Dangers of marriages abroad exposed as Paschal Atuma’s ‘Imported Wives’ hit the screens

By Benjamin Njoku

Canada-based Nigerian filmmaker Pascal Atuma is on the verge of sparking a global conversation around the marital challenges faced by African families in the diaspora, with his recently released explosive movie, “ Imported Wives.”

The film, which premiered to a packed audience at EbonyLife Place in Lagos, last weekend, sheds light on the growing trend of migration-focused marriages and their devastating consequences. It’s a reboot of Atuma’s 2006 comedy movie “My American Nurse (1 &11)” that chronicled the experiences of a Nigerian cab driver in Los Angeles who had less than stellar luck with women . He returned home to marry a certified nurse, whom he would use as his cash cow, but ended up shooting himself on the leg.

Atuma, who directed and played the lead character in the movie, believes that marital abnormality among African families in the diaspora has reached epidemic proportions, with an alarming 80% divorce rate in the US and Canada.

The filmmaker cites the tragic loss of 10 Nigerians in the US and three in Canada to marital issues in recent years, underscoring the need for this conversation. Atuma emphasizes that marriage should be built on love, not convenience or material gain. According to him, the movie is an awakening story that needed to be told to set a clearer perspective on why some African immigration appear to be unable to hold their marriage together.

“Imported Wives” revolves around migration-focused marriage, where people are married for economic or migration reasons and later develops into problematic affairs, where women will call on police to detain their partners, to the point UK police warned Nigerian women to stop reporting their husbands for domestic issues. I want to solve a problem that is becoming an epidemic because, in the last five years, we have lost 10 Nigerians in the United States and three in Canada to this issue. So, this movie is long overdue,” Atuma said.

Speaking further, Atuma added, “This movie is family-oriented, and the message is powerful because anything that terminates people’s lives should be discouraged and exposed, so that is why we made the movie. Most parents’ daughters have an excellent relationship here in Nigeria, but when they see someone from the UK, US or Canada, they break that relationship and have these young girls marry a stranger. Then, when they get over there, they realise all that glitters is not gold.”

The movie shot in Nigeria and Canada boasts an impressive cast, including Ngozi Nwosu, Omoni Oboli, Patience Ozokwor, and Benjamin Joseph, Vivian Williams, Linda Osifo among others.

Atuma hopes that his movie will spark a necessary conversation and raise awareness about the importance of building strong, love-based relationships. He urges parents to be cautious of allowing their daughters to marry strangers from abroad. The executive producer, Joy Madubuike described the movie as a blend of humour, drama and social commentary, reflecting real issues faced by Africans in diaspora. Indeed, this movie is not only to entertain the audience, but also, a reflection of many real-life experiences in Canada’s African immigration population.