Saving My Mother

Clara begs on a Lagos street with a bandaged ankle and a failing kidney, dismissed as a prostitute by a stall owner. Benjamin and Femi drive past and he gives her money, and Femi shatters because the beggar is her mother, a crack addict she declared dead. Femi's sister died at seven while Clara used drugs, leaving Femi to raise herself alone. In Saving My Mother, Femi forces a promise from Benjamin to never seek Clara out, but he breaks it within days. He bribes a food vendor named Rannie to locate Clara in a derelict building where she smokes crack. She threatens him with broken glass, yet he bundles her into a rehabilitation center. She completes a two-week program and moves into their home. Femi launches into explosive arguments over the betrayal and the intrusion, accusing Clara of causing her sister's death and swearing she will never forgive her. Clara, now sober, tries to make amends through cooking and fervent prayer, organizing midnight sessions for Femi's fertility. Femi and Benjamin suffer their third miscarriage, deepening Femi's despair and resentment toward her mother's presence. The fragile peace ends when Clara steals Femi's jewelry and flees the house, aided by the security guard Ochuko who was sent on an errand. Confronting Ochuko, they find Clara's drug paraphernalia in his guard post and realize she has relapsed. Shortly after, Benjamin receives a video call from a hospital: Clara has been in a serious accident. In a recorded message she apologizes for her lifelong failures as a mother, asks for forgiveness, and expresses gratitude for their efforts to save her. Femi records a public video about the harsh realities of loving an addict, urging more rehabilitation resources and government action, and a memorial dedication with counseling contacts follows. As she finishes the video, she places her hands on her pregnant belly, revealing a successful pregnancy.