What are you willing to do to survive?
That question hits different when life starts folding in on you. When the system is broken, the options feel limited, and doing the right thing no longer feels safe — what do you do? That’s the world To Kill A Monkey throws us into. And it’s not just a film. It’s an emotional confrontation. A punch in the gut. And maybe even a quiet awakening for anyone who has ever been pushed to the edge.
Directed by the unstoppable Kemi Adetiba, this film dives straight into Nigeria’s digital underworld, where lines blur fast and morals are tested daily. At the heart of it all is Efe — a programmer who, like many of us, was just trying to survive.
But when life stripped him of everything he had left, survival didn’t come with a halo. It came with compromise. With betrayal. With secrets. And with Oboz-Da-Boss — a fraud kingpin who turns desperation into an empire of scams. Efe becomes the brain behind it all. And just like that, the boy who once had principles becomes the man behind a digital monster.
But this isn’t just Efe’s story. It’s Mo’s too — a cybercrime officer haunted by her own ghosts, chasing justice while trying to stay afloat in a world that has hurt her deeply. As her investigation unfolds, the threads start to connect, and what we get is a complex dance between survival and truth. Between who we are and who life forces us to become.
To Kill A Monkey is more than a catchy title. It’s a question. A metaphor. Maybe even a confession. Because let’s be real — we’ve all had to “kill” something to survive. Our dreams. Our voice. Our values. Sometimes even our peace. And in a country like ours, where the odds are constantly stacked against the honest, the film doesn’t judge those choices. It holds them up to the light and says: Look. This is what survival looks like when the world stops caring.
But here’s the beautiful, painful truth: we are all one hard season away from becoming someone we don’t recognize. And yet, this movie reminds us that even in the darkest versions of ourselves, there’s still something human left. Still a chance to choose differently.
So no — To Kill A Monkey isn’t just a movie you watch and forget. It’s one that lingers. One that holds up a mirror. And one that might just make you ask yourself, What have I sacrificed to survive? And more importantly, Is it too late to find my way back?
