Over the years, Nollywood has given us many characters: the good, the bad, and the seriously ugly. Some are adorably heroic, others downright evil; the villains. And some are somewhat in-between.
In this article, I give you twelve memorable Nollywood characters who stood out in the portrayal of their respective on-screen characters.
Let’s get into it.
Actor: Sola Sobowale
Year of release: 2018
Alhaja Eniola Salami; all hail the King herself! She’s the complicated character you both love and hate.
She is the hero. But she’s also the villain in a system so messed up that you can’t help but root for her. You want her to beat those assholes, especially that double-crossing Aare Akinwande.
The enigmatic Sola Shobowale portrayed this character as old Eniola, and Toni Tones as young Eniola. These two fierce women outdid themselves.
Actor: Funke Akindele
Year of release: 2015
I’m inclined to think that nearly everyone in Nigeria understands ‘Jenifa’s English’. It was such a huge movement, that, at some point, everyone, regardless of social status, would go, ‘a ma see saw’, thanks to one character that kept giving: Jenifa.
At one point or another, you must have heard ‘My name eez Jenifa.’
Brilliantly played by Funke Akindele, Jenifa will make you laugh hysterically at her antics and her penchant for courting trouble in her quest to be a ‘bigz girl’ with her terrible English.
Actor: Aliu Gafar/Muyiwa Ademola
Year of release: 2024
Let’s start with Prince Adeoye, who played the role of Muyiwa Ademola.
Delightfully stupid with a condescending swagger, I loved watching him a little too much. He knew the chiefs were setting him up to fail, yet he fell into their trap twice. I loved that he was loud and obnoxious and had a lot of money to throw around. The greedy chiefs noticed this, and they milked him dry.
The costume designer did a number on him.
His fit was fire!
Esusu, played by newcomer Aliu Gafar, embodied that role so well that I can’t see him the same way after that role. He is the karma that came generations later to torment the offspring of a man who came to him for help.
The beautiful thing about Esusu’s acting is the expressions on his face- he played the wronged deity impressively well, and he wore his entitlement on his face like a mask.
It was beautiful to see.
Actor: Olarotimi Fakunle
Year of release: 2023
In Gangs of Lagos, Kazeem is a villain with no redeeming qualities. As such, it’s difficult to root for him because he is the scum of the earth, even among thugs. He killed the hero’s biological father while also killing his father figure, exposing him and his friends to a life of crime while protecting his daughter from that life.
A bloody hypocrite!
Kazeem uses people. He used almost everybody in the movie for his agenda and killed off those who were useless to him. A self-proclaimed butcher, he displayed an unusual amount of brutality even for butchers; I cannot forget in a hurry how he remorselessly dismembered Debo Macaroni’s character.
This is Olarotimi Fakunle’s best act so far!
Actor: Damilola Mike-Bamiloye
Year of release: 2020
Many of you might not agree with me concerning this character, but it should be added. This character, played by Damilola Mike-Bamiloye of MZFM fame, defined the saying one with God is a majority.
This is one character with many powerful enemies, including his father, who is the grand master of the denizens of the underworld, who, in turn, want him dead at all costs. But Martins is still living and thriving.
Like a cockroach.
There was nothing they didn’t do. They came at him physically and spiritually, sending assassins, the police, thugs, and even his student to seduce him. But the guy is just unkillable.
At a point, I was like, ‘can’t you people rest?’
Actor: Kunle Afolayan/Demola Adedoyin
Year of release: 2014
Two brilliant village boys, Agbekoya and Aderopo, had a white missionary take them under his wing and enrol them in a prestigious school during colonial times. Two village boys, sodomized every night by the same priest who took them under his wing and far away from their village.
Agbekoya, played by Kunle Afolayan, runs back home to become a pariah in the village. Aderopo, on the other hand, endures several years of abuse by this priest until Agbekoya kills him. Aderopo becomes a serial rapist and killer and comes back to the village to make them all see and feel the full extent of his wrath, all the while rocking some insane 60’s fashion.
Actor: Chidi Mokeme
Year of release: 2023
Casting Chidi Mokeme in Shanty Town is a brilliant choice. Because Chidi Mokeme is a beautiful man, he was still very handsome even with all those alterations on his body (he shaved his head, and makeup had a field day making his ‘scars’). And he had such an intimidating presence that people peed in their pants at the sight of his face.
