Original subtitles

Well, I believe this is what Lewis Carol calls the Cheshire cat grin.

You know this is what I love about you.

You're sitting down quoting Adventures of Alice in Wonderland

while you're making shisha.

Like there's no woman in the world that can do that.

Well, you know what they say about flattery.

That it will get you everywhere?

You wish.

One.

Flattery corrupts both the giver and the receiver.

And two, it--

The great example of bad manners is flattery.

-And three-- -Oh, it's okay. You win. Alright I get it.

Conceded, time out.

-You're a man after my own heart. -Hmm.

I had an amazing day today, you know. What did you do?

My day was bizarre.

I mean, with the whole Madugu thing, it's just…

Do you want to talk about it?

No.

Not at all. I mean, I'd rather hear the amazing

things that happened in the energy sector.

And please don't mention the discos.

What is wrong with our electricity companies?

I said discos.

Yeah, but what's wrong with them?

Would you really categorise them under the energy sector?

Babe, power utility companies are under the energy sector.

Your electricity company is way above the petrol generator.

Tika, come on, okay.

You're making light of complexities that are peculiar to running an efficient--

Excuses, excuses.

All the time you have excuses.

These top officials know exactly what global standards are.

I mean they always travel on all these business conventions

for estacode and they never ever bring back a single plan

on how to put us in the 20th century.

21st century.

That's what I mean. We are way behind.

So please whenever we talk about the global sector

please don't talk about the discos.

Okay. Okay, calm down.

Simmer down, alright.

This night is supposed to be about relaxing and smoking shisha.

Well,

-the night is still young. -And I'm getting older, come here.

Ah, AK.

‎Greetings, grandfather.

Hello, AK. How are you?

Fine.

Good.

But this…

this isn't, Baba.

Where?

Baba, you should have a generator.

Or at the very least a rechargeable lamp.

You've started again.

Do you know that even the rechargeable lamp you're talking about

needs light to recharge it.

Is it not like that?

I'm satisfied with my lantern.

It does not dissapoint me. Have you heard?

Okay.

Yes Baba, so what was inside that box?

Was it money?

Did you notice when I started working for Magudu's father?

And now, him?

I was half your age.

I was 14 years old

when I started working for them.

And all that period I have now worked for them for 65 years.

I never received a query.

Neither was I ever reprimanded for a misdeed.

I have protected their wealth and everything all these years.

And that is why you see that they trust me.

And you have nothing, nothing to show

for doing all that serving.

Nothing to show for staying here.

Come on. And please Baba, please don't tell me your reward is in heaven.

No, I'm not talking about reward in heaven.

I have my reward here, by God's grace.

I have a good name.

And nothing…

can buy that.

Have you heard?

Ask around.

They will tell you that Baba is an honest man and he has integrity.

And that is okay for me.

Thank God, I'm satisfied with that.

Now, tell me.

Do you know why thieves never retire even after they've stolen

everything that will last them a lifetime?

You will find out that they are never satisfied.

This is because their greed will never make them retire.

Instead it will pursue them to steal more and more and more.

Meanwhile, the treasure is contentment,

and they don't have it.

Do you understand?

So my grandson,

search for contentment.

If you find it, you have everything in this world, by His grace.

Have you heard?

Yes.

But, so it wasn't money in the box?

No, there was no money.

What brought money issue here?

Were you thinking it's money?

It's money and I'll hide it in the bush?

Oh, please…

What?!

No…

Oh my God.

When I left him, he was perfectly okay. No please.

Don't tell me, please.

No.

No, Alhaji. Alhaji…

‎Oh my God!

What's up, man?

What's so important that it cannot wait till morning?

How much gold are we talking about?

Enough?

This is the best wakeup call, I must say.

Kamji, here we come.

Okay, I'll see you later.

Alright, thanks T.

Yes.

Death has done its worse.

That's true.

Death has done the inevitable.

It's a debt that we all must pay someday.

And Tukur has paid his own debts in full.

That's true.

May he rest in peace.

-Amen. -Amen.

We know that this is a very difficult period for you.

And yet you have hosted us well.

So, we thank you.

-You're welcome, sir. -Hmm.

And um…

there's no easy way to start these discussions but um…

when a man dies, unfortunately our custom

ensures that we must have these discussions.

That's the truth.

Even the white people hold meetings like this when a person dies.

Mm-hmm.

They try to read the will and do things according to the dead person.

Definitely.

Exactly.

So it is nothing out of the ordinary.

And um…

We know that um…

we have delayed this discussion

for months because we wanted to

allow us to mourn properly.

And um…

No matter what happens,

no matter how you push that the day does not end,

tomorrow must come.

‎That is the truth.

No matter how you push that the day does not end…

tomorrow must come.

We're here today to

collect our brother's property.

