‘Movement-Japa’ Première: Soul Brother

The new TV series from Zuri24 Media ‘Movement-Japa’ premiered last Monday on Africa Magic Showcase. A production of illustrious filmmaker Femi Odugbemi, ‘Movement-Japa’ centres on the travails of Nigerian youths as they fight for survival in a society riddled with institutional deficiencies.

Airing weekly, we meet our lead characters Shina and Osas played by Gideon Okeke and Sambasa Nzeribe in the first few minutes of episode one. Shina lives in a slum with his aged sick mother and a sister. He is also a hustler who engages in any kind of job to foot the medical bills of his mother. Shina considers himself a musician so whenever there is a slot for a recording session without the knowledge of the Hitman Studio owner, he jumps on it. Despite his attempts to find a stable source of livelihood, Shina is always caught in one trouble or the other.

Osas on the other hand is a security guard. He does his job diligently and even saved a politician’s life when an intruder attempted to stab him at a rally. But even with his good deeds, Osas is not as rich as he wishes and sometimes depends on the generosity of his girlfriend Mimi (Okawa Shaznay).

Shina and Osas’ worlds collide when Shina sold a fake phone to Mimi. Furious, Osas stormed the shop where Mimi bought the phone only to be told that Shina was just a hustler in the market. One of the boys who saw Shina leaving told him to head to Hitman Studio.

On sighting Mimi, Shina who was about to leave the studio fled with the speed of light. The action sequence in this scene sets the tone of the series — gripping and adrenaline-filled — and was brilliantly shot. Osas chases Shina through a warren of muddied side streets, knocked down once by the witty Shina who eventually escaped Osas wrath by hiding in the boot of a van.

Disappointed, Osas rushes back to the phone seller’s shop and insists on getting a new phone. When the owner refuses, he resorts to violence and forcefully takes a phone. Shortly, he was arrested by a police officer for his actions.

Meanwhile, Shina is also in a bad situation. Unknown to him, the van belongs to a drug baron and on discovering him, believes he is an informant from the anti-drug agency. He commands his boys to kill Shina. While pleading passionately for his life, Shina’s backstory is revealed. He is a returnee from Libya whose mother sold everything she had to secure his release back to Nigeria. He was among Nigerian immigrants who were arrested in Libya. Luckily for him, the drug baron had a brother with a similar experience. His life is spared but the respite was too short for he was picked up by the police for disobeying the curfew.

While in prison, Osas is framed as one of the kidnappers who killed a certain Senator. His girlfriend tries desperately to secure his release, even seeking the help of the senator whose life he saved earlier. Although he initially ignored her, he, however, facilitated Osas’ release. While waiting for her boyfriend, Mimi sees Shina being taken to another cell. She would later mention it to Osas who shrugged that it was Karma paying him back but was reminded by his mother’s advice to always help someone in need.

It was while defending Shina that he realised that they were both in Libya. Through a flashback, it was revealed that Osas and Shina were captives in Libya and shared a brotherly bond.

The episode captures the trials youths often face in their struggles of survival. In Shina’s case, it was about getting the drugs for his sick mother which led him to a petty crime while in Osas’ case, a fight for justice landed him in a police net.

But being responsible for each other’s ordeal with the police, how will they fare now that they found each other?

‘Movement-Japa’ is also available on Showmax.