Politics of Succession in Nollywood Films, Saworoide and Ikoka

Abstract

Employing the media representation theory, this article uses the historical-analytic, key informant interview (KII) and observation methods to interrogate the issue of politics of succession in Nigeria as portrayed in Saworoide (1999, dir. Tunde Kelani) and Ikoka (2004, dir. Peddie Okao). Apart from highlighting the kind of challenges which politics evokes in the country and the possible ways of remediating them in a contemporary context, the study argues that Nollywood filmmakers have good reasons for shying away from politics, as interesting as it may be; it creates discomfort for governments as well as for the filmmakers. The former on account of their allergy to the truth and the latter on the likelihood of their works being confiscated, banned or even risk to life. The conclusion reached is that filmmakers who engage politics in their creative works deserve encouragement because growing societies such as Nigeria, are in dire need of spokesmen and women, who as change agents, can engender positive and developmental agendas in their ecosystems.