''Badamasi: Portrait of a General'' is a biopic film about former Nigerian head of state,

Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August 1941) is a Nigerian statesman and military dictator who ruled as military president of Nigeria from 1985 when he orchestrated a coup d'état against his military and political arch-rival Muhammadu B ...

(IBB). It was directed by Obi Emelonye and stars Enyinna Nwigwe in the lead role as Babangida. It is the first

Nollywood Nollywood, a portmanteau of Nigeria and Hollywood, is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term goes back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history ...

political biopic.

Plot

''Badamasi'' tells the story of Babangida from his origin in the village of

Wushishi Wushishi is a Local Government Area in Niger State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Wushishi. Wushishi is located between Longitude 9°43'N and Latitude 6°04'E and it has an area of 1,879 km and a population of 81,783 at the 200 ...

in Northern Nigeria to his joining the army and time as a Nigerian military head of state. It also portrays significant events in Babangida's life including the period of the

Nigerian civil war The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...

where Babangida sustains injuries in an attempt to rescue a colleague. The subsequent military coups and annulment of the June 1993 presidential elections were also portrayed.

Cast

* Enyinna Nwigwe as Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida *

Charles Inojie Charles Inojie is a Nigerians, Nigerian actor, comedian, Film director, movie director and producer. He is known for his comedic roles. Early life and education Charles is from a royal family. He grew up with his grandmother, and hardly recoll ...

as Barrister Clement Akpamgo *Sani Danja as General Sani Abacha * Yakubu Mohammed as Prof. Jibril Aminu *

Okey Bakassi Okechukwu Anthony Onyegbule (), popularly known as Okey Bakassi () (born 23 October 1969) in Imo state is a Nigerian stand-up comedian and actor. In 2014, he won the "Best Actor in a Leading Role (Igbo)" category at the 2014 edition of the Best ...

as Chief Arthur Nzeribe *

Kalu Ikeagwu Kalu Egbui Ikeagwu is a British-Nigerian actor and writer. As an actor, he has received several awards and nominations for his performances on screen. Early life Kalu was born in England but was relocated to Nigeria by his dad at the age of 9 ...

as Professor Humphrey Nwosu *

Julius Agwu Julius Agwu (born April 7, 1973) is a Nigerian stand-up comedian, actor, singer and MC. Julius Agwu is the MD/CEO of Reellaif Limited, music, and movie production company. He is also an entertainment consultant and motivational speaker. He i ...

as Professor Chu Okongwu *Chris Ada as Dr. Schaffhauser * Nnamdi Agbo as Mohammed Babangida *Uche Nwozuzu as General Ty Danjuma *Erick Didie as Colonel Buka Suka Dimka *Bako Abelo as 14 Year Old Abdulsalami *Tony Aclet as R. Admiral Augustus Aikhomu *Ajao Ayobami as Aminu Babangida *Ademola Amoo as Newscaster *Musa Kabir Ajimi as School Bully

Production and release

Production for ''Badamasi'' commenced in 2017. The film is set in 1980/1990s Nigeria and was shot on location in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

Minna Minna is a city in the Middle Belt of Nigeria. It is the capital city of Niger State, one of Nigeria's 36 federal states. Its original two major ethnic groups are the Gbagyi and the Nupe peoples. History Archaeological evidence suggests ...

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

and the University of Nigeria (UNN),

Nsukka Nsukka is a town and a Local Government Area in Enugu State, Nigeria. Nsukka shares a common border as a town with Edem, Opi (archaeological site), Ede-Oballa, and Obimo. The postal code of the area is 410001 and 410002 respectively, re ...

. The film director told a ''Pulse Nigeria'' interviewer that it took him 4 years to convince Babangida to allow him make the biopic. The film was initially billed for a 29 November 2019 release date but was delayed due to reported "powerful people" who were against the circulation of the film. There were concerns that the biopic might be an attempt to

whitewash Whitewash, calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, asbestis or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk (calcium carbonate, CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes ...

Babangida's story as the annulment of the June 1993 presidential elections earned Babangida condemnation. Shiloh Godson handled the sound design. The first look trailer was released in September 2019. ''Badamasi'' premiered at the Cineworld O2 Arena in

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

on 12 June 2021.

Critical reception

A reviewer for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' praised the film for its production and attention to technical details noting that "It did not ‘feel’ like Nollywood" and was in keeping with Obi Emelonye's other films including ''Heart 2 Heart'', '' The Mirror Boy'', '' Last Flight to Abuja'' and '' Onye Ozi''.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{Obi Emelonye, state=expanded Nigerian drama films English-language Nigerian films Biographical films about presidents 2020s English-language films Films directed by Obi Emelonye