I watched To Kill a Monkey on Netflix last weekend, and honestly, I’m still processing. Nollywood really outdid itself with this one. It’s more than just a movie, it’s a mirror, a warning, and a deep lesson all rolled into one.
At first, you think it’s just another story about someone trying to escape poverty. But as it unfolds, it hits you, yes, poverty is hard, and yes, it must be rejected. But at what cost?
The characters in this film are like people we all know, hustlers, dreamers, and victims of circumstance. You feel their pain. You understand their hunger for a better life. But then comes the turning point, when desperation pushes them to do the unthinkable. That’s where the message becomes clear, there’s no justification for wealth that comes from making others suffer.
It made me reflect on life around us, the pressure to make it, the temptation to take shortcuts, to do whatever it takes to rise.
The film reminds us that not all that glitters is peace. Some people smile with money in their pockets but carry heavy hearts because of how they got it. There’s no true rest when your success is built on someone else’s tears.
The 8-episode movie teaches that you can fight poverty with dignity. That choosing the right path, even when it’s slower or harder, is still worth it. Because peace of mind? That’s the real luxury.
If you haven’t watched it yet, please do. And if you have, let it stay with you. Let it remind you, and all of us, that real success shouldn’t come at the price of our soul or at the cost of robbing others, no matter the means.
✍️ Amara Ann Unachukwu
