Nigerian screenwriters, Musa Jeffrey David and Isaac Ayodeji have probably written some of your favourite TV shows. Think Wura, Chronicles, Refuge, 10th Avenue, and recently The Yard, a 130-episode series currently showing on African Magic Showcase and Showmax. Currently in its 30th episode, the show has elicited responses on social media. The making of the […]
4 months ago
Nigerian screenwriters, Musa Jeffrey David and Isaac Ayodeji have probably written some of your favourite TV shows. Think Wura, Chronicles, Refuge, 10th Avenue, and recently The Yard, a 130-episode series currently showing on African Magic Showcase and Showmax. Currently in its 30th episode, the show has elicited responses on social media. The making of the show is credited to the months-long writing and editing process of Musa, as head writer, and Ayodeji, as story editor, alongside the show’s team of nineteen writers. With varied backgrounds and styles, these creatives honed and shaped the world that unfolds onscreen.
With 30 episodes released and 100 more to go, Culture Custodian spoke with Musa and Ayodeji to unpack what it means to work in a Nollywood’s writers’ room, Nigerian TV shows’ point of attraction, and the media’s influence in showing Nigeria’s moral bearing.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Congratulations on the success of The Yard so far. How has the reception been so far?
Musa: For me, the responses have been good. There is a Twitter (now X) hashtag we created (#AMTheYard) that can allow you to get feedback and gauge the audience’s reaction and excitement as they watch the show. The excitement was great even before it started streaming. From reading the script to being on set, the cast members have been excited. You can tell if a project is good from the cast members’ responses. I haven’t had a case of an audience saying we took their intelligence for granted because that has been the constant complaint about Nollywood screenwriters. Overall, the reviews have been good.
Ayodeji: From my observation, the reception has been great because people like that the show reminds them of themselves, and other shows they must have seen growing up.
Does the reception affect, in any way, the writing of the show?
Musa: Not at all. Writing and production have wrapped up. There are processes the episodes go through before they get to TV. So, the positive responses and audience feedback have no bearing on the writing. As writers, we have done our part and we hope that the audience will love and appreciate what we have created. We are optimistic that the good reviews and genuine interest the show has earned so far will continue based on what we have already created.
As a writer and story editor who has worked on a couple of TV series. What do you think makes these shows appeal to the sensibilities of Nigerians?
Musa: What Isaac hinted about nostalgia plays a role. One of the show’s writers mentioned how working in the writers’ room with a script that featured everyday Nigerians facing everyday problems, and characters speaking in local languages and Pidgin, reminded her of the good old days of Super Stories and similar shows. For me, I think it’s the relatability of the stories we tell that makes them easy for the audience to connect.
Ayodeji: I think a common mistake people make is to box the sensibilities of Nigerians into specific categories. I think we are diverse people with diverse sensibilities, and while certain sensibilities may outnumber others, it’s still important to identify that Nigeria isn’t a monolith. I have worked on different types of shows across different genres, and it’s important to identify specific markers in specific story ideas that you think will appeal to the viewers and try to emphasise that. I find it to be a more worthy way of working instead of trying to browbeat story ideas into one monolithic idea of what Nigerians like to see. Like I said, some sensibilities outnumber others, so it’s expected that some story ideas will garner more attention than others, but I believe that if you know the story you are telling intimately, you will not compare it with other types of stories with differing degrees of acceptance (if that’s the right word). Success doesn’t have to be one thing. That’s a recipe for dissatisfaction.
How varied do you think these productions are from others produced in the film industry?
Musa: What makes TV different from other mediums is that with it you get to be in a writers’ room where you aren’t the only one telling a story. For The Yard, we had nineteen writers, story editors, story liners, set designers, series producers, consulting producers, production designers, and even four representatives from the network in the room. We weren’t just talking about the story but the story world. From the story ideation phase, we already started talking about what the world will look like. Storytelling is a visual medium. And, as a writer, when you have all these visual images mapped in your consciousness, you will be able to imagine it, and shape characters into that world.
In The Yard’s writers’ workshop, we had eight writers from different backgrounds. I ensured that the writers were from diverse backgrounds so it could reflect on the writing. As the head writer, what I do is to ensure that the story doesn’t lose its identity and form while embodying the writers’ diverse styles and experiences. We wanted the show to mirror real life so Nigerians could recognise themselves on screen while watching these characters.
The series has nineteen writers. What does it mean to work in a Nigerian writers’ room? What are the nuances of working in a writers’ room for a series production?
Musa: Writers’ rooms, all over the world, are the same. There are head writers, story editors, script editors, story liners, and writers. The head writer role, which is very administrative, oversees the entire writing from ideation to completion of the script. After the story workshop, the story editors take the ideas agreed upon and break them into scenes per episode. The sequence seen on screen are what the story editors and story liners break down. After this, the script editor sends it to the head writer who sends it to production. It’s a check and balance system.
We had nineteen writers because it’s a long-running show with 130 episodes. It took four months for the writing to be completed. As head writer, you want a large writers’ room so that you can assign responsibilities to writers. And, in case of unavailability, the excess number can cover that.
How do you collaborate with writers, as head writer and story editor, to ensure story unity and avoid narrative holes in the story, and personal conflict?
