Let’s be honest, old Nollywood gave us all so much life. And when placed side by side with new Nollywood, I think old Nollywood might take the cake. Movies and shows from Nollywood back then did what needed to be done by giving us interesting characters, dramatic storylines that made sense and the writing wasn’t bad.
If like us, you think old Nollywood is where it is at and fancy a trip down memory lane, this article is for you.
- Papa Ajasco and Company
Can we write about shows from the 90s and early 2000s without starting with Papa Ajasco and Company? This show was in every way a phenomenon. The characters were so well defined that multiple actors played them over the years and it didn’t feel off. Can we also talk about the fashion choices these characters made and how iconic it all was? Papa Ajasco was wearing a wrapper, long-sleeved shirt with a tie, Boy Alinco’s glasses still have me confused but not as much as him wearing suspenders with skinny jeans. I could keep going on but you get the point.
2. SuperStory
SuperStory wasn’t a show, it was an event. Our days then went like this: come back from school, shower, eat, do assignments, turn on the generator and watch Superstory. I don’t think any show has had that kind of power since then.
3. Binta and Friends
When I say they don’t make them like this anymore, I mean it. Have you recently come across a Nollywood lighthearted show that explored life at a Nigerian secondary school? I am willing to be that the answer is no. However, back in the day, we had Binta and Friends and it was everything. The kids these days are missing out, to be honest.
4. This Life
First of all, This Life’s opening theme is so damn good. I have no idea why the people who sang it decided to go off the way they did but I am glad they did. This Life was a bit sadder and more sombre than most of the shows on this list but boy was it a good show. And that intro with the father telling his son to trust him and jump down, then the father proceeds to let his son was so damn traumatizing.
5. Fuji House of Commotion
If chaos was a show, it would be Fuji House of Commotion. I think the premise of the show – exploring the life of a polyamorous man and his many wives and many children and the chaos that ensues – is very original and so Nigerian and it makes me wish we had more like it today. Fuji House of Commotion left everyone cackling from beginning to end and that is what I call a good show.
