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The Netflix drama highlights an urgent problem that goes far beyond the country’s borders.
Netflix’s latest Nigerian original, “Citation,” is a sobering drama about sexual assault on college campuses, allegedly based on real events. While not the first missive against this widespread problem, it provides a corner of West Africa rarely seen by the rest of the world, told in harsh and convincing terms. Describing an environment where the culture of rape has been normalized due to oppressive assumptions related to gender and sexuality, director Kunle Afolayan offers a firm wake-up call that extends far beyond Nigeria’s borders.
The story centers on the intelligent and determined college student Moremi (Temi Otedola), who accuses the famous professor, Lucien N’Dyare (a charismatic Jimmy Jean-Louis) of sexual assault. Much of the ensuing drama unfolds as a nerve-wracking court of law as university authorities listen to testimonies from Moremi, N’Dyare and other witnesses and lawyers.
Needless to say, Moremi’s allegations aren’t exactly taken as gospel from the start, as the trial quickly turns into a dynamic “she said.” The flashbacks reveal Moremi’s life and community, highlighting the many complexities of her statement as the true nature of her experience comes to light. This is no “Rashomon” style narrative ambiguity here: N’Dyare, a professor admired and highly respected by his students and colleagues, is clearly guilty. The film explores this truth in great detail, as cinematographer Jonathan Kovel’s camera offers constant immersion into the eerie nature of the university’s autonomous world, where every passing glance leads to a growing sense of paranoia for the victim and the its role in a community. designed to be wary of his complaints.
Moremi’s relationship with her professor N’Dyare starts from a place of innocence, when she claims she doesn’t know how to drive a manual transmission car, and she agrees to teach him. That seemingly harmless exchange leads to an unexpected trip to Senegal, where their dynamic enters a more disturbing phase.
Meanwhile, Moremi’s romantic relationship with Koyejo (Gabriel Afolayan), a medical student, goes from tender to unstable as he becomes uncomfortable with the professor’s role in her, as she becomes uncertain about her options. That inconvenient situation culminates in a house party at the teacher’s house, and a series of particularly bad circumstances that the director sets out in enough detail to leave nothing in question.
However, as Moremi shares her story with the court, while N’Dyare’s status and credentials are in favor of her lies, she is her credibility that is called into question; “Citation” works best when it hovers in maddening skepticism thrown at its young protagonist as she defends her thesis, and it’s unclear whether the system will work in her favor until the final, unnerving act.
Moremi’s story takes place against a rich tapestry of Nigerian daily life. At two hours and 30 minutes, the film has a tendency to delay (a long concert sequence drags on). But with its alarming subject at the center – Otedola’s complex embodiment of anger and frustration at hand – “Citation” ultimately maintains a complex emotional arc all the time.
Afolayan’s previous films include the groundbreaking Nigerian horror film “Araromire” (aka “The Figurine”), and he is one of the few internationally acclaimed Nigerian directors pushing for a new kind of Nollywood cinema, particularly one that can compete in the international film market. And as audiences continue to see more of these cross-continental and pan-African collaborations – between African American, Black British and African writers / directors – that movement is bearing some essential fruit.
Grade: B.
“Citation” is now streaming on Netflix.
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