''Jenifa's Diary'' is a Nigerian

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

comedy series Television comedy is a category of broadcasting that has been present since the early days of entertainment media. While there are several genres of comedy, some of the first ones aired were variety shows. One of the first United States television ...

, created by

Funke Akindele Olufunke Ayotunde Akindele-Bello (born 24 August 1977) popularly known as Funke Akindele or Jenifa, is a Nigerian film actress, politician and producer.Funsho AkinwaleFunke Akindele gives first glimpse of her twins ''The Guardian'' Akindele sta ...

. The series is part of the Jenifa franchise, based on a naive and funny character of the same name. ''Jenifa's Diary'' has 28 seasons and is currently active and ongoing.

Premise

Jenifa’s utterances contain both ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ speech acts. The series tells the story of a native village girl Jenifa (played by

) who desperately wants to get out of her ratchet way of life. In her desperation, she leaves her village and goes to the city of

Lagos Lagos ( Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 f ...

in order to get a proper education. Toyosi, an old friend is left with no choice than to accommodate her despite the visit being unannounced. Jenifa is unsuccessful with her education but she gets a job at Nikki'o salon on the

Island An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...

with the help of her friend Kiki, becoming very successful in her hairstyling career. At Nikki'o salon, she meets another stylist, Segun (played by Folarin 'Falz' Falana), who becomes romantically interested in her. Jenifa resists all his advances citing that she would like to be in a relationship with someone who is above her in status and education. Later Jenifa learns of his plan to visit the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

. He tells her he had been trying to tell her of his intentions and even help her travel out of Nigeria too. With Segun gone, work at Nikki'o salon resumes. In the premiere episode of season 5, Jenifa meets Marcus, a wealthy businessman. Marcus employs her as a manager in his new salon. Jenifa asks Toyosi to write a resignation letter since she would be leaving Nikki'O. One day, Marcus's wife, Tiana, appears out of the blues. Marcus never told Jenifa of his marital life. When Jenifa along with Adaku and Benny who left Nikki'O with Jenifa in search of greener pastures could not stand Tiana again, they decide to flee back to Nikki'O. Unbeknownst to Jenifa, Adaku and Benny had written a letter for excuse to be away for a while instead of resignation. Jenifa left with no choice goes back to Nikki'O to beg Randy, the manager to employ her back. To her surprise, she is welcomed back with open arms with the news that her demands have been met and her salary has been increased as she asked. Instead of writing a letter of resignation, Toyosi had written a letter for salary increment instead. Jenifa resumes work at Nikki'O. One day, the CEO of Nikki'O called a meeting and had Jenifa, Adaku and Benny fired for their dishonesty. The informant who had spilled the beans is revealed to be Pelumi, Jenifa’s rival and a hairstylist at Nikki'O.

Cast

as Jenifa * Folarin "Falz" Falana as Segun * Lolo as Adaku * Juliana Olayode as Toyosi *

Lota Chukwu Ugwu Lotachukwu Jacinta Obianuju Amelia is a Nigerian actress popularly known as Lota Chukwu. She gained popularity after starring in popular Nigerian TV series, '' Jenifa's Diary,'' alongside Funke Akindele, Juliana Olayode, and Falz where s ...

as Kiki *

Paschaline Alex Okoli Paschaline Alex Okoli is a Nigerian actress who played Cordelia in the sitcom Jenifa's Diary. Personal life Paschaline is a native of Anambra State, a South-Eastern region in Nigeria. She completed her basic and high school education in Anam ...

as Cordelia * Aderounmu Adejumoke as Esther * Michael Uba as James * Tobi Makinde as Timini * Jerry Smart Ordu as Randy * Ibinabo Timini’s Sister * Tobi Adebayo as Waheed, Jenifa's younger brother * Chukwuebuka Anyaduba as Chima * Tomike Adeoye As Tania *Joy Nice as Pelumi, the main antagonist and Jenifa's rival. *

Tiwa Savage Tiwa Savage (born 5 February 1980) is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and performing artist. Born in Isale Eko, she relocated to London at the age of 11 for her secondary education. Five years later, she began her music career doing backup voc ...

as herself (cameo appearance). * Nosa Rex as Terwase

Spin-off

A spin-off called ''Aiyetoro Town'' premiered on the 21st of June 2019. It consisted of 18 episodes and was released exclusively on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

. It is set in the Jenifa's village, the fictional Aiyetoro Town which just got transformed to a town. It stars

retaining her role as Jenifa and some of her costars from Jenifa's Diary such as Tobi Adebayo as Waheed (Jenifa's younger brother), Tobi Makinde as Timini and some new characters. A new spin-off was made called Jenifa on Lockdown premiered on the 13 of May 2021. It's an ongoing series and was released

. It is also set in Aiyetoro Town and Jenifa's hair place. It stars

as Jenifa, Paschaline Alix as Cordelia, Tobi Adebayo as Waheed, Tobi Makinde as Timini and many others...

References

* * {{cite web , title=A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Nigerian Television Series – Jenifa’s Diary , url=http://projectstore.com.ng/a-critical-discourse-analysis-of-nigerian-television-series-jenifas-diary/ , website=Projectstore.com.ng , publisher=ProjectStore , accessdate=31 May 2020 Nigerian comedy television series Television shows set in Lagos