A blockbuster movie on the life of former Nigerian military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (retd) would soon hit the big screen.

The movie, ‘Badamasi: Portrait of a General’  is written, directed and produced by one of Nigeria`s legendary film makers, Obi Emelonye.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos to announce the film, Emelonye who has produced award winning movies like Onye Ozi (The messenger), Last Flight to Abuja, The Mirror Boy among others, said that the desire to start thinking of a film on the life of Nigerian former leaders started in 2012 after watching the film, Mandela.

According to him, the time has come for Africans to start telling their own stories instead of leaving it to Europeans.

He said that before he settled on Babangida as the subject matter, he considered a lot of things like historical relevance, lessons to be learnt from the life of the subject matter, inspirational quality and drama, adding that General Yakubu Gowon, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and other former  Nigerian leaders were also evaluated.

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Emelonye further said that when he finally settled on Babangida, he went to him and had series of interviews with him that ranged from his childhood to the time he stepped aside as the military president.

He said the film which is factual, bold, daring and also revealing could be described as the good, the bad and the ugly sides of the former Nigerian military president who a lot of Nigerians love to call ‘Maradona’ or ‘the evil genius’.

“Babangida in his own words talked about his early years as an orphan, the civil war, the Dimka coup, the Orkar coup, the annulment of the 1993 presidential election as well as the other controversies surrounding him,” the producer said.

He further said that the movie would give Nigerians insight into the real life of the most controversial and dramatic leader they have ever had and would be able to pass judgement based on what they would see.