''Lekki Wives'' is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

television drama series written, produced, and directed by Blessing Effiong Egbe. It stars Katherine Obiang,

Kiki Omeili Nkiruka 'Kiki' Omeili (born May 31, 1986) is a Nigerian actress, best known for her role as Lovette in the TV series '' Lekki Wives''. She is also known for her role as Blessing in the 2015 crime caper, ''Gbomo Gbomo Express'' alongside Gideon ...

, Keira Hewatch-Peace, Adaora Ukoh and Chinonso Young. It ran for three seasons from 2012 to 2015.

Synopsis

The story follows five women living in the heart of

Lekki Lekki is a city in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is located to the south-east of Lagos, Lagos city. Lekki is a naturally formed peninsula, adjoining to its west Victoria Island (Lagos), Victoria Island and Ikoyi districts of Lagos, with the Atlantic O ...

, a high-brow area in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

known for wealth, power, and flamboyant lifestyles. It portrays issues related to living in the Lekki axis. It tells their individual struggles behind the front of attractiveness. Uju (Katherine Obiang) tries desperately to keep up with the joneses in order to have the semblance of a successful life. Despite getting all it takes to be identified as a "''Lekki babe''", her fake lifestyle comes to the fore. Miranda's home front is troubled, as she is married to a man living with disability, and her sexuality is hidden. She serves as her family's ticket out of poverty. Cleopatra is married off by her parents to a 72-year-old chief, whose wealth elevates them out of poverty. The marriage is devoid of love and care, which leads her to engage in an extramarital affair. Loveth is desperate to acquire material things, leading her to have an affair with her landlord, thereby destroying her marriage. She also has an affair with her friend's husband. Peace is a born-again, Bible-wielding wife who ignores her husband’s sexual needs. He, in turn, falls prey to Loveth.

Cast

Main cast

as Loveth *

Keira Hewatch Keira Hewatch, (; born 8 November 1985) is a Nigerian actress, singer, songwriter and writer, best known for her role as ‘Keche’ in the movie; ''Two Brides and a Baby'', as well as her role as ‘Peace Nwosu’ in the television series; ''L ...

as Peace * Adaora Ukoh as Miranda * Chinonso Young as Cleopatra * Katherine Obiang as Uju

Supporting cast

* Bayray Mcnwizu * Sylvya Oluchy * Bobby Michaels * Kachi Nnochiri

Production and release

During the shooting for season 2, the cast camped in a hotel for four weeks in order to avoid Lagos traffic. Ghanaian actress

Joselyn Dumas Joselyn Dumas (; born 31 August 1980) is a Ghanaian television host and actress. In 2014 she starred in '' A Northern Affair'', a role that earned her a Ghana Movie Award and an Africa Movie Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Early l ...

joined the cast for season 2 of the show. A premiere ceremony was held in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in March 2014, while the

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

release was announced in December 2015.

Reception

In a review by ''

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...

'', it was noted that "aside from the noticeable characterization and continuity flaws, this production manages to be exceptional in its delivery and depth". ''Lekki Wives'' was described as "a takeoff on the

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...

theme". It was rated "B" by XploreNollywood.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Nigerian drama television series Women in Nigeria 2012 Nigerian television series debuts