Tòkunbò Ending Explained: After learning that Tòkunbò’s young son died due to delayed treatment while in prison with his mother, I was perplexed by the film’s conclusion. He got involved in the kidnapping operation because he needed money for hospital costs.
Tòkunbò’s Son Dying Changes The Story Completely
By the third act, Tòkunbò has formed a bond with the politician Folashade’s daughter, Nike. Tòkunbò, unaware of his family’s plight, attempts to surrender the child to their captor as part of a ruse orchestrated by Raymond and Aziba, who had betrayed the politician, despite the Nigerian police closing the borders in search of her.
Tòkunbò learns from his partner, Lisa, that his son has died. The task he was on had suddenly become worthless, and he ended up veering his car over a bridge and into the river while the police chased him. Everyone is concerned about the worst-case scenario.
Tòkunbò and Nike survive, but police fail to locate them in the water in time.
Tòkunbò discovers that the kidnapping was carried out by the criminal lord Gaza on behalf of Raymond, the deputy bank governor. To protect the youngster, he instructs Iya Muli to look after Nike.
Tòkunbò did not want to work for Gaza. Based on reputation and history, he understood that working for the criminal lord would lead to his death. He discovers that he was duped into dealing with Gaza. If he had known Gaza was involved in the kidnapping scheme, he would most certainly have refused to participate.
The Unnecessary Final Fight
Gaza is not amused that the child was not delivered by TŠkunbŠ. It defies logic that he would say his purpose was simple. The borders were closed and he was travelling across the city with the whole police force searching for him and the youngster.
Gaza continually demands to know where the politician’s daughter Nike is and waterboards TŠkunbŲ. He won’t, however, divulge any information. But now that Iya Muli and Nike have been caught by Gaza’s men, TŠkunbũ is useless.
As expected, the antagonist chooses to punish himself severely by dying.
Now that he’s in survival mode, TŲkunbò taunts Gaza’s ego by challenging him to a duel.
I’m not sure what the whole point of this was; granted, he prevents Gaza from killing him, but the fight was ridiculous and incredibly one-sided. Gaza treats him like a plaything. In addition, the choreography was uneven and amateurish. I didn’t understand why they included five minutes of what seemed to be a “final boss” fight if there was no competition. By themselves, thunder, lightning, and pouring rain don’t make for a spectacular scene.
Furthermore, Tòkunbò is unable to choke Gaza to death, even after putting him in a headlock. Iya Muli needs to shoot Gaza to death to complete the task.
This makes for a dubious conclusion overall.
By this time in the film, Raymond and Aziba’s involvement in the kidnapping scheme has been discovered by the police. Likely, they were particularly opposed to the financial policies that Folashade was advocating, which is why they tried to intimidate her by stealing her daughter and using it as a kind of blackmail. Aziba and Raymond were romantically involved as well. With Raymond’s ties to the central bank, the motivation was evident.
Why the Ending Doesn’t Add Up
However, TŠkunbŲ’s conclusion is much stranger. TŲkunbò takes over the role of Folashade’s driver, along with her daughter Nike. They had a cordial conversation with the police and explained his situation, and as a result, all charges were dismissed and he was released on bond.
Why? I’m not sure. All we can do is presume that Nike and Folashade recognised his potential. Nevertheless, he abducted Nike and endangered her. Even if he was a kind man, he was involved in a grave offence.
The conclusion also establishes that he is Nike and Folashade’s bodyguard. How? He can’t defend or fight. There was very little substance to this individual, as demonstrated by the final boss encounter.
TŠkunbŠ is also not showing any grief for his son’s passing. I am aware that at birth, he showed no concern, but that seemed more like a childlike attitude than his true feelings as a father.
The majority of the ending is utter gibberish, which only serves to reinforce my argument that TŠkunbŲ is by no means a brilliant film.
