The new season explores toxic masculinity, gender-based violence, a relationship complicated by HIV and other gripping storylines that have captivated audiences.
With the premiere of episode five tonight, June 21, 2023, new additions Genoveva Umeh and Gbubemi Ejeye talk to Pulse about their characters and what people can expect from the show:
Landing their roles in season 5
Genoveva Umeh: I had gotten a call from my friend, Gbubemi that she had gotten a call the day before. The next day, I get a call from Isioma Osaje and I literally start screaming. It was so such a surreal moment because I had auditioned in the past. When I was at the University of Surrey in London, I had done an online video. I think was my final year when I sent in an online video for Shuga. Even after moving to Nigeria, I still auditioned, and went for public auditions but not gotten the opportunity. To finally be trusted with the chance to play a character that would definitely impact millions of young people was so big, I was like really honoured and it was a lovely moment.
Gbubemi Ejeye: I was in my house when I got a call from and I was really happy because I have always wanted to be on Shuga. I had been to auditions twice but never even got to the second stage. I just feel like everything works with time and this was just the right time for me.
What to expect from their characters
Umeh: Without giving away spoilers, Kanaga Jnr plays Kachi who I think really brings some light to my character Chika. She is currently dealing with the loss of a parent and Kachi is somebody that listens to her amidst all her desires to bring about change. Kachi is the one person who understands her so I’m excited for people to get to experience Kanaga as an actor first and as Kachi who really brings a lot of joy to my character.
Chika represents the young people that have a vision for a better future. She loses a parent to covid-19, so she’s concerned about people’s lax attitude to covid-19 and how deadly the virus is. She wants to keep her family and her community safe. Playing Chika, you have to do your research because she is a COvid advocate so she knows what’s going on. My mom is a nurse so i leaned on her for that sort of information.
Ejeye: She is in her first year at University, she comes from a very traditional family. She has goals for herself and plans for her future without giving away any spoilers. With some traditional houses, sometimes things are beyond your control because your parents have said so. It’s that struggle for her as she tries to fight for what she wants.
She deals with an arranged marriage, toxic masculinity and patriarchy. I love how the show reflects our regular society, it’s so relatable. These things happen to your next-door neighbour, you know somebody that has experienced this. So, it’s on us to bring these issues to light, educate people and create awareness that things can be done in a different way.
Working with a female-dominated crew
Umeh: So, we had Isioma and Ted Abudu, the owners of 1Pod Pictures as the showrunners. Those two ladies are huge powerhouses and they were excellent communicators. They made sure to build a community and take everyone along every step of the way. You see this in the interactions Isioma has with the crew members and the way she shares about this season on Twitter. She is incredible.
Ejeye: 80% of the crew were females and it was just amazing. I love seeing women taking such positions because they work really hard and they are talented. They all brought it. The atmosphere was really positive and so understanding.
Most exciting parts of season 5
Umeh: Chika and I share the Igbo language, she speaks her language in the home setting and that was something that I was super excited to explore as someone that speaks Igbo myself. It’s a language especially that I hope a lot more young people embrace. She does a lot of public speeches and I’m not one for public speaking so I spent a lot of my time in the corner learning lines for those scenes. I hope people feel encouraged and inspired by her character.
At the end of the day, I hope Chika teaches people to have empathy for others especially people that have dealt with covid-19 and had a loss from that. I also hope that she enlightens people with opposing views. One thing that she brings to the show is that she is somebody that advocates for girls’ education. She is a representative of young people that are curious about life, studies and actually want to do well. I’m excited about her experiments because she runs some really interesting experiments that she shares with people and I can’t wait for people to see that.
Ejeye: The major similarity is that we both grew up in a very strict way, I had strict parents, and she had strict parents as well aside from the arranged marriage thing. I know what it feels like to always fight for what you want because your parents don’t understand or because of tradition and the way things should be for you. I really hope people who are in this situation right now can see that it’s possible to fight and not just do whatever society wants. My character has a community so i hope people know it’s okay to have friends who support you. We all need help sometimes and I really hope people get that.
Episode 5 of MTV Shuga Naija season 5 goes live on YouTube tonight at 8 pm WAT. You can also catch up on previous episodes.
Watch an exciting teaser:
