Entertainment & SocietyCriticism Trails Okechukwu Ogunjiofor’s New Film

Criticism Trails Okechukwu Ogunjiofor’s New Film

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November 21, (THEWILL) – Seasoned movie producer, Okechukwu Ogunjiofor, might be a veteran in movie production, but his latest flick, Amina, which is now showing on Netflix, is currently under severe critcism.

The historic movie tells the story of the legendary Queen Amina, who reigned in Zaria (in present day Kaduna State) in the 16th century. The cast of the movie include notable Nollywood actors, such as Ali Nuhu, Asabe Madaki, Clarion Chukwura, Lucy Ameh and a host of others. Despite the time and resources invested in it, condemnation has continued to trail the film among northern viewers, who claim that the movie does not truly represent Queen Amina and her culture.

Queen Amina Png.

The critics pointed out that although Queen Amina ruled men and led them to war, women were not subjugated at that time as portrayed in the producer’s opening statement. They argued that the movie is riddled with historical inaccuracies and mistakes, especially in the manner by which the Igala regent addressed Madakin Zazzau.

They also described the movie as below standards in terms of cinematography, cultural relevance, poor screenplay, embarrassing costume design and blundering misrepresentation of ancient Zazzau history.

Stressing that Amina the movie is just a typical Nollywood movie decorated with a Netflix cover, the critics said northern movie producers would have done a better job than what Ogunjiofor did. They also noted that the producers should have involved indigenes and experts like historians, who can serve as consultants, at least for fact-checking.

Although they acknowledged that Ogunjiofor might have done that, they were convinced that he did not go the extra mile. It was obvious, they claim, that he and his crew were in a hurry to finish the movie the Nigerian way, which is why the errors are glaring. Even if the intention of the producers was to tell an intriguing story, the interesting details like an overview of Queen Amina’s reign should have been further explored. Ogunjiofor was also accused of focusing on how Amina got to power, instead of depicting her exploits.

Despite the criticism trailing the movie, THEWILL reliably gathered that the project began during the reign of late military Head of State, Gen Sani Abacha. His wife, Maryam Abacha, wanted to do something around women empowerment and she planned to document a film to help drive the initiative. The producer sent a proposal to do a book and a film on the life and times of Queen Amina of Zaria, whom he thought stood out when it comes to women empowerment. The proposal was accepted but the First Lady’s Office said they were not ready to fund it. But he got a letter introducing him to all the emirs and influential people in northern Nigeria, the dons, the museums, the traditional institutions and everyone with a history.

Ogunjiofor got a researcher and they started a journey. They travelled everywhere to learn the story of Queen Amina and in the process, visited about 13 emirs. But nobody really wanted to talk about the story of Amina. At one point, he felt that there was a conspiracy against Amina. Even when they went to Zazzau and Kano to check the period that she reigned, they found that the 34 years of her reign was not recorded. Also, after the reign of Bakwa of Turunku (King Nikatau), her father ended, there were no records of another person who reigned for another 34 years until the next king took over the mantle of leadership.

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