Afamefuna succeeds as a mini-documentary of the Igbo Apprenticeship System

Though the Igbo Apprenticeship System appears to be a simple concept by a people driven by need and a strong sense of community/brotherliness — which is also known as Ubuntu or onye aghana nwanne ya, it has been in practice for many decades and has succeeded not only in raising millionaires but also in creating sustainable wealth. Nollywood’s Afamefuna tries to set itself apart in telling this story of stakeholder capitalism.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

The first scenes of Afamefuna — which are a quick lesson on the Igbo Apprenticeship System — were what first captured my attention and made me stay mesmerized till the end of the movie. And then it smoothly moved into the main story, if there is even a main story aside being a mini-documentary of the Igbo Apprenticeship System.

Though the Igbo apprenticeship system appears to be a simple concept by a people driven by need and a strong sense of community/brotherliness — which is also known as Ubuntu, it has been in practice for many decades and has succeeded not only in raising millionaires but also in creating sustainable wealth. Nollywood’s Afamefuna tries to set itself apart in telling this story of stakeholder capitalism.

But is there more to Afamefuna’s Igbo Apprenticeship system?

In a way, I need to ride on the sentiment of many critics: that the movie could’ve been better as a series. However, Afamefuna has only succeeded as a mini-documentary that examines how the Igbo Apprenticeship system is being run.

Those who feel the movie should have been a series are perhaps sufficiently curious about how the choice of Oga is made in the Igbo Apprenticeship System, what makes an Oga accept a Nwa Boi, the agreement in terms of time, the definition and assignment of roles and responsibilities, the relationship, camaraderie and also rivalry between them, how the Oga relates with the Umu boi and the order of settling a Nwa boi. These are issues that should have been brought to bear in Afamefuna.

But Afamefuna appears to distance itself from these salient issues that are replete in the Igbo Apprenticeship system and rather portrays Odogwu (Kenayo O Kenayo) as a good boss when, in fact, there are many other terrible bosses in this apprenticeship scheme.

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Also, there might be a question in the hearts of the viewers as to the agreement in terms of time. Why will an apprentice (Paul’s Alex Ekubo, for instance) serve his Master for many years, yet fail to become a Master himself?

But looking very closely, this situation explains that there is a foundation on which the Igbo Apprenticeship system is built: values such as integrity and hard work are more important than the service itself. Afamefuma is simply telling us that in the Igbo Apprenticeship system, it is not enough to just serve, some cultural, endearing Igbo values will bring about the freedom of any apprentice. Perhaps that explains how the choice of Oga is made.

What have scholars done about the Igbo Apprenticeship System?

It is crucial to mention that while it appears that what sets Afamefuna apart as a ‘great’ movie is its novel representation in the cinema of the Igbo Apprenticeship system, a lot of strong voices or advocates, particularly Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe, have shared their knowledge and critiques on the global stage, featuring Harvard Business Review and Harvard Business School.

For centuries, the Southeastern region of Nigeria has practiced what is known today as stakeholder capitalism — a construct that businesses must elevate the interests of communities, workers, consumers, and the environment alongside those of shareholders. The Igbos, the predominant ethnic group in the region, are known for the Igbo apprenticeship system (IAS), a communal enterprising framework where successful businesses develop others, and over time provide capital and give away their customers to the new businesses. The implication is that few businesses grow to become very dominant, since they keep relinquishing market share, and in doing so, they accomplish one thing: a largely equal community where everyone has opportunities, no matter how small.

Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe in A Nigerian Model for Stakeholder Capitalism (Published on Harvard Business Review)

Therefore, since a lot of scholarly works have been done about the Igbo Apprenticeship, Afamefuna comes short as a mere foray into this simple concept, this Igbo Apprenticeship System or stakeholder capitalism.

But thanks to Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe who officially launched Igba-Boi Center in Tekedia Institute where the Nwa Boi’s learning experience is positioned as a proper Learning and Development Programme with a formal and legally recognized Certificate upon completion. This programme has also been lauded and approved by Harvard Business Review.

Is Afamefuna then a regular Nollywood movie?

Far from the Igbo Apprenticeship System which Afamefuna fails to capture in toto, the movie comes off as a regular Nollywood movie. Its deviation from the representation of the Igbo Apprenticeship System, in the later scenes, to a story of blackmail and paternity fraud makes the movie come off as such.

The Igbo apprenticeship system is truly remarkable and deserves an accurate portrayal in the film. I understand why we might be eager to showcase this celebrated system through art, but sometimes we can get carried away with average representations and praise them as excellent.

I wish the writers had come up with a better reason for Paulo’s blackmail attempt. Offering ten million to keep quiet about something Paulo himself revealed felt kind of lame. Paulo should’ve known better than to mess with Afam, especially considering the whole cartel situation. Using the paternity secret as leverage didn’t make much sense. It would’ve been better if Afam was just paying Paulo back for his help or as a thank-you for sorting things out, which, well, I believe, was what Afam’s Stan Nze did.

Besides, the connection between Afam and Amaka felt a bit awkward. It seemed like Afam broke the friendship rule by getting involved with his friend’s girl, even if Paulo wasn’t behaving well. And Amaka seemed a bit clueless, thinking she could switch from Paulo to Afam without any fallout. Moreover, the whole surprise paternity issue appears to be too much drama.

However, the casting was spot on. Kenayo O Kenayo and Segun Arinze were fantastic as the seasoned actors, and Stan Nze nailed his lead role. Well, I thought the younger Paulo stole the show, but Alex Ekubo was also great, especially in the scenes where they were settling things.