You’re at a family party in Lagos and the aunties are whispering, trying hard to avoid pointing. “See that woman with that small boy? She’s a cougar!” Everybody in the vicinity starts to talk amongst themselves, tongues click and eyebrows shoot up. But flip the script, an older man with a younger woman? “Baba is living his best life!”
The double standards sting and Michelle Dede is tired of it. In her chat about her role as Ziora in the Zikoko Life short film, Something Sweet, Dede calls out Nigeria’s hypocritical lens on love.
Ziora’s story, a woman who dares to love a younger man, is set to be on your screens and spark the kind of conversations that we need. Something Sweet is not just a film, it’s a mirror of our society’s judgment and a story for Nigerian women who deserve to choose their joy, without feeling the need to apologise for it.
Ziora, who is the heart of Something Sweet, isn’t your typical Nollywood heroine. She’s a businesswoman who is decisive, unapologetic and in love with a younger man named Leke. This story was inspired by a real-life couple. It does an amazing job of changing the narrative of Nigeria’s obsession with who is “allowed” to love whom.
Ziora is different. She’s layered, human and bold. She declares that she’s had it with unhappiness and is choosing love on her own terms. Dede revealed that she couldn’t relate to Ziora at first because she had, never dated younger men. However, the real-life article behind the film changed her mind.
“I was happy for them,” she says, “that they found each other and overcame society’s noise.” Something Sweet is poised to challenge Nigeria’s judgmental streak. The one where older women in love are called cougars while men get high-fives.
Nigeria’s hypocrisy runs deep, and Dede doesn’t hold back. “We’re an extremely judgmental society,” she says, “and I dislike that with a passion.” She’s frustrated by how films depict women like Ziora either as weaklings or sex-crazed predators. Ziora breaks that mould. Her love story isn’t about predation, it’s about connection, choice and defying expectations.
Dede predicts that there will be mixed reactions to Ziora’s story. Conservatives will say Ziora neglected her son. They’ll insist that she should have waited until he was fully grown. Only then could she seek permission to pursue her own happiness. Others will cheer her on, seeing their own longing for freedom in her story. That’s the power of Something Sweet. It’s art that provokes as it forces us to question why we judge women’s happiness so harshly.
Ziora’s defiance is echoed in Dede’s journey. In 2006, Michelle wasn’t chasing fame. She was on holiday in Lagos when a chance encounter at Nike Art Gallery led to an audition for a game show. She had no presenting experience, just a voice that called attention. Her sister and her friend kept calling her a presenter, nudging her towards a path that she couldn’t see yet.
A sabotaged audition time nearly derailed her, but after a frantic drive through Lagos traffic, she made it and landed an opportunity with Big Brother Naija. Years later, in 2014, her friend tricked her into auditioning for Desperate Housewives Africa. Despite her lack of training as an actress, Dede got the lead role, leaning on co-stars to conquer impostor syndrome.
Like Ziora, Michelle Dede said yes to the unexpected, proving that you don’t need permission to claim your space. Something Sweet is more than a film; it’s a call to Nigerian women to chase their happiness in life and love. Ziora’s character, brought to life by Dede’s raw performance, shows a woman who is neither a villain nor a victim, just real and human.
So, Nigerian women, this one’s for you. Why do we let society dictate who we love or how we live?
NEXT READ: Why Your Man’s Will Might Ghost You
