Oyindamlola Ogunbowale
A new documentary exploring the life, political journey and final years of late businessman and politician Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola is set to premiere in Lagos on October 1.
Titled MKO, the documentary will debut at the National Theatre before opening in cinemas across Nigeria on October 2.
The film revisits the historic June 12, 1993 presidential election, its annulment by the military government and the political struggle that followed, leading up to Abiola’s detention and death in 1998.
The documentary brings together archival material and accounts from several people connected to the events surrounding the election and Abiola’s final years.
Among those featured are former military leaders Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka and Abiola’s former running mate, Baba Gana Kingibe.
Also featured are members of Abiola’s family, foreign diplomats and Theodore Zadok, who served as Abiola’s security guard during his detention.
President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to serve as chief host of the Lagos premiere, adding a political dimension to a film that revisits one of the defining chapters in Nigeria’s democratic history.
The October 1 premiere will coincide with Nigeria’s Independence Day celebrations before the documentary reaches cinemas nationwide the following day.
