made and here are five Nollywood movies that teach us about money.
The Smart Money Woman (2020)
The plot
Five friends – Zuri (broke and recently single), Tami (the pampered fashion designer), Lara (the oil and gas executive who is her family’s breadwinner), Adesuwa (the lawyer who is also her family’s breadwinner) and Ladun (the housewife who does not understand the value of money) – navigate life around money. The TV series educates viewers on all money matters – from conservative spending to debt and societal pressures to savings and investments.
The lesson
Like the book it’s based on, the show is interested in financial literacy. So, there are tons of lessons to learn from it. To mention a few: 1) Be honest about your finances – to yourself (know what you can and can’t afford); 2) Cut avoidable expenses (you can’t wear everybody’s asoebi); 3) Be smart with your money (don’t open a joint bank account with a broke, unemployed person); 4) If you’re a business owner, make sure your business can sustain itself (constantly collecting money from daddy and boyfriend to put into your business is not a smart move); 5) Save, save, save (you need an emergency fund); 6) Save but also invest (the latter can be another source of income); 7) Don’t live above your means (what happens when you put yourself in a financial pit? Who will bring you out?); 8) You’re not entitled to anyone’s money (if they give you, great; if not, that’s okay, too); 9) Diversify your source of income (investments, businesses, side hustles (as well as your side hustle is not yahoo yahoo, go for it); and most importantly, 10) You cannot solve everybody’s financial problems (is your name Jeff Bezos?).
Chief Daddy (2018)
The plot
If there is one movie that truly showcases the middle-class Nigerian’s consumerist culture, it is Chief Daddy. After the death of the billionaire industrialist ‘Chief Daddy’ (played by Taiwo Obileye), his family (both immediate and extended), mistresses, and household staff find that they can no longer continue living the contextually lavish and flamboyant lives they were used to through the courtesy of Chief Daddy.
The lesson
Most of the movie is dedicated to the planning and execution of Chief Daddy’s funeral and the comedic emphasis on the chaotic dynamics between the many people he considered family. It is only at the end of the movie that his will is finally read. He has allocated properties and hundreds of millions of naira to his family members, shares in the family business, with his household staff getting very generous renumerations as well. Unfortunately, the family’s celebration is short-lived, as the family company is going public; no money can go out of the company until the IPO (International Proposed Organization) is completed. The family is once again left devasted – and broke. And in the midst of all this, yet another Chief Daddy dependant appears at the door.
Like The Smart Money Woman, this movie teaches us about the importance of financial independence. What happens when your primary benefactor suddenly dies? Can you afford the life you are currently living, or are you going to have to sell your valuables to afford your day-to-day needs like rent, food, and electricity bills?
Day of Destiny (2021)
The plot
Day of Destiny is about two brothers Chidi (Olumide Oworu) and Rotimi (Denola Grey) who are unhappy – the former even angry – about their family’s financial woes. They get the chance to travel back 20 years to change their reality, but they come back to the most unfamiliar future.
The lesson
At the end of the movie, when the brothers come back to their initial reality, the father (Norbert Young) tells Chidi: “We’re not exactly poor. We just had to sacrifice a lot of comfort so that you and your brother and your sister will have a better life.” This movie teaches us that while the all-too-familiar Nigerian saying goes “live within your means”, what we should really be doing is living below our means and spending less than we actually can. This way, we can save for a better future and have funds for unexpected emergencies.
Sugar rush (2019)
The plot
Three sisters Bola Sugar (Bimbo Ademoye), Sola Sugar (Bisola Aiyeola) and Susie Sugar (Adesua Etomi-Wellington) accidently discover $800,000. Yes, one can just stumble upon eight hundred thousand dollars in a Nigerian movie – it’s just another Saturday night. They use the money to make their lives better – buying a mansion, luxury cars, designer clothes and accessories, throwing parties, etc. But amid of the extravagance, they become a subject of interest to the Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) while being chased by the alleged owners of the money.
The lesson
This movie is essentially for the people who said “he shouldn’t have been that loud” when Hush Puppy was arrested in 2020 – because the problem was never that he was an influencer; it was that he was an international fraudster. In the story of these three sisters, Sola is the fraudster who wants to live the “baby girl” lifestyle with money she has not earned; Bola wants to live a fake life on Instagram; and Susie is most concerned about getting money to pay for her mother’s cancer treatment. Nevertheless, the reason – no matter how noble Susie’s is – behind stealing the money is hardly the problem. Unfortunately for them, the money gets stolen from them, they were caught on camera, their mother gets held hostage by a mafia group who came for the money; they also get abducted at a point. All in all, the endless series of unfortunate events started with them taking money that was not theirs to take. So, the morale of this movie – in case all other cautions have fallen unto deaf ears – is that one must not steal.
Quam’s Money (2020)
The plot
Speaking of not being a loud spender, Quam (Folarin Falana AKA Falz) returns in this sequel to 2018 New Money. Quam, AKA “Sweet Boy Q”, is a security guard-turned-millionaire cryptocurrency expert who has no idea how to navigate this new world he has found himself in. So, he decides to live it to the fullest, splurge on a luxurious lifestyle and live like there is no tomorrow. Until he meets a girl.
The lesson
While investments are important, it is even more important to understand what you’re investing in. Quam gets swindled of the 500 million Naira (people just have this kind of money in Nollywood) he thought he was investing. But what exactly did he think he was investing in? From hearing “10 times the money” … “international investments” … “a deal in Gabon”, Quam is ready to “invest my capital in your ventures.” When he hears “this kind of deal” is 100 billion naira a slot and that “these types of deals are not just for anybody”, Sweet Boy Q is insulted and now determined to get on the deal no matter what. After negotiating to 500 million Naira, he loses all his money in the clever ruse by the The Tripple B (AKA Borrow Borrow Boys) fraudsters and spends most of the movie trying to get it back. So, lesson from this movie: know what you’re investing in, don’t be like Quam.
Nollywood movies are funny, interesting and when they aren’t speaking about hundreds of thousands of dollars in this Buhari economy, relatable. Most importantly, the movies reflect our society – the housewife who doesn’t see the need to work, the flamboyant benefactor sponsoring everyone’s lifestyle, the teenager who is ashamed of his parents’ financial situation, and the coming-into-new-money gang that spends loudly and recklessly. In all of these characters are clear-cut questions: Where do you get your money from, and how do you spend it?