Nollywood is choosing vawulence in 2023, and I’m here for it. Kicking the year off with the Netflix limited series, Shanty Town, we’re invited to an underground world of crime led by Ini Edo, Chidi Mokeme, Richard Mofe Damijo, Sola Sobowale and Nse Ikpe Etim. 

With such a star-studded cast, it’s almost impossible for the actors to not have worked together before. And because I like doing inspector work, I did a little digging to find out where we’ve seen them together. 

Richard Mofe Damijo and Sola Sobowale in The Wedding Party and Diamond Ring

From playing parents to Teju Babyface’s thieving character in 1998’s Diamond Ring to handling chaos as in-laws in 2016’s The Wedding Party, RMD and Sola Sobowale have been working together longer than some of us have been breathing. 

Ini Edo and Uche Jombo in Girls Cot

If there’s one film that solidified the arrival of abortion belts, it’s 2006’s Girls Cot. This ensemble drama was chaotic AF (there’s a police car chase scene), served us lewks and still had stars like Genevieve Nnaji, Rita Dominic, Ini Edo and Uche Jombo. 

Nancy Isime and Uche Jombo in Blood Sisters 

While I still can’t get over Uche Jombo playing Ini Dima-Okojie’s mother in 2022’s Blood Sisters, I have to admit that hers and Nancy Isime’s Kemi are two of my favourite performances from the EbonyLife limited series. 

Toyin Abraham and Ali Nuhu in Ghost and the Tout Too 

Toyin Abraham’s characters are never normal, so imagine what they’d be like if they could see ghosts? This is the premise for 2021’s The Ghost and the Tout Too, which also stars Ali Nuhu, my fave Real Housewife, Iyabo Ojo and Osas Ighodaro.

Shaffy Bello, Richard Mofe Damijo and Ini Edo in Chief Daddy 

We all like to drag the Chief Daddy franchise

, but those films are the definition of star-studded. Because, tell me, where else you’d find Shaffy Bello, Richard Mofe Damijo, Ini Edo, Joke Silva, Falz, Funke Akindele and Kate Henshaw all in one film? 

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Sola Sobowale and Nse Ikpe Etim in King of Boys: The Return of the King 

Kemi Adetiba’s 2021 King of Boys: The Return of the King stood out for many reasons, but number one on the list is the epic showdown between Sola Sobowale’s Eniola Salami and Nse Ikpe-Etim’s Jumoke Randle

Zuby Michael and Nancy Isime in Omo Ghetto: The Saga 

Funke Akindele’s 2020 comedy, Omo Ghetto: The Saga not only revived cinema culture after a long-ass panini, but it also gave us Zuby Michael and Nancy Isime in one film. 

Ini Edo, Uche Jombo and Nse Ikpe Etim in Reloaded 

From Games Women Play in 2005 to Games Men Play in 2006, Nollywood producer Emem Isong was the queen of ensemble hits back in the day. She’s also responsible for Reloaded, the film that helped launch Nse Ikpe Etim’s career in 2009. 

Lilian Afe and Nse Ikpe Etim in Glamour Girls 

Like Aretha Franklin once said, “Great gowns, beautiful gowns.” LOL. 

Chidi Mokeme, Shaffy Bello and Toyin Abraham in The Therapist 

Big confession, I haven’t seen The Therapist, and that’s mostly because therapy is expensive and inaccessible for most Nigerians— 

Oh, we’re talking about the 2022 movie? Well, I haven’t seen that either. But I hear it has Chidi Mokeme, Shaffy Bello, Toyin Abraham and Rita Dominic. 

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