Film review: October 1

“It’s your country now!” he says, in October 1

Many people celebrated October 1, which was 54th Nigerian independence in different ways. It was celebrated in all corners of Nigeria and abroad as the day Nigeria got her independence from Britain.

But a patriotic Nigerian thought it wise to unveil his new work, a film which tells a story about fictional occurrence shortly before the independence on October 1, 1960.

Written by Tunde Babalola, October 1 was produced and directed by a seasoned film maker cum son of the famous
theatre and film director and producer Ade Love, Kunle Afolanyan.

The thriller was done in Yoruba Language and subtitled in English Language. The film features Sadiq Daba as Inspector Danladi Waziri, Kehinde Bankole as Miss Tawa, David Bailie as Ackerman, Nick Rhys as Winterbottom, Fabian Adeoye Lojede as Corporal Omolodun and introducing Deola Sagoe as Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, and Demola Adedoyin as Aderopo. Others actors in the film include: Kanayo O. Kanayo as Okafor, Kayode Aderupoko as Inspector Afonja, 

Bimbo Manuel as Canon Kuforiji, Kunle Afolayan as Agbekoya, Ifayemi Elebuibon as Baba Ifa and so on.

It tells the story of Danladi Waziri (Sadiq Daba), a police officer from Northern Nigeria who is posted to a quiet and remote town of Akote in Western Nigeria to investigate the incessant female murder cases in the community and have the mystery solved before the Nigerian flag is raised on October 1, Nigeria’s independence day.

Shot in Lagos and Ondo State, the film received sponsorships from Lagos State Government, Toyota, Elizade Motors and Sovereign Trust Insurance.

It was shot for a period of over forty days after four months of preproduction.

The film, according to the producer was slated for release on October 1, 2013, but post production was incomplete; instead, the trailer of the film was released. It got postponed several times and was eventually postponed indefinitely.

It was first previewed on Thursday, September 25, 2014 at Metropolitan Club, Victoria Island, Lagos and premiered on Sunday, September 28, 2014 at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos before it was released in cinema across Nigeria on October 1.

It is quite intriguing to the extent that viewers utter different statements in amazement as if they were in the film trying to help the victims.

Speaking at the film preview, Afolanyan explains why he produced the movie and delayed the unraveling of the killer by saying that it was a bit easy to known the killer because he wore white from the onset. “The film is about why he is killing and how is going to be caught,” he explained.

Asked whether the film is a true life story since a serial killer named Ogbodo did almost the same thing in 1958 in Abakaliki, he said: “Sincerely, I did not know anything about the history. October 1 is a blend of fiction and reality. Reality in the sense that there was independence but the crime didn’t happen, though a lot of killings happened. I used Akote and Aromire as names of the places the incident took place because there is no place called those names in reality. This is a pure fictional story Babalola came up with.

“The first draft was titled ‘Dust’ before we came up with the ‘October 1’ as its title. I am a dreamer when I dream, I actualize it. This is an independence production and not propaganda. It depicts and reflects the times of our fathers. This is not just a form of entertainment but a topic. I always want my film to be a topic.”

The striking statement one can easily get from the film is, “It is your country now”, which one of the white men stated when they were told that the mysterious rapist, who raped and killed five virgins was Kabiyesi’s son, Aderopo, the first graduate in Akote who everyone revered and respected.

The white men waved it off which made Inspector Danladi Waziri to feel disappointed after toiling night and day to unravel the mystery surrounding the killings. This calls for sober reflection  for every Nigerian to do what will bring peace, unity and progress to Nigeria.