This week’s movie review is on a typical classic Nigerian movie Hakkunde that depicts the hustle life and the climb of success of the Nigerian society . At the first scene we were introduced to Akande, a man who has been jobless for 4 years was being chased after his collision with an egg seller. He finally escaped with a bike man.

 On getting home, he realized he had lost his purse and he couldn’t pay the bike man. He was willing to sacrifice his dilapidated phone to the bike man as pay for his bike fare but the bike rider rejected the phone. He promised he would locate the bike man later in the park to pay his debt and the bike rider agreed.

He was sacked from his failing home lesson teaching gig where he got a pay-off of N2000. In ‘ A Lannister always pay his debts manner’ Akande located the bike man who helped him escaped from the egg seller commotion and pay his debt of N500.

Getting to the house where he lives with his Sister, Yewande. She insulted him for causing her disgrace at her office through his action of posing on the streets of Lagos with a placard “I am Akande. 4 years no work for Animal Sciences. Hire me.”

At the bike park, he overheard bike men’s conversation about federal government grant to cattle rearers in Kaduna. He did research about the cattle rearer plan and headed for north Kaduna with Ibrahim, the bike rider after his girlfriend had dumped him and he had enough of his sister’s insults.

He arrived Kaduna into Ibrahim’s accommodating family. The props of this movie are so Nigerian, how Ibrahim’s entire household gathered in front of an almost colorless TV is amusing. Also, the Nigerian hospitality to visitors was reflected in this movie with the way Akande was given visitor treat by Ibrahim’s father to visit the town’s cool spot. Though at the cool spot, Akande got himself into trouble for dancing with a married woman after which he was helped by a young woman, whom the entire community had tagged as a witch for killing her husbands.

Akande couldn’t wait for the N150,000 federal government grants before he starts making money and he volunteered for teaching in the community school, an unprofitable venture by the way. But he continued anyway with the help of his translator, the community witch.

Disappointedly, the expected federal govt grants failed and Akande fainted, afraid that his sister’s words “You will return to Lagos the way you left” would come through. A couple of days after, he decided to return to Lagos with Ibrahim but he changed his mind when he saw the increased number of pupils willing to pay N50 per day for lesson.

He continued his teaching in the community school and also started using social media to promote cattle rearers’ business. Then he introduced this latest idea of manure tea (Akande the Poo Explorer) to his newly found business partner, they keyed into it. They started the business of selling manure tea to farmers while cattle rearers started calling for his services of posting their cows on social media for sale.

Akande’s start-up business grew as his relationship with Aisha grew too. He embarked on dissuading the community that Aisha was not a witch, to enlightening them that her husbands and son were just sickle cell anemia patients. While he tried to dissuade Aisha from her excessive intake of Codine.

Another thing that stood out for me in this movie was that it was Aisha that first said ‘Ina suki’ (I love you) to Akande. She made attempt of professing love first as against the societal norm of male’s profession of love first before a lady does.  Akande’s timely intervention saved Aisha from death due to her overdose of codine thereby lending voice to speaking against abuse of drugs.

The exchange of calls and mutual peace between Akande and his Sister, Yewande signalled forgiveness despite Akande’s unpleasant experiences with his sister. Two years later, Akande Poo Explorer business had grown, he was interviewed on TV, gave lectures on working to build start-ups, dreams. He encouraged that ideas should be explored and made to work.

After Akande’s winning scene it was amusing to seeing Seyi Law holding placard that Akande had held some years back. Akande got married to Aisha, they went to his mother’s grave to pay tribute to her for her undaunting effort and love to making him succeed, like the video she did on Facebook to plead for help to her son who was in search of job.

Eventually, Akande got a $500,000 loan to build a biogas plant in Kaduna.

The movie Hakkunde is a breath of fresh air, it got me smiling because it’s a winning story of any successful entrepreneur in Nigeria. The way Akande moved upward in the ladder of success from his N50 profit margin increase to N100 and he steadily climbed higher and higher.

I leave you with these lyrics of Shirley Bassey’s Climb Every Mountain

‘Climb every mountain,

Ford every stream

Follow every rainbow

Till you find your dreams’…. Shirley Bassey

Je t’aime mon ami