By Austen Akhagbeme
For the past few weeks up until now, something nice and aromatic has been oozing out of our shores to the rest of the world for the right reason.
It is nothing other than the cinematic feat that a woman called Funke Akindele, a popular thespian of Nollywood fame, served on our collective table with her box-office breaker movie titled ” A Tribe Called Judah”.
This has become so significant against the backdrop of the usual and familiar bad news associated with Nigeria and Nigerians as a people all the time.
Throughout the yuletide up until now, even amid the news of accusations and counter-accusations of grafts and misappropriation of public funds by our public officeholders, Funke Akindele’s record-breaking comedy has helped in no small measure, to sustain the smile on our shared faces at a time the value of our local currency is going up and down like a thermometer.
What interests me the most is not only the commercial success that now makes Funke the highest-grossing Nollywood Director but also the captivating storyline that showcases the present contradiction and struggles within the average less-privileged Nigerian family.
It has always been my desire to see our thriving film industry project the positive and capture the truth about our society and the struggle for survival, away from the monotonous ritualistic and inhumane scenes that grace our tubes all the time.
In Funke’s “A Tribe Called Judah”, a Daniel has come to judgment. There’s no doubt she has done a great work of art. It behooves the government of the day to encourage more of such work to make the industry one of our biggest foreign exchange-earners.
All hands must be on deck to make Nigeria a better place while telling our own story to the world. Kudos again, to Funke Akindele for giving us something good to shout about.
Even though bad news is always good news to the press, Funke has chosen to give us something different from the usual bad news of terrorism, violence, banditry, kidnapping, snatched ballot boxes, warp judgments from our courts, etc. May this woman called Funke continue to excel.
- Austen Akhagbeme is a Columnist with Blank NEWS Online
