Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa has shared a glimpse of her acting debut in the highly anticipated Netflix series Aníkúlápó: The Ghoul Awakens, the second season of Kunle Afolayan’s epic fantasy franchise.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Dabiri-Erewa wrote: “A bit of my little stint on the legendary Kunle Afolayan’s epic film Anikulapo:The Ghoul awakens” where I played the role of “ Iyalode”.suing for peace between the warring communities Showing on Netflix . Don’t miss it”.
The post included a short video clip from the series showcasing her performance as the Iyalode, who intervenes to mediate conflict between feuding groups.
This marks Dabiri-Erewa’s first foray into acting, following the announcement in mid-January 2026 that she had been cast alongside Portuguese actor Pedro Teixeira and other new additions like Bukunmi “KieKie” Adeaga-Ilori, among others.
The series, which premiered on Netflix on January 30, 2026, continues the story from the 2022 film Aníkúlápó, expanding its Yoruba epic fantasy narrative of power, loyalty, love, and supernatural elements across Oyo and beyond.
Afolayan, known for his visually rich storytelling and indigenous cultural focus, hosted a watch party and premiere events at his KAP Film Village and Resorts in Oyo State.
The project has drawn praise for its star-studded cast expansions and high production values, with the official trailer emphasising themes of awakened power demanding a steep price.
For about four hours, Quintessence Gallery’s hall was filled to capacity by friends of the arts and other guests. In the famous Art Stampede manner, the gathering, while celebrating the former Editor, The Guardian On Sunday, Jahman Anikulapo’s recent UNESCO Defender of Cultural Rights Award 2024, spoke to issues of funding in culture sector in the light of the USAID ban by Trump administration, Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports
It was an evening of celebration and conversation on Funding culture, defending cultural rights by friends of the arts who converged recently on Quintessence Gallery at Parkview Ikoyi, Lagos. The audience was a mix of artistes, collectors, creative entrepreneurs, publishers, music promoters, financial experts, culture advocates, journalists and enthusiasts. They included Pa Benson Idonije, Kayode Aderinokun, Muyiwa Majekodunmi, Joke Silva, Theo Lawson, Steve Ayorinde, Ayo Sadare, Molara Wood, Kenneth Uphopho, NseObong Okon-Ekong, Makin Soyinka among others.
But, the gathering was organised by Quintessence and Friends of the Arts to honour the former Editor The Guardian On Sunday, Mr. Jahman Anikulapo who got global recognition of the UNESCO Defender of Cultural Rights Award 2024. The recognition was made by International Centre for the Promotion of Human Rights with the support and guidance of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) at Buenos Aires, Argentina. The award was a forty-year devotion to advocacy and promoting the arts.
The session, which was anchored by a close pal of Jahman, Mr Toyin Akinosho, kicked off with a poetry performance by Sage Hasson followed by an insight by the ‘Man of the Moment,’ Anikulapo who recalled how the award came to be, particularly the insistence of ace filmmaker Femi Odugbemi who convinced him to respond to calls of the Argentines. Leading the pack of speakers was Managing Director Co-creation Hub (CcHUB), Ojoma Ochai, who gave the keynote, Anwuli Ojogwu, Chike Maduegbuna of AfriNolly Creative Hub and Lanre Lawal, a music promoter.
Ojoma, a former staff of the British Council, who spoke on Funding culture, defending cultural rights, used her personal experiences to unmask the complexities and assumptions associated with funding in culture sector, saying that beyond internal sourcing, fundraising also comes from networks and people that are not necessarily in the culture sector. She stated that there is a huge gap between cultural rights and it realization, which she said, is where the creative economy comes in.
“The problem with cultural rights is that there is a massive gap between having the rights and the realisation of those rights. And that gap is the creative economy.
“The pathway through, which the singing I am doing in my bedroom or the writing and the scribbling I am doing in my house translate to an enterprise that somebody pays for, we find that there is a massive gap between the two. And that is where the funding problem comes in,” she added.
•From left: Ojoma, Ojogwu, Lawal and Akinosho
Ojoma stressed that ‘talent is a key resource, whether it’s artistic talent, technical talent, or business talent, or whether it’s support, infrastructure, access to audiences and access to markets. And the single thing that enables those things is money.’
According to her, funding means many things and not just bulk of money only, as many often think of funding as a massive, homogenous thing that is there and locked in a vault.
Lanre Lawal, aka Consultant, who specialises in Talent Management, Music and Brand Development, Strategic Marketing, spoke on the growing new music and its opportunities for funding. He lamented that over the years, the development and growth of Nigerian music and musicians have largely depended on self-help, because there has never been funding or grants in the music sector.
He disclosed that lots of musicians pay Alaba music marketers to pirate their works in order to distribute their music and make it popular. “They pay them to put their music on mix tapes back in the days. That way, they distribute those mix tapes which a lot of people buy. Till date, we still do not have funding and grants in music sector. I don’t know of any grant that comes to us,” he said.
