TOYIN ABRAHAM - WHY IJAKUMO IS GETTING NEGATIVE FEEDBACK

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By Adeniyi Onaara

Toyin Abraham Ajeyemi, a Nollywood actress and director, has blamed political opposition for the negative ratings her film ‘Ijakumo’ is receiving on social media.

‘Ijakumo, the Born Again Stripper’ debuted in theaters in December of last year, but it was only recently released on Netflix on Friday.

The latest version has elicited conflicting comments on the microblogging network Twitter. Several Twitter users praised the film’s producer and stars for their outstanding performances, while others thought the film was faulty for a variety of reasons.

According to @alphaamary, “Ijakumo is a very interesting movie made out of intelligent script writing.”

“Ijakumo isn’t as horrible as you people make it out to be. Yes, some sequences were superfluous! But, honestly it’s a good watch, and generally, it’s a 6/10 for me,” @Only1two wrote.

@MrFokanBale claimed the movie was “very good” but was marred by “a poor ending.”

“I don’t get why these high-budget Nollywood movies are so obsessed with fighting in movies. I mean, that’s not us, we don’t fight this way. I actually enjoyed Ijakumo up until the last 30 minutes of the movie. Everything went downhill from there till the end,” @iamdejmax tweeted.

@Babygyalxxx also contributed. “Ijakumo is the most ineffective film I’ve seen this year.” This isn’t even a dislike!! Alakada, on the other hand, was entertaining. Omo, I can’t believe folks paid to watch this! Abeg, Toyin, please hire a scriptwriter.”

“You people who are telling Toyin that [the] movie is good are the reason she won’t improve on her mediocre movies,” Feyisparkles stated. If your film is good, no agenda can overshadow it.”Pack your victim sh*t; Ijakumo is bad due of the plot, not because you supported a different presidential candidate.”

In response to the unfavorable feedback, the actress stated that many of people who were critical of the film were individuals who opposed her political choice in the 2023 presidential election.

“You all went to create WhatsApp group because of Ijakumo, the born-again stripper, please continue,” she tweeted on Saturday.

“Maybe today I will kuku break the table. You all will tell the world why choosing my own candidate is a crime and yours isn’t. Loni yi mo mura yin wa (today I’m prepared for you).

“You all think you have monopoly to talk sh*t; I’m here today for those people in that WhatsApp group. Ijakumo the born-again stripper was accepted in USA and Odeon cinemas and was showing same time Nigerian cinemas were showing it, I might keep mute for other things, but when it comes to my work, I will speak out.”

Abrahams later apologised for her outburst and asked critics to share their opinions about the movie “with love”.

“And to everyone who genuinely loves and appreciates my work and feels bad about anything tweeted, please always remember I’m human and I love you all,” she wrote in the follow-up tweet.

The actress has repeatedly accused members of opposition parties of bullying her after she declared support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2022.

Ijakumo follows the story of a spiritualist, Asabi, who seeks vengeance against a former lover turned pastor. She employs the help of a stripper to lure the cleric to his doom.

Directed by Adebayo Tijani, the movie stars Toyin Abraham, Kunle Remi, Lolade Okusanya, Bimbo Akintola, Olumide Oworu, and Lillian Afegbai.