And um… because he was a man of family…

and he cared for all of us,

we know that he left behind a lot of properties.

And uh… it may be a bit overwhelming for you and your senior

to manage properly.

So we have decided to ensure that the property is well divided.

And rest assured, you all will be taken care of.

But there's the um…

There's a box, there's a matter of the box.

Uh, what box?

The box that he has hidden somewhere. The box.

You mean you don't know anything about the box?

Or…

Do you mean…

His clothes that I--

We're not talking about the box where his clothes…

We are talking about the box.

I think there is a miscommunication here.

I don't know anything about any box.

Are you sure you know nothing about it?

Welcome, ma.

-How are you? -Fine, ma.

-Is she in? -Yes, ma. Let me go and call her.

Oh no, don't bother.

-Okay ma, she's in her bedroom. -Okay.

-Hello darling. -Two days…

Mairo.

What's going on?

Mairo.

You should have knocked.

What's happening? What's that?

Where's the pregnan--

I'm so embarrassed you had to see that.

No.

Mairo.

Seven IVFs, Smallie.

Seven.

And the seventh one failed again.

How could I bring myself to tell Tanko?

‎He was so hopeful.

I'm sorry about the IVF. Hmm?

I know how difficult this must be.

But Mairo I don't see how a fake pregnancy will help this.

I talked about it with Atika.

Tanko wouldn't even discuss adoption.

I'll keep this up till my due date.

By then, I would have found a plan for an adoption.

What?!

First of all…

I thought we didn't hide anything from each other.

Ha.

Now it hurts me to know that you and Atika

planned all these without filling me in.

I'm so sorry.

We have a lot going on. I couldn't even broach the topic.

Not enough to keep you guys out. C'mon, Mairo.

See Mairo…

there are many things wrong with this.

I don't understand how you can hide a fake pregnancy from your husband.

How do you think you'll avoid him touching you?

And okay…

What if he wants to be there for the delivery?

What would happen?

And how would you explain the lack of breast milk?

Mairo.

A lot of things would crumble.

But you know I love you. Hmm?

And I'm not trying to burst your bubble.

But I feel like I owe it to you to point these things out.

I know.

I haven't figured it out yet but

I'm just taking it one step at a time.

I just want you to be careful please.

This can implode.

Hmm?

No, I don't like that face.

What?

Now I have just what you need.

Retail therapy.

Medicine that has always worked.

I know.

So now lets call Atika and make it official.

Let me go and wear my shoes.

How come you're not wearing earrings?

-I left them in the car. -Okay.

You're good? Sure?

Baba Jodda.

-You're welcome. -Greetings, Baba Jodda.

You're very welcome.

Thank you

I think the last time we met was during Alhaji's al-janazah.

‎Yes.

Yes.

-You're welcome. -May his soul rest in peace.

Amen.

-May his soul rest in peace. -Amen.

-Baba Jodda. -Yes?

There are still many things we need to take care of,

since he passed away.

And so we thought to stop by and have a few words with you.

Oh okay. Okay.

Where's the box?

-What? -Yes.

Because she said that there is no box.

-She said that? -Yes, of course.

I was surprised because we're all under the impression that it's one box.

Well…

If she said there's no box, then there's no box.

Stop that.

Don't lie to us.

Because if we find out that you're lying…

Stop lying, just tell him the truth.

You know him.

-You're even laughing? -In-law, don't worry.

Don't worry.

If this is not working we should take a different route.

-Is that so? -Well done.

‎-Greetings. ‎-Yes, greetings to you.

You should know that there is a box.

Thank God!

-That's what we want. -We've got it.

Thank God.

There is a box. She came to pick it from Baba the night Alhaji died.

Are you sure you know what you're talking about?

I was there.

And you saw it.

Saw it? I helped dig it out and put it in her car.

Thank God.

Are you sure you know what you're saying?

Look, there's a box.

And it's with her.

And from the way she behaved,

I'd say it contains something very valuable.

Have a nice day.

Thank you.

Guys, why do we always do this?

Do what?

I mean every time we come here, we look at the menu

yet we still order the same thing.

Force of habit, I guess.

This is the only place I eat muffins in Abuja.

If you ask me…

a coffee shop in Abuja is pretentious.

Absolutely.

But it works.

I can't lie, whenever I walk into this place

and the smell of coffee hits me

I feel like I'm walking down the street in Europe.

-Aww. -Wow.

But I like it, you know.

This is our slice of pretentiousness.

Anyway Smallie, how have you been?

Pushing.

It still feels strange to be a widow.

Enough of me.

What is up with you and Nelson?

Bells ringing soon?

-Yes. I've been meaning to ask. -Ding, ding.

You guys have been at it for a while now.

Pressure much, no.

Bells ringing? Not any time soon.

Besides he's too…

big.

Wait, what are you talking about?

His size or his size?