He however described as worrisome the entitlement mentality of many Nigerians who don’t want to pay to watch a musical performance. This, he said, amounts to carnibalising of musical performances.
“Now, the system in the sector is cannibalising. People are expected to pay to watch musicians perform. But, in Nigeria, not many people are willing to pay for such service. They are always expecting that works of art, particularly music, should be offered free,” he added.
Anwuli Ojogwu, a publisher, who spoke on financing issues in publishing industry, admitted regrettably, that pirates do more than publishers in terms of packaging pirated books, saying it is costly for publishers to undertake. “So it’s free money for them because they haven’t invested in the production of the works,” she added.
From left: Shadare, Anikulapo, Christina Oshunniyi, Uphopho and Okon-Ekong
But, she said publishers are constantly fighting the pirates in partnership with the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) to protect authors’ rights. However, the challenges of publishers are beyond piracy. According to her, financial publishing doesn’t exist in the industry, because banks think ‘we are too high risk.’ “Banks don’t see us as viable,” she added.
“Our inventory is what we can present as our collateral. But, the return is too slow and they don’t produce the kind of money that tech and oil produce,” Anwuli noted.
Reacting to why British Council allegedly removed publishing from its budget, she said there are sectors that are more visible and glamorous. “And once you succeed, the returns on investment (ROI) of such sectors are very great. Unlike publishing, you don’t get that. Culture takes more time to generate returns. And that is the same thing with publishing,” she said.
In his remark, Managing Director, Quintessence Gallery, Mr Jude Oni-Okpaku said: “As cultural heritage and creative expression face increasing challenges, this gathering served as a call to action. It emphasised the need to prioritise funding, protect cultural spaces, and champion the rights of artists and cultural practitioners throughout Nigeria.
“Quintessence remains dedicated to fostering collaboration among stakeholders and building a more inclusive and vibrant cultural landscape where creativity can flourish and cultural rights are protected.” The session went into the night as friends of Jahman continued to feast and interact while savouring the melodious tunes from Dee Multy, Adio Oyedeji.
Filmmaker Kunle Afolayan has announced the renewal of the second season of his popular series “Anikulapo” on Netflix.
Afolayan broke the news on his Instagram account on Monday, October 7, revealing that production for the new season took place in Oyo State and Ghana.
The upcoming season promises to explore more captivating narratives grounded in Nigerian history and culture.
Afolayan expressed his excitement, stating, “We’re overjoyed that Netflix has renewed Anikulapo for another season. We take pride in telling our stories authentically, and this series is a powerful reflection of Nigerian culture and history. This season will explore the complex realities of the slave trade, with actors from Portugal, Ghana, and Nigeria, showing the global connections in our history.
“Filming in Oyo State and Ghana helped us ground the story in places rich with our heritage. We’re excited to continue sharing this journey with the world and celebrating the depth of our culture.”
The second season will feature returning actors, including Sola Shobowale, Gabriel Afolayan, Owobo Ogunde, and Bimbo Ademoye, alongside new cast members such as Saga, Kie Kie, Abija, Antar Laniyan, and Saheed Balogun.
“Anikulapo” initially premiered in 2022, followed by “Anikulapo: Rise of the Spectre,” which was released on March 1, 2024, as a Netflix original seasonal film.
A release date for the second season is yet to be announced.
It is easy to tell that Owobo Ogunde has spent his life being told he bears an uncanny resemblance to his father. One look at him and you can tell his father is the famous father of Nigerian theatre, and the father of contemporary Yoruba theatre, late Chief Hubert Ogunde.
Yet it seems facial features are not the only things Owobo took from his father, as he made this clear with his performance in Kunle Afolayan’s ‘Anikulapo: Rise of Spectre’.
According to those who are close to Owobo, this is unsurprising as the late Ogunde had a large family with ten wives and many children who often featured in his productions.
The Ogunde Theatre is one that is always referenced to in the history of Nigerian film and it was largely a family-run business, with some of the children serving as actors and actresses, while others were drummers, singers and ticket sellers.
The late prolific actor, playwright, writer and producer’s efforts in film are still recognised to this day and his son, Owobo is continuing on that path with his role in the series.
The series is a sequel to the highly successful 2022 film, ‘Anikulapo,’ which won numerous awards and broke many records following its release, including Best Overall Movie and snagging the most awards at the ninth Africa Magic Viewers Choice honours (AMVCA).
From the series trailer, which has multiple people excited to see Owobo and many drawing comparisons between him and his father, it’s easy to tell that Owobo brought his own unique skill to the film and impressed the audience.
Actor Damilola Ogunsi has responded to an oblivious critic for erroneously faulting the ‘Anikulapo: Rise of the Spectre’ director for casting “a white” as angel in the series.
The viewer with the X handle Ohjay1 while sharing a clip from a scene from the series where the protagonist, Saro (played by Kunle Remi) met an angel (played by Damilola Ogunsi) at the gates of heaven, wrote: “This thing has to stop, why use white as angel inside black movie #Anikulapo.”
