Mfonobong Inyang: How Do You Master the Art of Anchoring Your Story?

In this instalment of deconstructing elements of storytelling, I will be referencing certain anecdotes where the principal characters successfully communicated their core messaging to the audience. This is no mean feat; achieving a consensus on a creative piece isn’t light work because of the highly subjective taste buds of most people who consume content. It is a wonderful experience when audiences can relate to a story and even feel a sense of ownership over it.

No Turning Back II

In my first essay for this year, I made some references to the profundity of Gaisebaba’s thoughts when I heard him speak on a podcast, and I recognised a culture-shaper who understood his assignment. Here’s an excerpt of what I wrote: “Some of you don’t fit traditional boxes, and if you’re waiting for validation from a status quo that won’t acknowledge you, you will wait for a very long time”. Why was this submission critical? Most people, especially creatives in communities of faith, are assured of the redemptive qualities of their content, but they struggle to reach their desired demographics because they fall short on messaging. Many people might think Paul of Tarsus was able to reach and influence so many different people just because he was ‘anointed’, whilst that is true, check out my description of Paul some three odd years ago: “a prelate, a tent-maker, a cultural connoisseur, a strategist.” You gerrit? He had cultural intelligence!

Gaisebaba and Lawrence Oyor took the gospel of Jesus Christ, inerrant at its core and framed it in a way that an otherwise disengaged demography can consume it. Jesus asked his disciples one time, “Will you also go away?” Peter, who understood in that moment how he was caught in the grip of grace, replied Jesus, why wasn’t that possible. Jesus had the words of eternal life, and they were locked in. If you extrapolate his thoughts into words today, it should sound something like this: “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back!” Here’s where the cultural intelligence comes in, Gaisebaba took a nostalgic refrain from our childhood seeped into us via family morning devotions, assembly grounds, Sunday schools and youth camps, put it on contemporary beats and cooked! By the way, those ad libs by Lawrence Oyor live rent-free in my head. When he gets to that part where he chants in sync with the beat, I go dey hala, “bros, ma pa mi nau!”

Without even knowing the song was in the works, I pre-emptively ran diagnostics on how and why the custodians of tradition are opposed to anyone or anything that doesn’t fit their boxes. Jesus himself gave some game away when he described the archetype of such people: “they make the word of God of no effect by their customs and traditions”. The challenge I have with religion is that it takes personal preferences and makes them public principles; some people had a genuine moment with God, but they built a monument there. The key is to be fluid, which is where my favourite word in the world enters the chat – metanoia. Peter physically walked with Jesus, but when it came to entrusting someone with the gospel of grace, amongst other things, Paul’s understanding of nuances stood out. No surprise he would say things like this: “Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralised–whatever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ, but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view”.

My Man!

Many American movie aficionados often argue amongst themselves on who is the greatest of all time amongst the male actors; there are many names that are in that conversation, but one person that is definitely on Box Office’s Mount Rushmore is Denzel Washington. I have lost count of his movies that I have watched, but what is always memorable is how he not only interprets his role but also takes ownership of those roles. There are three of his movies I’ll reference here, not just because they are classics, but also border on law enforcement and organised crime – it’s more because in each movie, he dropped some iconic lines, underscored the core messaging.

• American Gangster: This movie was actually based on a true story; Denzel played the character of Frank Lucas, a big-time drug lord who was based in Harlem. The Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York described his operation as “one of the most outrageous international dope-smuggling gangs ever”. He eventually gets busted by some stellar detective work and during the cross of his interview, he defiantly boasts, “I took care of Harlem and Harlem is gonna take care of me!” Of course, he eventually cooperates with authorities and cuts a deal but that line took on a life of its own.

• Training Day: In this movie, Denzel played the character of Alonzo Harris, a veteran narcotics officer in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). He’s not exactly the model cop; let’s just say he’s one of the boys in blue who put green before the badge. So when rookie officer, Jake Hoyt, is assigned to understudy Alonzo, Jake quickly finds out that the line between organised crime and law enforcement is blurred with his new partner. After surviving what he would consider a hellish first day on the job, which was the beginning of his training, Jake stands up to Alonzo and even gets the community to take sides with him. In that iconic scene which was largely improvised, Alonzo released a lot of expletives including this line; “King Kong ain’t got sh*t on me!”

