by Charles Kirkland Jr.
A start-up faces unfavorable government laws and police harassment, causing a ripple effect in the lives
of nine individuals, setting them on a collision course in Freedom Way.
Software developers Themba (Jesse Suntele) and Tayo (Mike Afolarin) have finally launched their latest
venture, Easy Go — a new rideshare app to connect Lagos State’s busy commercial motorcyclists
(“Okada riders”) with customers in their area. Riding high on capital investments and credible
government assurances, the young South African and Nigerian duo can finally envision the fruits of their
labor. But after a night of celebrating, the business partners confront a pernicious roadblock familiar to
all Nigerian youth — the police. This routine extortion, however, will turn out to be the least of their
concerns.
While Easy Go’s developers are street-taxed out of their success, the app takes off. For Abiola (played by
Mr. Macaroni, Adebowale Adedayo), a young father and rider, has been a godsend. That is until the
government announces a total ban on Okada, leaving Abiola without his livelihood and the developers
feeling as though they’ve been used as political pawns.
Freedom Way is written by Blessing Uzzi and directed by famed music video director Afolabi Olalekan.
This is Olalekan’s first feature film.
Freedom Way is a Nigerian version of Crash in that it employs several storylines and weaves them
together into an overarching tale of disappointment and disillusionment. Herein lies the problem with
the movie. The story is complete but leaves the viewers in a lurch. The story has no expressed point or
redeeming moral. By the conclusion of the movie, one is led to wonder whether they should ever even
go to Lagos because all that is there is corruption and death. The funny thing is that if the government is
as bad as shown in this movie, it would not allow this film to represent its country.
With a content advisory for violence and mature themes, Freedom Way is a bold and dark statement
about life in Nigeria and the difficulty in finding success there. It is logical and sensible in its approach
but it leaves the audience in despair by its conclusion.
Grade: C