Episode 1: The Time Machine

Japa is a comedic, time-travel adventure following two Nigerian university students, Bayo and Kunle, who are fed up with the state of their country. They stumble upon a top-secret time machine built by an eccentric professor, rumored to send people back in time. Driven by the idea that life in America would be paradise compared to their current situation, the duo concocts a bizarre plan: travel to the 1700s, convince their ancestors to willingly board slave ships bound for America, and “japa” (escape) to a land of promised opportunity. With a mixture of excitement and naivety, Bayo and Kunle sneak into the university’s dusty basement, activate the machine, and find themselves hurtling through space and time. They land smack in the middle of an 18th-century African shrine, just as a juju priest is performing rituals to protect the villagers from foreign invaders. To the locals, their plan to voluntarily board the slave ships sounds absurd—and downright insulting. With each episode, readers can expect laugh-out-loud moments, cultural clashes, and unexpected turns, as the duo faces the ancient world’s realities, debates about “japa” with ancestors, and grapples with a malfunctioning machine that might have them stuck in the past longer than planned.