Thursday, July 23, 2026

‘Shanty Town’ echoes Bola Tinubu’s life as RMD plays notorious drug lord with influence over Lagos, national politics

From costumes to double entendres, Netflix’s latest series portrayed a jarring imitation of the country’s frontline presidential candidate in the upcoming general election. 

• January 22, 2023
Bola Tinubu and Richard Mofedamijo
Bola Tinubu and Richard Mofedamijo

Resonating Chidi Mokeme, the newly released blockbuster Netflix series ‘Shanty Town’ has dominated the mind of viewers with its unique storyline and extreme exhibition of drugs, avarice, nudity, and undiluted street lingo.

The series released this weekend followed the plight of hapless sex workers in a ghetto characterised by the exploits of drug dealing, bootlegging and prostitution — all under the grips of fetish, two-faced politicians on a quest to achieve power notwithstanding the price.

The series undoubtedly narrates a very relatable storyline for most Nigerians.

For one, and perhaps most apparent message from the raving show, actor Richard Mofe-Damijo played a power-driven drug cartel boss and human trafficker running for election. His moniker Chief Dacosta Oluyomi Fernandez sought control of the streets with his ill-gotten fortune, first controlling a crucial section of his domain before seeking an outright takeover.

In episode two, Chief Fernandez, whose signature cap and pair of glasses cannot be mistaken. bragged that he had control of a large chunk of Lagos and was prepared to take over the entire city.

His role, a satire of sorts at a time Nigeria is preparing for a general election, bored of snippets of Bola Tinubu’s life as a powerful Lagos politician with documented history of drug dealing, thuggery, public corruption and fierce racketeering. Mr Tinubu has been in control of Lagos for decades, and is now seeking to take over Nigeria as a leading candidate in the presidential election due next month.

Mr Tinubu has continued to deny all wrongdoings, and federal authorities have been reluctant to move against him on the account of his friendship with President Muhammadu Buhari.

As a production, ‘Shanty Town’ cinematography was well received across the country. Unlike many plays that were knocked recently for unforced sloppiness, the crime series effortlessly displayed the extent of violence using convincing explosives, gun fights and other reels to obscure disturbing scenes.

Still, the movie has been criticised for containing some poorly executed scenes, while some others were seen as just unnecessarily drawn-out.

The movie also fell short in diversity among its prostitute cast members. Following the storyline narrating the nightmare of low-class prostitutes in the hood struggling to pay off their pimp, it was deemed illogical that most of the cast members had surgically enhanced bodies that should ordinarily be beyond the reach of actual low-class struggling prostitutes. Other similar inconsistencies were also noticed in the movie.

The cast was, however, richly packed, resonating old time Chidi Mokeme and featuring other talented actors like Ini Edo, Nse Ikpe-Etim, Uche Jombo, Nancy Isime, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Shaffy Bello, Zubby Michael, Mercy Eke, Ali Nuhu, Toyin Abraham and others. The cast came through with individual roles.

Chidi Mokeme delivered an outstanding performance in the series, playing the role of  vicious drug lord pimp ‘Scar’ who was the star of the series.

‘Shanty Town’ is seen as an outstanding production that nonetheless failed to pay attention to a slew of ingredients, starting with the background story and its connection to unraveling events in the series. So many questions evolved and were unfortunately unanswered at the end.

The first season of the series was released on January 20. It’s yet unknown if there would be a season two or when it would be released.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

House of Representatives

Hot news Home top

311 Reps vote for passage of state police bill

Mr Tajuddeen said 276 lawmakers voted physically while 35 voted virtually, bringing the number to 311, which formed a two-thirds majority.

SEC DG Lamido Yuguda

Economy

Senate confirms Lamido Yuguda as AMCON board chairman

Mr Yuguda’s confirmation followed presentation and adoption of the report of the Senate committee on banking, insurance and other financial institutions.

Waidi Shaibu

World

UN Security Council reform vital to global peace, says COAS

He stated that it is through reforms that the UNSC can remain legitimate and guarantee equitable and fair representation,” he said.

Mudashiru Obasa

Lagos

Lagos assembly confirms three local govt service commission nominees, defers two

Lagos State House of Assembly confirmed three nominees for appointment to the Local Government Service Commission.

Nigerian Army logo

Heading 4

Tinubu approves expansion of army to 12 divisions

Mr Tinubu also approved the recruitment of 28,000 army personnel to strengthen national security.

Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway

Economy

FG profiles Lagos-Calabar coastal road guards, installs trackers on motorcycles

Mr Dare said the initiative became necessary following repeated vandalism of facilities installed on the highway.