After a two-year hiatus, The Men’s Club is back. The Nigerian show follows the ever-chaotic lives of four friends—Aminu, Lanre, Louis, and Tayo—as they navigate through love, betrayal, business, family, and friendships. Following the release of its first season in 2018 and its third in 2020, the production crew took a long break before returning to our screens this year. Unlike previous seasons, this season aired on Amazon Prime instead of RED TV’s YouTube, where the first three seasons were released.
So far, this season has proven to be worth the wait. Exploring the quintessential portrayal of male friendships in Nigeria. While the show has explored a series of themes through its first three seasons, this season stands out with its fresh interplay of dynamics. Here are the three themes that are worthy of mention this season:
Vulnerability
The Men’s Club has never shied away from confronting important societal issues and real-life experiences beyond light-hearted banter and humour. In the first three seasons, a bit of vulnerability was explored, but this season has taken it up a notch. The portrayal of vulnerability this time around delves into intricate, sensitive issues from a personal point of view.
Shaffy Bello’s character, Teni, who is Lanre’s romantic partner and Louis’ mother-in-law, is diagnosed with choriocarcinoma, which affects cells in her uterus. The manner in which this sensitive topic was handled and the depiction of vulnerability by the characters involved is quite commendable. Teni’s diagnosis also had a realistic impact on the dynamics of her relationship with Lanre in light of his strained relationship with his mom.
Tiara, played by Adebukola Oladipupo—Tayo’s love interest—returns from seeking rehabilitation abroad. Although this was analyzed in the previous seasons, the current one takes a closer look at the life of a recovered drug user and how she navigates her relationship with her biggest trigger.
On the other hand, we see the lengths of Tonye’s deep commitment to fighting for her failed marriage with Louis at the expense of everything else. Her underlying drive is eventually revealed to be her father’s disapproval of single parenthood. This is a sentiment commonly shared among older Nigerians who frown at the idea of divorce. In a candid conversation with Louis, Tonye explains that she risked being disowned by her father after the divorce.
Lola’s battle with fertility while watching Louis raise a daughter added another much-needed layer of rawness and vulnerability. It portrayed the societal perception of infertility as a woman’s inadequacy, especially when the man has a child from previous relationships. It validated her struggles and humanized her feelings. Nengi Adoki’s portrayal of Lola was remarkable and very authentic.
Revenge
As a recurring theme, revenge’s comeback was no surprise.
However, this season, brotherhood and betrayal were explored simultaneously. On one hand, Patrick—Aminu’s half-brother and arch-nemesis—is back. In the first few episodes, Patrick attempts to turn a new leaf, and Aminu embraces this and works toward improving their relationship. However, Patrick’s character did a complete 360 , reverting to the conniving character we’ve always known. Like most vengeful people, Patrick would stop at nothing to ruin Aminu, even if it meant aligning with his treacherous co-parent, Aminu’s ex-girlfriend Jasmine, and her vindictive mother.
On the other hand, Tunde, Tayo’s estranged brother, plots to set him up in debt. This is driven by Tunde’s desire to punish Tayo for his affair with his fiancee, Funmi—Linda Osifo. This is particularly interesting because Tunde is in a similar position, experiencing rage and betrayal, as Tayo did when he found out about Tunde’s affair with Tayo’s ex-wife Naomi.
Classism
Class as a theme has been explored differently throughout the seasons of the show. Especially with the contrast between Aminu and Tumini’s financial situation at the birth of their romantic affiliation. However, this season, another angle was introduced, with Aminu’s family meeting Tumini. Aminu’s mother, played by Kadaria Ahmed, appears to take a liking to Tumini, but not before passing several classist remarks about her, including references to her “poverty mentality.” Although the dynamic is addressed from an openly benevolent point of view rather than a forceful one, it’s still quite visible. Another interesting perspective is the extent to which Tumini is willing to go to defy the gold-digger stereotype, even when it comes from strangers outside her relationship. This dynamic is fascinating because it mirrors a common challenge in relationships involving partners from different social classes. Although it previously seemed like Aminu didn’t care about Tumini ’s class, it’s now evident that he and his family indeed consider it.
In the end, this season was a breath of fresh air because it took a deep dive into the individual relationships within the boy group rather than their collective friendship. It delved into some significant themes and added an extra layer of depth to the plot. This season shed light on some underlying tropes and refined the direction of The Men’s Club. We await how the next season will unfold.