Growing up in a noisy suburban area characterized by bustling streets, that are interlaced with residential and commercial spaces, the Ikorodu Bois have proven that Nigeria Cinema has a great chance at producing epic blockbuster movies.
Ikorodu Bois is a group consisting of three brothers, Babatunde Sanni, Muiz Sanni, Maleek Sanni, and their cousin, Fawas Aina. Together, they make impressive recreations of popular movie trailers, music videos, and other viral content making use of low-budget props, basic household materials, and homemade special effects.
The eldest of them, Babatunde Sanni, who is also their producer, in an interview with CNN spoke of how they started.
“I felt like ‘these things we are doing in our house, why don’t we start putting them online? Our house is like a comedy house; we play too much”
Recently receiving praise from Chris Hemsworth for their trailer recreation of the newly released Extraction 2, since 2019, the Ikorodu Bois have garnered notable recognitions from various celebrities such as Tyler Perry for the recreation of his Madea Movie, Idris Elba for his movie, Beast, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Will Smith and several others.
What sets the Ikorodu Bois apart is their ability to capture the essence of the original content they recreate with the resources at their disposal. The Ikorodu Bois’ resourcefulness and excellent attention to details is something young people in Nigeria should learn from.
These stars have shown that instead of resorting to extreme measures to “japa” from Nigeria, it could be more profitable to channel one’s skills creatively and explore alternative paths, refusing to give up due to limited resources. The Ikorodu Bois serve as a powerful testament to the fact that with dedication and persistence in pursuing even seemingly trivial endeavors, countless opportunities can arise, attracting attention regardless of one’s location.