Whatever size we're talking about

I think it's never a bad idea to be big.

-Hmm. -Ah.

You would know.

Anyways, um look, Nelson wants a lot of children.

You know…

and first of all, who wants to marry him?

Secondly, I'm not ready to give up my svelte figure to carry babies.

Yeah, guys I know I'm so vain but

I'm not one of those women that are ready to you know,

Have saggy breasts and loose their waist line carrying--

I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry.

Look, I didn't mean to be so insensitive.

-I'm so sorry. -It's okay.

We all want different things and that's okay.

I didn't mean to not censor what I was saying and I…

definitely did not mean to make you feel funny.

I just felt comfortable talking to, you know,

the two best people in my life.

It's fine, I understand.

You know, normally I'll say it's fine.

But when it comes to matters concerning

infertility, I think we should be a bit sensitive.

To go through seven IVFs,

and listen to anyone be blasé about child bearing.

It's not right, Atika.

Smallie, you're right.

And I'm sorry.

Hmm.

So, are you still going ahead with this?

Will you at least fill Tanko in with the adoption?

Oh, no.

We came up with a perfect plan and it's going to work.

Just wait and see.

You know I was never in on this your plan.

Of course. I mean, you're Madam Logic.

If we told you, you'll obviously come up with, you know,

a good reason to stop us, so…

Mairo, you know it is too risky, right?

Tsam! Look, don't start.

If we want lectures, Uni Abuja is in session.

We know where to go.

So…

guess who came to begin with the process of sharing Alhaji's estate.

His people?

I hope they're letting you keep the mansion.

-Huh. -Yeah.

Look, they even tried.

If it's some women, as soon as the man dies,

the family will come around and start asking for papers.

I want the gold back.

Um, I thought you said you would ask for it in, like, a year?

Did something happen?

I mean you know, family will be sniffing around by now.

Hmm.

I'll explain that one later.

Is there a problem?

No.

Of course not.

Not at all.

Tea?

But I wonder why she's asking for the gold all of a sudden.

-She said one year. -I don't know.

And I don't have the gold right now.

She's up to something.

Where's your gold?

I said I don't trust her. Something is up, she's up to something.

What do you mean?

Karama is not shady. Besides she said she'll explain.

-Why are you like this? -Ah-ah.

Yes.

Why do you trust so easily?

You think everyone is just simple-hearted like yourself.

What's that supposed to mean?

Atika look, if you've used your gold just say it

instead of trying to paint Karama as the devil.

Look, she should not spoil things for me.

She should not spoil things for me.

Besides if the gold or the money was clean

she wouldn't have given it to us to hide it for her.

Hmm.

Karama has to wait. Let's go inside please.

You look troubled.

I don't think you should do this.

It is the only way.

That is not true.

I want you to think about it.

You should call goodwill,

and not evil.

You will not survive this.

Go.

She will not trouble you anymore.

I'm sorry but this wasn't listed as part of our liabilities.

Alright, so when did you reach this agreement with Gamji Energy?

This was last year.

We went through a court order mediation to iron out the terms.

The concession was duly accepted by both parties.

And the document properly notarised.

Gamji Energy made a lot of wealth from our community

without any care to how their infrastructure impacted on our land.

Yeah, the carbon emmission, the polluted air,

the diesel seepage into our water tables… In fact

they were not filling out their excavation pits

and so we had mine ponds that were hazardous to us.

Last two years, a 14-year-old boy drowned in one of the ponds.

Our community deserves consideration.

May his soul rest in peace.

You see, we just acquired Gamji Energy.

And I'd advise that we need time to properly check ourselves--

You will see in the third page that we agreed on a time frame.

We were reasonable with what we asked Gamji to do. We need it done.

I'm sorry but there's no way we can achieve this in the deadline given.

Hmm.

We're prepared to demand a shutdown of operations.

And you will see it is well within our rights.

How about we…

And by we, I mean…

us and you two individuals reach some kind of concession.

So that we can uh…

have a little bit more time.

Of course, you both will be duly compensated.

What exactly are you trying to say, Mr. Nelson?

I am not suggesting anything ugly. I just…

We just need more time. Okay?

I'm sorry. We do not speak for ourselves as individuals.

We are speaking for a community and the community has waited a long time for this.

No more waiting.

We hope to hear from you guys soon.

Good day.

How did this happen?

How the hell are we supposed to come up with this kind of money

in just this short time. We can't do this.

We need to find money, if not our financiers are going to pull out.

We checked everything. We did due diligence on this stuff.

Yes. And then the stupid people hid this from us.

I don't even want to talk about the technical difficulties on that plant.

It's a complete mess.

It's a bloody mess.

A mess that we own. Okay? Assets and Liabilities.

Well, I mean what do we do now?

Hmm?

Karama, where are you going to?

Come in.

Thank God.

