As controversies continue to rage over ‘A Journey in Service’, a memoir unveiled last week by former military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, indications are rife that the book has rekindled a fresh wave of interest in the Nollywood biopic, ‘Badamasi: Portrait of A General’, released in 2021, after extensive research and interview sessions with close friends, colleagues and relatives of the retired General.
Several social media threads have emerged discussing how the film captured the Babangida phenomenon in unequivocal details.
Olukorede Yishau, one of the many posters who have indulged in the book and film says, “Some details in Obi Emelonye’s biopic, Badamasi are in sync with the contents of IBB’s autobiography, including Abacha’s ruthless nature.”
For Ada Uruakanchukwu, the buzz from the book launch has energised her to watch the movie a second time.
“I watched this movie for the second time and I remember posting it here. The movie came out in 2021 and was directed by Obi Emelonye. The lead actor is Enyinna Yinna Nwigwe. Now, this is for people that don’t know the history of IBB.
How he met his wife. How he became the general. How Abiola won the 1993 election. I watched it on Prime Video… (I don’t know if it’s still there).”
Another social media user, Ahmed Bello, says his take away from the book and film remains Babangida’s frigid relationship with Buhari. “I was one of those eagerly waiting for the film to be officially released in Nigeria, which has not happened till date. I feel the beef between IBB and Buhari is real, and this could be why there were threats on the producer not to release the film in Nigeria. Our fingers are crossed. We will see how it unfolds”.
Certainly, one of the most controversial films out of Nollywood, owing to its subject, the biopic currently available on Amazon Prime Video, parades a stellar cast led by Enyinna Nwigwe, reenacting the eponymic role, Yakubu Mohammed, Julius Agwu, Charles Inojie, Kalu Ikeagwu, Okey Bakassi, Anthony Monjaro and Ali Nuhu amongst others.
The intense military action is set mainly in 1980s/1990s Nigeria and brings to the fore some of the most remarkable events that have shaped Nigeria’s political and historical landscape, as seen through the eyes of some principal characters who overtly participated in those epochal events.
Emelonye, who just completed a new film, Safari, starring Ali Nuhu, is known for telling quintessential stories with universal appeal; he is the brain behind multiple-award-winning productions like ‘Last Flight to Abuja’, ‘Mirror Boy’ and ‘Oxford Gardens’.