Lani Aisida: As “Rumour Has It” Ends, the King of Web Series Speaks

The third season of the popular web series Rumour Has It aired its last episode this past Friday, 27 August. Lani Aisida, a chartered accountant turned screenwriter, wrote all 10 episodes, and has been the recipient of immense praise—but also complaints as some viewers have been unhappy with one character’s fate. Besides his work on RHI3, Aisida has written, co-written or created Skinny Girl in Transit, Phases, and Oga Pastor. Oris Aigbokhaevbolo caught up with Nigeria’s King of Web Series and these are excerpts:

How familiar are you with your online popularity as Rumour Has It season 3 comes to an end? There are people who missed the first two seasons and are checking them out solely because of season 3.

I have been blown away. But there is always that thought that can we do better. Yes, I wrote it, but as you know, it takes a village. Director, actors and production team. I hope the next project is even better but honestly, the response to this season gives me so much joy. I have been writing for about 7 years, but this is the first time that viewers have slid into my DMs with queries. “So, you are the one that is giving me high BP”, “you better resurrect Nnenna” and many more comments. I am learning to compartmentalise my life so I can enjoy my private life and interact with the fans as well.

You are quite likely the most in-demand web series writer. What does it take to be Lani Aisida, king of Nigeria’s web series?

Being me isn’t so difficult. It takes creativity, focus and discipline. I am the quietest person in the room but I’m usually people watching and thinking of adapting things into stories. It’s both easy and not easy to be Lani.

RHI has had some famous writers since its first season years ago. Could you talk about how it came to be that it is you who got to handle the writing for this third season?

A couple of years ago, Ndani contacted me to work on Season 2. I co-wrote it with Temitope Salu. They wanted to write this season and asked me to come up with a story. I pitched the story and they loved it. It was challenging to write the entire season alone, but the outcome is superb.

Some people believe web series are doing better than parts of big screen Nollywood. Do you agree? And why is that the case? Is it budget related?

For me, with a low or high budget, big or small screen, the goal is to entertain, inform and engage the viewer. I’m very big on strong stories. Cinemas have suffered because of covid, so more people are drawn to the small screen. YouTube is a free platform and hey, people like free things. But the challenge is the same: Give great content. It is what I try to do.

What is your process? I imagine there are different processes for a series you didn’t create and for those you did create?

The biggest thing is immersing myself in the story world. Letting the characters use me to tell the story rather than force a story through them. Obviously, it is easier with a show I create because I am the god of that world. With shows I do not create, where possible, I speak with the creator so I can understand the vision. Then I put pen to paper (or fingers to a keyboard) to build the characters, the story world, possible scenarios. Interesting dialogue comes to me. Then script and voila!

Of the many interesting characters in Rumour Has It, which do you think has something of Lani Aisida in them?

[Laughs]. This is a tough one. If I said Deda would that make people wary of me? I’ve read comments about people saying they fear the mind of RHI3’s writer. [Laughs]. So, I will just say none of them and all of them. That is a cheat answer but let me get away with it.

Fair enough. You have worked several times for NdaniTV. They are a creative outfit owned by a corporate entity, an incredibly big bank. How much freedom do you have in crafting storylines?

I hope I am right to say that Ndani TV was one of the pioneers of online TV in Nigeria and the beauty about them is that we view content the same way. In the words of Robert McKee “If a society repeatedly experiences glossy, hollowed-out pseudo-stories, it degenerates. We need satires and tragedies, dramas and comedies, which shine a clean light into the dingy corners of the human psyche and society”. Ndani and I agree with McKee and it’s a pleasure.

It is probably harder now to break into the web series sub-industry now. For anyone looking to do so as a writer, what would you offer as advice and as step-by-step guide?

I tell younger writers to focus on the one thing you have absolute control over. You. Improve yourself, write, read books, write, read scripts, write, watch Nigerian and foreign content, write the bad writing out of your system. Write without being commissioned. Create shows. Write the whole season. That is what I did. When you have that one chance to sit in front of a decision maker, hopefully your hard work when no one was looking will stand you in good stead. Most people can tell if you are committed to your craft. Malcolm Gladwell has said you need 10,000 hours.

You are an accountant so you can talk and think money. How lucrative is the web series space for writers?

I actually studied mathematics and statistics in university before becoming a chartered accountant. I don’t want to discourage people but I don’t want to deceive anyone. The web space is growing and there are fewer barriers to entry but I advise everyone to do their own analysis and decide what they want to earn. That is what I did. I offer a class on the business and art of screenwriting and teach writers.

What is else are you working on?

I started a channel on Instagram and Youtube (@africanstoriesuntold) where people share their real-life experiences. We have a series titled ‘My birthing experience’ and ‘Men Don’t Cry’. The former has been successful in helping women and men talk. Some people assume telling our own story means telling a “village story” or even fiction but they are wrong.

I am referred to as the King of Web Series, but we are expanding the Kingdom. I am a story editor on Riona on Africa Magic. I am working on a new show with them. I’m working on a movie and have some web series currently in production that should air later in the year.

· Aigbokhaevbolo is a Lagos-based entertainment writer.

Let’s close on a controversial plot point. Why did you kill Nnenna?

Whoosh. I have seen so many story ideas on how we can bring Nnenna back. #resurrectNnenna was a thing. People cried. People vented and it was/is fulfilling. You want to take the viewers on an emotional journey and the death of Nnenna proved we did do that more than any other event this season. People loved her and Toju’s love. They took it personal. Did I have to kill her? The short answer is yes and the long answer is yes. I didn’t do it for the shock value. It was the story we wanted to tell from the beginning and I had to think of the best way to tell that story. How do I make people fall in love with her before she dies? How can her presence still exist on the show even in death? How can the story progress and its themes be addressed using her death as a plot point? That was it for me. And I think it worked out.

· Aigbokhaevbolo is a Lagos-based entertainment writer