-Baba. -Hmm?

I was going to your house. I heard that you came looking for me.

Yes, that's it.

I was just checking on you.

You know, after what happened.

Uh… so how have you been coping?

I'm trying my best.

You know, it still feels strange.

Sometimes I feel like…

I'll get a call from him

asking me to get the cook to

make his favorite doya da manja with yaji.

Oh my God.

But he's not here, he's gone.

Hmm.

And we can do nothing about it.

That is life.

You know, such memories

are bound to come but then there are things you must leave behind,

you know, and move on.

Okay?

There's nothing we can do about it.

Now, Karama,

I hope you won't think I'm speaking out of turn.

But I don't like the way you're treating his people.

I don't.

How do you mean?

-They know about the box. -I don't see why I should tell them.

Hmm.

Karama.

The wall has got ears and eyes.

It's just a matter of time.

It's just a matter of time.

I am only obeying Alhaji's instructions.

He didn't want anyone to know about the gold.

And I'll honor his death wish.

Well, if you say so.

How long have you held the gold for?

Hmm… almost ten years.

Yes.

You see, when Alhaji was going into politics

he wanted to separate his wealth

from what he was going into.

You know.

And why didn't you take or steal from…

And how do you know I didn't?

Ah Baba, c'mon.

I can bet my life on it.

I don't think you ever took from it.

Baba, do me a favor, please.

Please don't tell anyone about the gold.

Please.

Just take me home.

Baba will you take the tea now?

Uh, no.

Pour it in the flask.

Baba what are you doing?

Hmm?

What are you doing?

Nothing much. Just trying to…

check how many bags of millet we harvested last year.

That's my father.

Baba, I wanted to ask Hajiya for work in the house.

Did you lock the stable when you were leaving?

-Baba, I said I wanted to ask-- -You know because why I'm saying this is

the last time snakes got into the stable,

we were lucky none of the horses were bitten.

-Baba… -Do you understand?

Baba, I said--

I heard you the first time.

The answer is no.

I disagree.

Now, did you lock the stable?

Baba, I'm tired.

I said, did you lock the stable?

Yes. Yes I did.

Are you not tired of poverty?

How can you be so comfortable living in the midst of plenty

when you have so little, Baba.

AK.

AK please…

Please.

Must you repeat this same topic every two days?

Don't you have anything new to say to me?

Must you keep dwelling on this?

I'm just tired, Baba. Come on!

There has to be a better way to live life.

My son,

if you want a better life, you have to work for it.

You have to earn it.

Don't you expect anybody to throw it at your feet.

I've heard what you said. Agreed.

Then let me work with Hajiya.

My answer is no!

I know you, AK.

You like putting your eyes in what doesn't belong to you.

It's not as if you want to work.

You want to be close to wealth. Near influence.

You want to be where there is money.

AK…

You are the only family I have.

You're the only surviving relation that I have.

This is why you see that I seize every opportunity to council you.

To lecture you.

About how to live a good life.

A life of contentment.

God forbid it that It'll be in my time

that you will go astray.

No, I'm not going astray, Baba.

But I'm not you. I can never be contented with living like this.

There's more to life.

And I want more.

So I'm thinking va-va-voom.

Um… English, please.

Something exciting, something interesting, something sexually appealing.

Okay, I'm not sure about the whole "sexually appealing" part but…

So we keep it sexy cause I'm seeing beautiful

women in different shapes and sizes.

You know, Northern women can be sexy.

-Uh-huh? -Yeah.

I can see you're just warming up.

Yup.

I'm also thinking peeping through gossamer veils.

You know, the modern Arewa woman,

who is not just devout, but a professional.

So let's do this.

You got this.

Okay.

Three, and lean…

Maybe you turn to the side a little bit.

Show us some curves, some sexy.

Chin up a little bit.

Turn and look at her.

Good.

Tanko, calm down.

I hate feeling this way.

What way?

I'm feeling like something bad will happen.

You know something

will eventually blow up in our faces.

And we need to get the money to pay for that gold.

How on earth are we going to do that?

Bulama.

What?

Bulama.

You're kidding me, right?

Look… we'll give him majority shares. He's always wanted it.

Tanko, you know I'm a realist.

I'll rather bring in Bulama than risk losing everything.

No.

I can see the smirk on his face.

Bulama will sweep the carpet entirely away under our feet.

No.

I mean…

Anything but Bulama.

Tanko, do you have any idea the shit storm that will follow this?

And not to talk of the embarassment for you and Mairo.

I'm talking about the speculation.

The fact that people are going to say that we used stolen funds to buy Gamji.

We risk losing everything if we don't do something about it.

Let's talk to Bulama.

I'll think of something else.

Not Bulama.

I mean, everything, anything but not…

Just give me some time to think.

Alright.

‎Subtitle translation by: Ayolope Koiki