I used to believe some of those bogus claims — the ones that bother on cannibalism and promiscuity — about Cross River State, until I went there for my national youth service programme. It turned out they were nothing but stereotypes. If you ever travel to other parts of Nigeria and actually live there, you will see that most of these stereotypes are not an accurate reflection of the people who live there. For instance, street beggars and illiterates exist everywhere, not just in the North, and morality is not monopolised by one region. The danger of stereotypes is that they are often based on half-truths or outright fabrications, but they stick because they are repeated and sold as fact.
Finding Nina subtly grapples with this same theme of breaking stereotypes. Jabir (Abdulazeem M. Ibrahim), popularly called JB, grows up in Northern Nigeria until riots force his father to relocate with him to Lagos. In Lagos, an art gallery owner, Raiyah (Tomi Ojo), showcases all kinds of artistic works, including those that depict the North in a grim, one-dimensional light. These paintings and photographs are bought without hesitation. Fred (Jim Sturgess), JB’s friend, cannot understand why people consume such distorted narratives, but JB, now a seasoned street photographer, feels the discomfort more deeply. Encouraged by Raiyah and Fred, he travels back to the North to capture images that celebrate its beauty, culture, and humanity, thereby entering a business contract with Raiyah, a woman who is covertly in love with him.
But JB’s journey is not just about landscapes and photography. It becomes personal the moment he reconnects with Nina (Ijapari Ben-Hirki), his childhood friend, whom he has long wanted to see. The film builds up this longing as though it holds the key to JB’s transformation. Yet when the moment comes, the only reason JB gives for his obsession is that they share a “special connection.” This argument feels somewhat thin, almost underwhelming, especially considering how much weight the film places on his longing. It is as though the emotional build-up outpaces the payoff.
Still, Finding Nina keeps you watching, not through cheap plot twists, but through the quiet suspense of whether JB will meet and marry Nina or walk away. This tension is surrounded by scenes that let us breathe in the Northern landscape, like open skies stretching endlessly, streets alive with everyday commerce, and people whose warmth defies the cold images sold in faraway galleries. The cinematography doesn’t just show the North; it restores its dignity. This visual richness is the movie’s saving grace. Still, the experience could have been even richer if the movie had ventured into iconic locations such as the Jos Wildlife Park, the National Museum, or institutions like the University of Jos or the National Film Institute — settings that could have added greater intellectual and cultural depth to the story.
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One of the film’s strongest points is its language. The use of Hausa by many of the characters brings authenticity and depth. It doesn’t feel forced or tokenistic. It grounds the story in its setting, making the film feel almost like a well-balanced documentary, part narrative, part cultural preservation.
Beyond JB’s personal quest, Finding Nina touches on broader Northern realities such as polygamy and the almajiri system, particularly through his encounter with a curious almajiri named Abdul (Paul Sambo). The film also depicts rowdy local markets, hungry-looking almajiri children, and even an unfounded evening attack — elements that often become fodder for misrepresentation. Here, however, they are presented without sensationalism, a choice I commend the filmmakers for, even if it occasionally slows the narrative’s momentum and reinforces the negative stereotypes.
By the time the credits roll, it becomes clear that JB’s search for Nina and his attempt to photograph the “real North” are two sides of the same coin. In both, he is chasing an image, one shaped by memory, longing, and the need to correct what has been distorted. Yet in both, he must confront the fact that finding the truth is harder than simply replacing one picture with another.
Perhaps that is the film’s quiet triumph: it doesn’t hand us a neat resolution. It lets us sit with the quiet discomfort that even our most personal quests can be entangled with the same subjectivity we condemn in others. Stereotypes, whether of a region or of a person, are easy to build but hard to dismantle. In showing us the North’s beauty alongside its complexities, Finding Nina reminds us that every place, and like every person, contains more than the stories told about it. The film leaves you wondering whether JB truly found Nina — or whether he was simply finding himself.
In the end, Finding Nina delivers breathtaking visuals and a somewhat dignified portrayal of Northern Nigeria, but its thin character motivation and underwhelming emotional payoff keep it from achieving the greatness its visuals promise and from fully resonating. For all its beauty, the film remains a reminder that in cinema, as in life, the picture is only as powerful as the story behind it.
Finding Nina is streaming on Prime Video.
