How Lagos Won The Rights To Nigeria’s First-Ever Crime And Justice Series
“If you are not smart in Lagos, you can never be smart anywhere else in the world” has become a loosely-adapted saying people in the city say to convince others about the enigma of Lagos. But Lagos needs no conviction because visitors testify to its aura. Everything and everybody is on the move and you need to keep up with the flow or find yourself by the curbside. Eko Ile Ogbon (the city of the smart). Lagos has shaped the destiny of millions of Nigerians. From its highbrow Ikoyi and Eko Atlantic City to its famous ghettos like Ajegunle which is located in Ajeromi-Ifelodun local government which has birthed famous Nigerians like the musician, Daddy Showkey and well-known footballers Odion Ighalo, Taribo West, Emmanuel Amunike and Samson Siasia.
Despite being the smallest state in the country, it is the most populated with an estimated population of more than 20 million. Interestingly, less than a million people lived there before 1960.
Considered the London and New York of Nigeria, the city has always had a special status. It was designated as a separate colony during the colonial period and was the capital of Nigeria until 1991 when the capital was moved to Abuja. It remains the main financial and entertainment nerve centre of the country.
There is a reason Lagos is called the city that never sleeps. Like clockwork, the city runs all day long. When some people are bidding their neighbours goodnight, others are rising to go about their daily (or nightly) business. Embedded in its fabric is a can-do spirit and a hope that beckons to those who live outside of it to try their fortune there because it is a city that rewards effort and many success stories have been written of people who walked in with little and hustled their way to the top.
Eko Aromisa legbelegbe (a city of aquatic splendor). People say you have to be smart because it is a city that consumes those who cannot think fast. Everyone seems to be in a game to outwit the next person. As some will say, only the fittest can survive it.
Lying in the underbelly of the city unsurprisingly is its crime syndicate, a common feature of major cosmopolitan cities globally Its shiny light attracts both the hardworking dreamer and the men of the underworld.
The allure of Lagos is undoubtedly what made the city win the rights to Nigeria’s first-ever Crime and Justice series which premiered on Showmax on December 8. The popular award-winning hit crime drama series which birthed in Kenya last year got a Nigerian iteration but this time around, Lagos stands out as a city suitable enough to offer all the drama and intrigues needed for a successful series.
Crime and Justice series is a police procedural involving detectives tasked with the responsibilities of keeping the city safe as they engage in intriguing police work to bust criminal rings and unravel who committed what crime.
As Busola Tejumola, the Executive Head of Content and West Africa Channels at MultiChoice Nigeria puts it, “We’ve created a crime series that captures the pulse of the city – from its glitzy clubs to its grimy ghettos – through the lens of law enforcement agents tasked with keeping its citizens safe.”
So Why Lagos and not Nigeria as in the case of Kenya? Because Lagos is like a kaleidoscope of several worlds put together and one can almost find a replica of every other place in the city which makes it a perfect fit for this show. Lagos has also had a history of successfully hosting series and reality shows in the past that have become viewers’ favourites.
In April 2022, the Real Housewives of Lagos premiered on Showmax to rave reviews. The spin-off from The Real Housewives franchise was the third in Africa after the Johannesburg and Durban editions and lived up to the hype of Lagos being the city of glitz and glamour. The reality TV show chronicles the lives of six powerful and influential women in Lagos and provides a peek into the glamorous world of elite ladies as they navigate through life. It broke the record for the most first-day views on Showmax Nigeria, trending at No.1 in Nigeria and South Africa.
In the same breath, it has been the only state to host the widely loved Big Brother Naija, the biggest reality TV show in Africa and the most-followed non-sporting event in Africa. Lagos has lived up to its expectation as the entertainment capital of Nigeria providing its own fair share of support in carrying Nollywood, the second-biggest movie industry in the world.
There is a reason Lagos features prominently in Nigeria’s story. It has been a melting pot for many Nigerians and a lot of people consider it home. It represents the tenacity of the Nigerian spirit and has been a recurring motif in Nigerian arts and entertainment. As Nigerian music continues to gain global acceptance, many of the artistes make reference to Lagos as the city where they honed in on their craft to actualise their dreams
Crime and Justice Lagos doesn’t tell just any kind of story. It is a reflection of the stories of ordinary people and their realities and could not have been set elsewhere apart from Lagos. It is intriguing in the sense that it perfectly captures the chaotic orderliness of the city and its people who navigate their lives through it. The story captures the different emotions of people from courage to greed and offers hope for the kind of policing system many desire.
