Documentary on the remarkable story of MKO Abiola, elected Nigerian president who died in suspicious circumstances, is a coherent, accessible account of Nigeria’s otiose politics
This smoothly assembled US-produced documentary teaches vital lessons about modern Nigeria, told by a significant player in the story, Hafsat Abiola, the daughter of MKO Abiola, a pro-democracy politician who was elected president but died under suspicious circumstances, and Kudirat Abiola, MKO’s activist wife, who was assassinated. Through the lens of the family’s remarkable story, director Joanna Lipper builds up a coherent, accessible account of Nigeria’s otiose politics since the late 1980s, supplemented by nifty graphics, archive footage, and explicatory contributions from expert witnesses such as Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka. It’s impossible for any right-thinking viewer to not admire the soft-spoken but steely willed Hafsat Abiola’s determination to help her country, and especially its oppressed women, through NGO work and lobbying. Nevertheless, the production values mark this out as essentially quality TV, rousing stuff but not necessarily suited to theatrical viewing.
