Tag: Sadiq Daba

At the recently held media screening of October 1, a movie produced and directed by Kunle Afolayan, celebrated broadcaster turned actor, Sadiq Daba, literally spat fire, while lambasting the colonial masters for the age-long ethnic crises in Nigeria.

Daba, who acted Inspector Waziri in the much-anticipated movie scheduled for release on October 1, said though he was approached by the producer while he was on sickbed, he agreed to be part of the production because of its sterling thematic preoccupation.

The veteran broadcaster, who described Afolayan as a slave driver, said October 1 is a must-watch, essentially because it gives a peep into the genesis of the lingering discontent and ethnic crises that have been plaguing the country since Independence.

“Here is a story that is a Nigerian story. Here is a story that explains why it is not the fault of the Igbo man or the Hausa man or the Yoruba man, as it is always peddled all over the place, that there are ethic crises in Nigeria. What about the colonialists who were there before? What did they do to Prince, played by Ademola Adedoyin, the protagonist in the movie? Every day, every minute and every hour, what we see is Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba. But somebody somewhere did something for us to start talking about those differences.

“I am married to a fantastic Yoruba woman. My father-in-law is also a fantastic Yoruba man. But we only have stupid Hausa people, stupid Yoruba people and stupid Igbo people. Why don’t you look for the good ones because there are good people out there? The white man came and threw everybody asunder. Consequently, we are all looking at one other and shouting: ‘You are Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa.’

“I grew up in Sierra Leone. Over there, if you are fighting one Nigerian, you are fighting the entire Nigerians. In fact, I can tell you that the only time I know that we are different is when I pass the Seme border. But out there in Sierra Leone, we are Nigerians; there is nothing like Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa. October 1 is a story of you as a young man; it is also a story of me as an old man. In fact, the story is put together for you to learn that we are even more together than people think,” he said.

 October 1 tells the story of a northern Nigeria Police detective, Dan Waziri (Sadiq Daba), who is urgently dispatched by the colonial government to the trading post town of Akote in the Western Region of Nigeria to solve a series of female murders that have struck horror in the hearts and minds of the local community. On getting to Akote, more murders are committed. And with local tension high and volatile, Waziri has a race on his hands to solve the case before even more local women are killed. Matters take a turn for the worse, however, when Waziri discovers that his prime suspect is none other than the highly influential, university-educated son of the King of Akote, Prince Aderopo (Ademola Adedoyin). Intelligent, good-looking, charismatic, witty and daring, the prince proves to be a most complicated adversary for Waziri.

Set against the backdrop of the national celebratory mood of the impending Independence, Waziri and Prince Aderopo indulge in a game of cat and mouse as they try to outwit each other, thereby leading to the climatic end in which the life of a popular local female teacher and village belle, Tawa (Kehinde Bankole), is held in the balance. Waziri has to race against the clock to capture the Prince, save Tawa and solve the crime before the British flag is lowered and the Nigerian flag is raised on October 1, Nigeria’s Independence Day.