Ayodeji: I think constant and clear communication is the most important ingredient. The singular vision of what the show is about is communicated by the head writer to the entire story and writing team, so everyone knows what they are doing. This isn’t to limit creativity, but to establish a narrative so there’s coherence at all levels. Whatever tools are needed to help communication – Google Docs, Zoom, Google Meet, anything – are utilized to ensure that people working are clear about what they are doing. For The Yard, the head writer instituted a strict triple-tiered system of editing. The story editors did the first level of editing while they worked on storylining. As script editor, I ensured consistency in tone and voice while pruning scripts submitted by the writers. Then the head writer did the final sweep. I think there’s sometimes a fourth layer of editing from the series producer, too. It can be a stressful process, but what this does is ensure internal consistency as much as possible.
Musa: What I do is that, during the workshop, we write about five episodes. This makes it possible to set the tone and template for the writing and previous episodes. For The Yard, we used a lot of Pidgin and scenes and performance descriptions to make the writing interesting. This gives the writing a directing on page feel. To ensure unity, as the head writer, I write about ten episodes. If any new writer joins the writers’ room, they aren’t assigned any episode until those ten episodes have been completed and they have read the script. This makes it possible for the writer to learn the style, mannerism, and voice of characters. The script editors ensure that the script, written by different writers with unique voices and styles, has one voice.
As story editor, how do you ensure unified character characterisations and nuances judging that each episode is written by different writers?
Ayodeji: The first five to ten episodes were used to establish a tone for the show. Writers were encouraged to read these scripts (and all scripts) moving forward before writing assigned episodes. Upon submission, I edited the scripts as the script editor, ensuring internal consistency of voice, tone, and plot. Then, I forward it to the head writer who does his sweep. It’s the triple-tiered system of editing I mentioned earlier. You can’t always be perfect with this process, but you can ensure that lapses are not gaping enough to irritate the viewers.
As a creative, what guides your approach to storytelling and story editing?
Musa: Storytelling, for me, is about the truth. It’s being able to mirror society and show people their biases. With The Yard, it was what we wanted to do: show people the society. We wanted to show what life means in the ghetto and what it means to crawl out of poverty. The truth with this progression mindset is that there are certain things and moral decisions that you might have to break to successfully crawl out of poverty. In Nigeria, there is a lot of moral decadence. In the media, there is a lot of negative news about ritual killings, betting, health issues, and all. Showing all these, with The Yard, is what I tag to mean truth telling. Ultimately, my approach has been about truth telling and mirroring what it means to be a Nigerian.
Ayodeji: My approach to story editing is defined by the tone and vision communicated by the head writer. TV is mostly the vision of the head writer. Yes, this vision can be moulded and improved in story workshops after interrogation from the rest of the writing team. But it’s mostly the head writer who determines the unifying vision of a project. It’s the vision that dictates what editing looks like. Editing has to be the moulding of a script into a version that’s closest to the established vision. If there’s no established vision, how do you know a script is ready to be shot? That’s the beauty of TV. It’s the writer’s medium. Even more, it’s the head writer’s medium.
Films and TV can influence viewers. As writers, what cultural and moral influences do you think these shows have on Nigerian viewers?
Ayodeji: The media (not just Film and TV) plays a huge role in people’s moral and cultural evolution. When people interact with a film, an episode of TV, or any figment from the media, there’s an interaction, consciously or otherwise. This interaction forms the basis of the eventual evolution or devolution. That’s why writers (and filmmakers generally) must recognize their craft as vital. There’s power and there’s responsibility, and we must embrace them – especially now. Nigeria is at a critical juncture. There are a lot of things going wrong. There are a lot of people getting away with things they shouldn’t. There are misconceptions about how the country can get better. There are realities hidden from a lot of people because of unprivileged coverage. It’s up to the writer to communicate what he or she thinks about these different subject matters while not forgetting the primary duty of engaging/entertaining the viewers. This isn’t a call to speechify, but to add depth and meaning to whatever it is we are selling to the viewers.
How do you see Nigerian television evolving, and what opportunities or challenges do you foresee?
Ayodeji: Nigerian Television, like film, will constantly evolve as economic realities shift. I’m specific about economic realities because I believe it’s probably the biggest factor. And it’s not only about money – it’s also about distribution. Currently, I’m aware that a lot of filmmakers are aggressively using YouTube as a platform for their shows. Africa Magic cannot and should not satisfy the needs of the entire industry. With the uncertainty around foreign platforms like Netflix, Showmax, and Amazon Prime Video, filmmakers have had to get creative in how shows are made and how they will be seen. While ambition remains a necessity, filmmakers are having to get creative about scale and execution. With the uncertainty around, it’s only right to be a bit conservative. The beauty of moments like this is that it will force people to think of more original ways to tell stories, but the economic challenges of funding and distribution will continue to exist.
Musa: The biggest challenge of the industry is distribution. We don’t have enough platforms for expression. As a filmmaker, if you don’t go to the cinema or streamers, you are left with YouTube. The NTA initiative is a welcoming idea because it’s a way for Nigerian filmmakers to get their work seen. Some of the great Nigerian TV shows were mostly distributed via NTA. This makes me honestly believe that NTA can go back to its glory days of producing great TV materials. They just need to get their technology up to date.
Also, it comes down to how much they are willing to invest in the film and TV space, how much they will pay filmmakers in return, and what value they will get from having their films on NTA over YouTube, Prime, and Netflix. How can NTA convince people that putting their films on terrestrial TV is the best bet for them? These are questions I think they should be willing to answer. The industry needs NTA because, as a distribution channel, it affords filmmakers more distribution options. With more distribution options, filmmakers can create more films which leads to job creation and economic growth.
