To Be a Friend (Nollywood Movie Review): A Shocking Tale of Betrayal

What do you do when the person you’ve loved the longest and the person you’ve trusted the most are the very ones who break you?

To Be a Friend is one of those Nigerian movies that comes in quietly and messes with your emotions without warning. It's not your regular drama, it’s a deep, painful story about friendship, betrayal, and the shocking things people will do when envy and love mix.

🧩 Storyline

Deyemi Okanlawon plays a quiet, nerdy guy, brilliant, focused, and loyal. Back in his university days, he was the soft, intelligent one who had a crush on a girl named Fola (played by Bimbo Ademoye). But he never made his move. His best friend (played by Kunle Remi) was the popular, confident one. Both of them had big dreams including building a tech company together.

Life happened. They lost touch after school. But years later, Deyemi (the nerd) actually went looking for his friend. He didn’t just wonder where he was. he hired a private investigator to find him. Eventually, he finds Kunle in a bad state broke, depressed, with nothing to his name. His parents were gone, his uncles took everything, and life had dealt him a hard blow.

As a true friend, Deyemi brings him into his company, TG Solutions, and makes space for him. No bad blood, no ego just brotherhood.

Not long after, fate brings Fola back into Deyemi’s life. This time, he goes for her. They fall in love, get married, and even have a child together. But as always, love isn’t enough when distance enters the equation. Deyemi is always away, working hard, trying to provide. But in doing that, he doesn’t notice that he’s losing his wife and unknowingly handing her over to his own best friend.

💔 The Betrayal

Fola and Kunle start working together not in the company, but behind Deyemi’s back. The plan? Set him up.

One evening, he drinks wine, blacks out, and wakes up with blood all over him and Fola missing. Next thing, the police storm in. He’s arrested for his wife’s murder.

He’s thrown into prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

There, he meets another inmate, a man who stole drugs for his sick daughter’s heart condition and ended up behind bars. They bond over pain and injustice. And even in that dark place, Deyemi still tries to be kind. He contacts Kunle from prison to help the man’s daughter. But what he doesn’t know is that Kunle is now stealing from TG Solutions, using the company’s money for himself.

🔥 The Twist & Comeback

Deyemi and his inmate friend escape from prison. But what he finds outside is even worse than he imagined, Fola is alive. They faked her death to destroy him. His wife and his best friend had planned everything together.

But karma? It came with full force.

They’re both arrested. The truth comes out. Deyemi and his friend return to prison, but their sentences are reduced. In the end, he may have lost a company, a relationship, and time but he found peace, truth, and a real friend in the most unexpected place.

🎭 Performances

Deyemi Okanlawon was calm, layered, and powerful. He didn't need to shout the pain in his eyes did all the work.

Kunle Remi played the “sweet-faced devil” so well, you’ll start questioning your own friends.

Bimbo Ademoye gave us soft wife to silent villain in a blink. She knew what she was doing, and she did it too well.

🎯 Final Thoughts

To Be a Friend is more than a betrayal story, it’s a deep reminder that some people will ride with you only until they find a chance to replace you.

It’s emotional, well-acted, and the twist hits when you least expect it. The pacing is solid, the storyline is tight, and it’s one of the better YouTube-released Nollywood dramas I’ve seen in a while.

⭐ Ajiri’s Rating: 4.5 / 5

🗣️ Ajiri’s Final Words:

"Not everyone who smiles at you is loyal. Some are just waiting for the perfect moment to destroy you from the inside. Protect your peace, protect your dream, and please protect your password." 😮‍💨

Have you watched To Be a Friend? What would you do if your own best friend and your spouse set you up? Drop your thoughts in the comments or DM me on Instagram @moviereviewwithajiri💬🎥