• The Equaliser: Across this trilogy, Denzel reprises his role as Robert McCall, an ex-Marine who intermittently comes out of his retirement to help vulnerable people get some form of justice. In the first instalment – he returns to protect a teenager who is a victim of a human trafficking ring, in the second instalment – he sets out to get revenge after one of his dear friends is murdered and on the third instalment – he helps his new friends in a small town fight off the constant intimidation by the Camorra mafia. In between all of that, this line stands out, “You pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too. That’s a part of it.”

Peter Drury

There are colour commentators in football, and there is Peter Drury. Football aficionados know that what makes the game exciting is not just 22 men chasing a round synthetic leather; it’s the entire production – the visual product has to be complemented by verbal excellence in storytelling. The year was 2018, and the UEFA Champions League was in full swing. In the first leg of the quarter-finals, Barcelona had pummelled Roma at the Nou Camp by 4 goals to 1. Having Messi at the peak of his powers felt like an insurance policy for the second leg at the Stadio Olimpico. Long story short, Manolas scored the third goal with a few minutes to the final whistle, given the away goals rule, then, Roma was poised to qualify for the Semi-final. That’s when British poet blessed us with his now immortal comment:

“Ooooooooooooh, Roma have risen from their ruins. Manolas, the Greek god in Rome. The unthinkable unfolds before our eyes. This was not meant to happen. This could not happen. This is happening. Barcelona, extraordinarily, is eight minutes from elimination. Di Francesco does not know where to go, and Iniesta does not know where to look. It is a Greek from Mount Olympus who has come to the seven hills of Rome and pulled off a miracle.” I’m not even gonna lie, that was some crazy work right there. I can’t fully remember the details of that match, but those who watched it will remember that the man of the match wasn’t any of the players who kicked a football – it was a certain storyteller on the microphone.

Akpamgbo, Put Your Hand At The Back

Osita Iheme and Chinedu Ikedieze have proven that when you embody your character as an actor, your impact becomes legendary. I wrote a piece sometime back about their cultural capital and relevance, which continues to endure such that subsequent generations can relive their childhoods vicariously through the lens of these two legends. For the umpteenth time, users on TikTok scoured through their movie catalogues and found sound clips that have been used to create viral content. In Village Boys, both of them reprise their roles as the mischievous duo colloquially known as Aki & Paw. Their characters, Ichaka and Akpamgbo, go to the house of a young man and accuse him of missing out on the communal labour that was held earlier in the day. His mother, unwilling to escalate the matter and further risk alienating her family in the social arrangement, urges her son to part with N1,000, being the fine for absentees.

After making themselves a nuisance, Ichaka and Akpamgbo, in the company of another friend, Orji, take the money extorted from the young man to Madam No Change, who owns a joint where pepper soup and alcoholic drinks are sold. Orji becomes a little too forward and begins to assert himself by demanding to eat the same thing as both boys, a development they frown at. The movie itself might appear to fall in the comedy genre, but a closer look at it suggests it’s more of a satire. It’s a snapshot of our society where some people with nuisance value engage in the parasitic behaviour of extorting the working class, then mock them by advising them to work harder whilst they feast on the largesse. Hence, Ichaka’s closing comments: “work hard and make money, when you make money, you look good. We’re working hard so we’re making the money”. As usual, both of them passed a powerful message in that scene.

“Bro, We’ve Got To Do At Least 10,000”

Ashton Hall has the most famous morning routine in the world right now, and it’s not even close. Every other week, he is adding millions of people to his social media following. He wakes up every morning at 3:50 AM to read the Bible, makes some notes in his journal, and puts his face in a bowl of water that contains blocks of ice and lime juice before he goes out for his signature gym session and run. For him, it’s not just about motivation; he shares the reason behind the routine: it’s about consistency because when feelings fade, the system stays. One thing that struck me when interrogating his vignettes is that throughout the clip, he tells his story visually, but the one time you hear him speak is when he drops the “bro, we’ve got to do at least 10,000!” That, for me, shows that he understands how to anchor his core message; in other words, beyond the aesthetics, it’s about goal setting and discipline. He wants you to get at least 10,000.

Omoni Oboli’s Love in Every Word may not have turned heads after the director’s final cut, but once the final product hit the internet, the two characters, Achalugo, played by Bamike Olawunmi-Adenibuyan (BamBam) and Odogwu Pararan, played by Uzor Arukwe, took on lives of their own, even beyond the silver screen, to the point that more corporate brands are warming up to them. I wrote this piece as an encouragement to creators who are tempted to give in to fatigue; you need to keep showing up and putting in the work consistently because you just never know when what you say or do will blow up.