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Anikulapo would be bigger than Game of Thrones, Kunle Afolayan says
Nigerian film-maker, Kunle Afolayan has disclosed that he once told people that ‘Anikulapo’, his chart-topping movie, would be bigger than ‘Game of Thrones’.
‘Game of Thrones’, the American fantasy drama TV series, was produced by Home Box Office (HBO).
It premiered on HBO in the United States on April 17, 2011, and concluded in May 2019, with 73 episodes broadcast over eight seasons.
The hit project enjoyed widespread reception across the globe and dominated discussions among movie lovers for years.
Afolayan in an interview with the Guardian UK spoke on the production of ‘Anikulapo’ and the success enjoyed since it was released.
The filmmaker said he originally wanted to make the movie a series but Netflix told him to make a movie first and see if it succeeds before putting out a series.
“I’ve been working on Aníkúlápó for six years. Originally, I wanted to make a series but I shopped it and kept telling people that this movie would be bigger than Game of Thrones. Eventually, Netflix told me to make a movie first since I believed in the project that much and if it became a success, we’d develop a series,” he said.
“Right now, Netflix is the one urging me to start making the series. I knew we made a great film and that it’d start conversations, but I didn’t know it’d do as well as it has done.”
The actor also downplayed the decision of the Nigeria Official Selection Committee (NOSC) not to pick the movie for the 2023 Oscars despite its success.
“I don’t even care about it anymore. I don’t understand the decision and quite a number of the guys in there are people I’d call friends. For the second year running, they’re saying no film from Nigeria deserves to be presented – it makes no sense,” he said.
“Honestly, I’m over it because if Aníkúlápó wasn’t successful, they’d have said it wasn’t picked because of that reason. Now, it’s almost like, ‘How couldn’t you have presented this?”
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has set its initial public offering price at ₦525 per share, with the company seeking to raise about ₦2.15 trillion as it prepares to enter Nigeria’s public equities market.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the offer for 4.1 billion ordinary shares at ₦525 each. If fully subscribed, the offer would generate approximately ₦2.15 trillion, equivalent to about $1.6 billion at current exchange rates.
The offering is expected to open on 14 September 2026, according to Aliko Dangote, the president of Dangote Industries. The planned sale is positioned to become one of the largest equity offerings in Africa.
The IPO marks a significant step in Dangote Group’s plans to broaden ownership of the refinery and raise additional capital for expansion.
The refinery currently has a stated processing capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Dangote has said the company plans to increase that capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day as part of its longer-term expansion strategy.
The planned share sale follows a $1 billion underwriting programme completed in August, providing additional financial backing ahead of the public offering.
The refinery, located in the Lekki area of Lagos State, is one of Africa’s largest industrial projects and has become an increasingly important player in Nigeria’s fuel supply market since beginning operations.
The public offering will give Nigerian investors an opportunity to acquire shares in the refinery directly, while providing Dangote Petroleum Refinery with fresh capital to support its next phase of growth.
The company has also indicated ambitions to expand beyond its current Nigerian operations, with Dangote recently announcing plans for another refinery project in Kenya.
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