If that’s not what you are looking for in your villain, I don’t know again!
Scar controls the prostitutes with an iron fist. He is no subtle. He has no finesse. If you mess with him, he ruthlessly kills you. Just ask Mercy Eke’s character.
Chidi Mokeme is Scar; Scar is Chidi Mokeme. The man himself admitted that he found it hard to discard the character after filming.
Actor: Femi Adebayo
Year of release: 2023
This entire movie is centred on war and the art of annihilating your enemies. And Ogundiji is sitting pretty inside this concept with his Jon Snow costumes.
The arrival of Gbotija has rattled him into paranoia. But, admitting that Gbotija is the heir to his School of the Art of War means he has to take a back seat someday. However, not admitting it is counter-productive because Gbotija is his best student.
And that was why Ogundiji decided to wickedly test Gbotija for the sadistic reason of one-upping him. Ogundiji, a deeply flawed character, refuses to check his internal excesses, leading him to make some foolish and irrational decisions.
I will say the Warlord suffered from insecurity of varying forms, and he was a weakling and a coward by making the soul of his supposed daughter his killing machine. Yet his insecurities and excesses were brilliantly played, not to be a caricature, but a part of his fully rounded character.
Actor: Nancy Isime/Ini Dima-Okojie
Year of release: 2022
Ladies and gentlemen, I present Nancy Isime as Kemi and Ini Dima-Okojie as Sarah from the Nollywood blockbuster series, Blood Sisters.
Best friends since they can remember, Sarah is engaged to a bad boy who beats her. Kemi kills the offending fiancé on the day of the wedding, before the pair hide the body and carry on with the wedding. With the fiancé’s whereabouts unknown, all evidence somehow points to the two girls.
Kemi is hardcore. I like her, especially the way she chopped the dead fiancé into pieces, took control of the situation, while still consoling Sarah, who, remarkably didn’t stop sweating for the duration of the entire series.
The way they were on the run and used every street-smart technique they could think of was some top-notch acting from Nancy and Ini Dima.
Actor: Mike Afolarin
Year of release: 2022
Mike Afolarin was a newcomer in Nollywood when he took up the role of Ishaya Bello in Far From Home, and he totally killed it.
He played the role of an underprivileged teenager from Isale Eko who finds himself amid snotty high-class teenagers, a goldfish with no hiding place. He beats them at their own game and becomes their drug dealer, using his street knowledge to penetrate their social circles and make the school’s biggest funder’s daughter, Carmen, fall for him.
He also brings excitement to the school with his involvement with Oga Rambo.
But the beautiful thing about Ishaya’s character is his character development. Ishaya starts off as selfish and ambitious, but develops into a guy who becomes accountable for his mistakes.
Actor: Owobo Ogunde
Year of release: 2024
Bashorun, the movie’s anti-hero, becomes increasingly unhinged as the story continues. A conglomerate of different emotions, he is wary of the growing power of Kuranga and angry at the Alaafin and Oyomesi for refusing to invest in more arms and ammunition to crush the resistance once and for all (he is the effing general of the army!).
His frustration at the king, who keeps delaying the marriage between his son Awolaran and the Princess Omowunmi, and his greed at Saro’s talisman and Arolake’s money is palpable.
These emotions eventually ruin him, as he becomes ruthless, burning all his bridges, including Awarun, the only woman he loves.
Owobo Ogunde is foiiiine!
Actor: Ramsey Nouah
Year of release: 2009
Femi is a nerd. Femi is unpredictable. Femi loves Mona with all his heart, but hates Sola, his casanova best friend, with the same consistency.
His obsession with Mona drove him to commit heinous crimes, including manipulations and inflicting bodily harm. He became a sociopath, becoming increasingly convinced that Mona belonged to him, irrespective of whatever anyone said or the circumstances. And he went to extreme lengths to prove that.
His plan? Using the myth of Araromire to manipulate events. But we are not sure at the end if it was really Araromire’s hand or Femi’s manipulations.
Ramsey Nouah embodied this messed-up character so well.
