Join me on a journey into “A Lost Art Form,” a series where we take a trip down memory lane, delve into a world of nostalgia, and re-open conversations about pop culture elements we miss and long to see more of…or not.
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It’s the year 2005, and I’m sitting shoulder to shoulder with my immediate older sister, on the floor in our father’s living room, clutching my mother’s legs. Around the room, I spot my other siblings, my mum, my aunty and about 3 of my neighbours – All focused on my father’s new almost-flat-screen Samsung LED Television. We are watching Obi Callys’ Obinali’s ‘Face of Africa’ and it’s the scene where Rita Dominic’s character wipes her car with the expensive net top Oge Okoye’s character strived and slaved to buy.
I remember how I felt, with my mouth agape and the mixture of shock and wonder in the living room. That moment in film history to my young brain, solidified Rita Dominic and Caroline Danjuma as ‘campus baddies.’ They were icons, and nothing could ever take that from them.
In recent times, as Rita Dominic, Oge Okoye, Nonso Diobi, Ramsey Nouah, Jim Iyke, Genevieve Nnaji, and all other iconic campus queens and kings continue to make their way in the entertainment space in different ways, I sometimes catch myself craving that moment – That era when they took over our screens and claimed our hearts. I guess what I mean to say is…I burn for Nollywood campus movies.
You know why? Because there’s something magical about Nollywood campus movies that transports you straight back to your childhood and early teenage years. You know the ones I’m talking about—the iconic films that made us dream of being the cool, yet hot campus babes and guys with fancy clothes, shoes, maybe cars, and that signature Nollywood style of carrying your books in your arms. They literally held a mirror up to what, growing up, we imagined campus life would be. And for me, it was a dream I couldn’t wait to make a reality. By the time I turned 15, I was ready to step into my Nollywood-inspired fantasy – to be that Nolly babe filled with sass – A real-life glamour girl.
Imagine my shock when I got to university only to realise that sadly, it was nothing like what I saw on screen. First off, I was in medical school—no heels, fancy clothes, and stylishly carrying my textbooks. Instead, I was in my drab corporate uniform, burdened by an oversized backpack stuffed with heavy medical books. The glamorous life I had envisioned was nowhere to be found.
But despite my dashed dreams, those Nollywood campus movies remain ingrained in my memory. They were more than just films; they were events—with story lines that pulled you in and actors that made you believe you could be like them. Glamour Girls 2, for instance, wasn’t a traditional campus movie, but it set the tone for a whole generation of Nollywood queens who oozed confidence and power.
But that was the beauty of these films. They gave us larger-than-life characters and allowed us to immerse ourselves in a world where campus life was both glamorous and dangerous. We had movies that ranged from cult-related stories to both female and male power struggles for who would be the most respected on campus, but we also had simple love stories like ‘A Million Tears’ and ‘Arrested by Love.’
Arrested by Love, which starred Jim Ike and Ebube Nwagbo, was another Nollywood classic that showcased the lover-boy part of Nollywood’s bad boy, Jim Iyke, when he fell in love with a saint of a lady. But the most iconic line it gave us was, “You stink the natural perfume you’ve drowned yourself in!” We can’t deny that old Nollywood had lines for days!
Speaking of lines, in recent times, a Goated campus film, “War Games” has made a comeback on social media and blessed us with memes, Gifs and now-iconic lines; especially from McMorris Ndubueze’s character, ‘Terror the Archangel.’
We can’t talk about War games without noting that Nollywood campus movies did a good job of painting a realistic and holistic image of what university life was like. Using War games as an example, we had the cultists – Nonso Diobu and his clique, the classy babes – Oge Okoye and Mary Remy, and the activists/ political students – Ini Edo’s character.
Those films portrayed the nuance of the university culture so honestly that more than just being for pure entertainment, hidden in them were core lessons. Parents would see these films with their children and make sure to watch them to the end to draw their kids’ ears and remind their kids what would happen if they joined these gangs or behaved like these girls who would leave school for prostitution. Films like Girls Cot or Black Bra even went ahead to portray female cult groups that many people didn’t know existed at the time.
These highly entertaining, yet lesson-embedded films gave birth to Funke Akindele’s Jenifa, with Jenifa playing a completely different kind of campus character—one who wasn’t glamourous but stole our hearts nonetheless. Funke as Jenifa brought humor to the campus scene in a way that no one else had before. While other movies focused on beautiful, poised girls strutting through campus like it was a runway, Jenifa gave us the reverse—a hilarious but lovable underdog who was so desperate to fit in that she made all the wrong choices, thereby giving us more than enough lessons to take home. Akindele’s portrayal of Jenifa became so iconic that it transcended the screen, creating an entire series and multiple spin-offs. Jenifa was a cultural reset, showing us that even campus life could come with a lot of humour and heart. I can’t help but wonder…Was Jenifa the last good campus film Nollywood had?
Fast forward to now, and it’s no wonder that sites like Yung Nollywood and Nollybabes have tapped into our deep-seated nostalgia. They’ve built entire communities around these iconic films, sharing clips, memes, and commentary that remind us why we fell in love with Nollywood in the first place.
We miss those stories. We long for that high drama, that exaggerated glamour and lacklustre cult scenes, that je ne sais quoi that made every campus queen seem like a goddess on screen and every campus guy seem desirable. And that’s why when Kunle Afolayan’s Citation was released, it felt like a breath of fresh air. Finally, a film set on campus! It reminded us of the days when Nollywood thrived on university drama.
But even so, Citation had a different vibe. It was more serious, tackling real issues like sexual harassment on campus. While it was necessary and timely, it wasn’t the same as the campus movies we grew up on. The fierce confrontations and the ultimate campus power moves were missing. Citation was a grownup campus film, but we still yearn for the wild, glamorous, and over-the-top stories of the past.
After all these years, there’s still a part of me that burns for a comeback of these Nollywood campus movies. We’re all craving it—whether we admit it or not. We want to see the stylish babes, the swaggerlicious guys with their oversized jeans and big shirts, the drama, the secrets, and the inevitable showdown that always left us satisfied. And today’s Nollywood top young queens and kings will definitely kill it in a campus setting.
I can honestly see Genoveva Umeh and Tomi Ojo as newbies on campus and a high-class group of girls consisting of Teniola Aladese, Ini Idima, Gbugbemi Ejeye, Sharon Ooja, and Nancy Isime, deciding to take them in and show them the ropes.
I can even see who the boyfriends of these girls could be. The hottest cultist materials in Nollywood – Timini Egbuson, Tobi Bakre, Paul Nnadiekwe, Mike Afolarin, Kunle Remi, Jide Kene Swanky, Olumide Oworu…the list goes on.
We still have all it takes to have those phenomenal campus films we all burn for. So, Nollywood, the ball is in your court. It’s time to revive the campus drama, and bring back the power queens and the fire bros!
Which campus movie was your favourite? Tell me in the comments