The Nigerian human-trafficking drama Oloture made quite an impact back in 2019 when it was released on Netflix. The story ended on a cliffhanger, and a follow-up was certainly due, and we finally have one. But before going into Oloture: The Journey, you might need a recap of what has happened so far. In this article, we’re just going to provide you with that, along with what we thought about the film. In case you feel like giving it a rewatch before starting the next chapter, you can always stream it on Netflix.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happened in the Film?
The story opens at a Nigerian brothel in the center of Lagos. Sex-worker Ehi flees from a drunk customer without even getting paid, which makes everyone surprised and her boss, a middle-aged woman, angry. It is soon revealed that Ehi is actually a journalist from The Scoop who’s working deep undercover in order to get a story about women’s trafficking. We meet Ehi’s editor, Emeka, who shares his concern about her well-being, but she asks him not to worry. There’s this old-school pimp named Chuck who hangs around the brothel. Chuck appears to be an absolute piece of human garbage who continues to abuse Blessing, the only girl he has left. When Ehi suggests Blessing leave Chuck, he gets mad and threatens Ehi to not interfere in his business.
Meanwhile, Ehi gets to know about this aunty called Alero, a trafficker who sends these Nigerian girls to Europe. Ehi approaches Alero and gets invited to a big party with the big-ticket politicians in the country. Linda also gets invited, along with a few other girls. Despite thinking she would be able to handle things without getting hurt, Ehi gets drugged and eventually raped by this minister, Sir Phillip. Devastated and terrified to the core, she still decides to continue the work. She doesn’t tell Emeka about the incident either, despite him repeatedly asking what happened. Ehi tries consulting Chuck about doing something for the minister, but Chuck appears to be of no use. After finally gathering some courage, Blessing attempts to leave Chuck by trying to get under Alero’s wing. Unfortunately, she gets rejected by Alero, and when Chuck gets to know about it, he beats her black and blue.
It turns out that Alero has to get the help of the Nigerian mafia to send the girls to Europe. If you thought Chuck was bad, then these guys are a million times worse than him. As the mafia asked for fifteen girls and Alero had fourteen available, Linda gets the opportunity to rope in her sister Beauty. It also helped that the mafia specifically asked for a virgin, and Beauty is one, having no prior experience at this job. All the women, including Ehi, are taken to a secret location near the border for what I consider a sort of orientation. This mafia guy named Victor is running the show there, and you can tell from the get-go that this is by far the worst human being in this movie so far. Victor is rude as hell, and he misbehaves with all the girls like it’s a very normal thing. He searches the belongings of everyone, mainly to take away the phones. The girls are divided into different groups by him. Linda objects to Beauty getting into Group A and her getting into Group B, but Victor is obviously not going to listen to any complaint.
Right before leaving, Ehi had left a report about what had happened so far for Emeka. Upon finally knowing the truth, Emeka rushes to the brothel, but Ehi has already left by then. However, Ehi does manage to call Emeka (with a phone she clearly managed to hide from Victor and company) and let him know about her location. She also mentions that they’re about to get trafficked to Europe. Without wasting any time, Emeka goes to the police. But unfortunately, there’s no manpower available, so he has to wait for the dawn of the next day for something to happen. He goes to see the minister and lets him know that he will be coming for him, now that he knows what a terrible piece of garbage he is.
At the integration house, Linda convinces Ehi to give her the hidden mobile phone so that she can make a call to her mother and let her know that Beauty and her are okay. That proves to be fatal for Linda, as Victor finds out and brutally murders her in front of everyone without any hesitation. He also fast-tracks the journey and decides to leave right away. By the time the police and Emeka reach there, Victor has already left with the girls. When the bus stops near the border, Ehi and Beauty try to escape. Ehi gets caught, and Beauty escapes. Emeka reaches there and sees a frightened Beauty running past him. For Ehi, though, it’s all dark now, as she is now forced to get back into the bus. The film ends there, but Ehi’s journey in hell continues. Ehi’s real name happens to be Oloture, by the way, which means endurance. There couldn’t have been a more fitting name for the lead character of this story, after all.
Our Thoughts
If you’re familiar with Nollywood, then you know that the films there focus more on the story and less on aesthetics and technicalities. Oloture is no exception to that. It has a gritty, heartbreaking story that is told in a straightforward manner. The acting is decent, but there’s not much cinematic flair in it. That’s why the viewing experience of it is quite jarring for the audience. However, once you get invested in the story, you’ve got to find out what happens in the end. That’s your main reason to watch Oloture and its sequel. But since this film was made five years ago and the Nigerian film industry has come far, I am expecting the creators to take a slightly more polished approach for the sequel series. It will only benefit the story, and I wouldn’t take anything away from it.
