Art imitates real life in ‘Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos’

The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos, which premiered on September 7, 2024, at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is directed by the Agbajowo Collective (Mathew Cerf, James Tayler, Bisola Akinmuyiwa, Samuel Okechuklwu, Temitope Ogungbamila, Tina Edukpo, and Elijah Atikpo).

The film follows the story of Jawu (Temiloluwa Ami-Williams), a single mother to a young son Daniel (Kachi Okechukwu). Mother and son are struggling to make ends meet in the waterfront community of Agbojedo which is under threat of forced evictions and demolition from the state government. Residents are routinely harassed by thugs hired by politicians.

As far as the government is concerned, Agbojedo, even though surrounded by plush upscale houses, is a slum and an eyesore to the rest of its highbrow environment.

Soon enough, the bulldozers and thugs move in to “clear” the slum which catches many unawares including Jawu because most times, the notice is usually short plus relocating these residents isn’t always part of the plan. Anyhow in the ensuing confusion from the commotion brought on by the thugs and bulldozers, Daniel goes missing.

However, before this, Jawu has discovered and retrieved a ‘Ghana Must Go’ bag of dollars hidden by the corrupt local politician Abisoro (Debo ‘Mr. Macaroni’ Adedayo) who gives the best performance I’ve seen of him. For a poor food seller barely making ends meet, Jawu doesn’t immediately run away from her community which would have been understandable.

Although she does have short period of dressing up, where she runs into the glamorous Happiness (Teniola Aladese) who just happens to be Abisoro’s mistress. Jawu doesn’t get sucked into that life, but this isn’t why she is the vagabond queen of Lagos. On account of the movie title, I was expecting her character to charge out like an avenging superhero, but it’s related and unrelated events which would push her to live up to the warrior mark on her body.

Being chased by Abisoro’s thugs on one hand, searching for her missing son, seeing the suffering around her, all combine to bring out the vagabond queen who would be in the forefront of her community’s resistance against the government and corrupt politicians.

Many things stand out in The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos. For one, the film portrays a certain sense of urgency which heightens the seriousness of the issues. This shows in the musical arrangement which I liked. The film has all drama, mystery, suspense and some action. But the biggest strength of The Legend of the Vagabond Queen lies more in its ability to bring real life to the screens than in its telling an out of the world fictional story. This is where advocacy meets activism meets art. The film’s fictional waterfront settlement Agbojedo is tailored after a real community Otodo Gbame, a fishing settlement in the Lekki area of Lagos Island which was destroyed in 2017, partly by a fire and partly by government.

According to Amnesty International, in the report “Nigeria: The human cost of a megacity: Forced evictions of the urban poor in Lagos,” the Otodo Gbame forced evictions and attacks which began in 2016 through 2017 left 11 dead and more than 30, 000 people homeless.

All of Otodo Gbame and similar evictions/ demolitions are inserted in the film. We hear the threatening words of various government officials, all of which add to the film’s intensity and its ability to humanize victims of these evictions. It helps that some of the film’s crew have experienced forced evictions firsthand in Otodo Gbame.  The film which has the audience engaged ends with data about the various evictions and demolitions across Nigeria and other parts of the world.

The Legend of the Vagabond Queen is an important film especially because it centres the victims and forces us all to see them as real people instead of being seen as faceless illegal occupants.

The other reason we need more films like The Legend of the Vagabond Queen is that forced evictions and demolitions are unrelenting. From Lagos to Abuja, the demolitions have only intensified. Earlier this month, demolitions were carried out in Abuja destroying and razing several settlements dubbed shanty towns by the capital territory officials and according to the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, this is going to continue.

Meanwhile, in a bitter twist of fate, as the Toronto International Film Festival was wrapping up on September 14, 2024, a day after the last screening of The Legend of the Vagabond Queen at TIFF, news came that some if its cast would be affected by impending demolitions in Lagos.

In a joint statement from various NGOs including two of the film’s producers: Justice & Empowerment Initiatives and the Nigerian Slum / Informal Settlement Federation: “On Saturday, 14 September 2024, the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) announced on social media that it was commencing the “clearing of shanties” in the sawmilling waterfront community of Oko Baba.

The same day, residents saw their homes and workplaces lit on fire, evicting thousands, while the media carried the story of a “fire outbreak” in the area. A day later, on the public holiday celebrating the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday, the neighboring community of Ayetoro, reportedly the first Ilaje settlement in Lagos dating back to 1912, was caught unawares as the demolition squad began destroying homes without notice.”

Now, will the new vagabond kings and queens stand up?