Naija na cruise

I have been inundated with requests for the continuation of last week’s banter. Many readers believe that the list of news stories from Nigeria that can become good premise for movies is inexhaustible. Well, as a man of the people and also due to popular demand, I have decided to bring to the fore some of them. So, your wish this week is my command, after all, news is not only about public interest, but what interest the public.

First news story: “DPO loses gun after alleged office sex, detains lover.” Now, before you begin to wonder if this is a figment of my imagination, make Google your friend and you will see that this is not fiction. According to the report, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) accused his lover of stealing his service pistol after a romp in the office. Let’s cut to the chase and go straight to our movie premise for this story.

A gang of women traumatised by heartbreak seeks out revenge against lovers who jilted them. The DPO’s lover is the leader of the gang who are determined to get even. To achieve their mission they deploy extreme tactics and elaborate schemes.

News about the shenanigans of the married housemate and one of the fellas in the Big Brother Nigeria House occupied the front burner of discourse in many pubs, offices, bedrooms and the busy streets of social media, so, here is the premise:

A happily married couple’ finances takes a nosedive because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019 B.C (B.C stands for Before Corona), the couple, who had a thriving real estate company, borrowed 90 million from a Nigerian bank to fund a new turnkey property project. Things took a turn for the worse following the pandemic.

In a desperate effort to save the project, the husband agreed that the wife should participate in a reality show where anything can happen between consenting adults. Their marriage is put in turmoil and plan in jeopardy when the wife falls in love with one of the participants.

During the week, it was reported that court officials allegedly looted N345M inheritance deposits in Kano. According to the story, the stolen money is part of pending inheritance cases. Grab your popcorn and a fizzy drink if you are not like Ronaldo, as we work on the premise together.

A wealthy businessman suddenly passes away; leaving his two wives and eight children with an inheritance that threatens to destroy the unity of the family, unravel a secret that will tarnish the good name and legacy of their beloved patriarch. To stop the expose, they must hand over the sum of N300M to a blackmailer. The businessman’s first son who coincidentally is a court official decides to save the day.

Governor’s son reports mom to anti-graft agency for allegedly defrauding him. According to the news report, the son was approached by a property developer to help facilitate the acquisition of some plots of land in the state governed by his father. Son was paid hefty sum of money as facilitation fee; he paid the dollar component of the fee to his mother. But months after the payment, the property developer discovered that the plots of land he wanted and paid for had been allocated to other buyers and now he wants a refund.

Okay, this is a tough one but a good screenplay can be written from it. Let’s start with a premise to drive the plot. What if the mother before the transaction discovered that the boy is not her biological son; he was switched at birth. In her search for her real son, she found out that the property developer is actually her biological son.

Now there is another news story that will make a very good screenplay but I really don’t think I want to do a premise for this one. It is the story about robbers who stole a case file from a member of a prosecution team. I know you want to see a premise that will drive the story, but I don’t want to enter “one chance.’’ Enjoy your weekend.