Abba Makama’s second film might be didactic at parts but it’s otherwise camp and self aware fun. Within fifteen minutes of The Lost Okoroshi, Chief Okonkwo (Chiwetalu Agu) talks to our protagonist Raymond (Seun Ajayi). He tells Raymond about “Atrocities here and there. Kidnapping, raping and stealing” affecting Nigeria both in the physical and spiritual. All of this relates to Raymond Obinwa’s recurring of the titular Igbo spirit chasing him with knives. One night, dreams become reality as he becomes the Okoroshi (Destiny Osagiede and Benjamin Olaye), which upsets his wife Nneka (Judith Audu)

The Lost Okoroshi then follows Raymond’s new role in society as the titular Igbo spirit – he gains powers like teleportation. Nneka drags him to work but his boss Mr. Osagie (Demi Banwo), assuming some shenanigans, fires him. He teleports away from Nneka and mingles with Lagos, Nigeria’s undesirables like child hustlers like Willy Willy (Ejetareme Ajotubu Michael) and sex workers. Meanwhile, Nneka runs into a Dr. Dauda (Tope Tedela), the latter studying Okoroshi’s presence in Lagos. Okoroshi also attracts the attention of a secret society whose vice president (Kelechi Udegbe) wants both to go east.

Okoroshi shakes up contemporary Lagos society by touching individual lives in what seems like a Jungian parable. I saw Jungian because despite specific Igbo references, there are parallels between this story, making it universally relatable. I see The Lost Okoroshi as an Igbo version of what happens if Jesus comes back to Earth. This comparison tracks because Okoroshi shows Jesus-like qualities i.e. hanging out with previously mentioned Willy Willy and sex workers. The film’s centerpiece scene has him sharing a lunch with said sex worker Goldie (Crystabel Goddy).

The Lost Okoroshi’s latter half juggles back and forth to show us the titular Igbo spirit and Dr. Dauda. On both plot arcs, the film shows its bare bones – functional sets adding to a charm one sees from indies. One can indulge in reading too much into a film with a budget but its bareness adds to its magic realism. Within this fictional world, supporting characters contemplate their occasional brushes with Okoroshi. Scenes like this show characters also dealing with a modern Nigeria, one out of touch with tradition.

The Lost Okoroshi is not my first film from Nigeria, a country producing films with different atmospheres. Nigerian cinema can give its audiences documentary fiction, artistic auras, and mainstream parables with lay audiences in mind. This film, despite its ironic approach to its subject, is mainstream enough to fit within the third category. Actors crank it up to eleven to make viewers feel either some melodrama or some classic bravado. But then again, that’s probably how one would act if spirits become flesh, showing us our true selves.

Stream The Lost Okoroshi as part of OVID’s double bill on Abba Makama and Nigerian films.