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Friday, June 30 was an iconic day for film lovers and historic content aficionados in Lagos State as Ultimate Communications, producers of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu biopic, ‘Last Man Standing’, held the Lagos premiere of the film at the Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos.
Present at the event were Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, ably represented by Mr. Jaiye Opayemi; the Deputy Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly, Hon. Mojisola Ojora Meranda; the former Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, AIG Hakeem Odumosu; Corporate Pictures Boss, Alhaji Abdullahi Abdulrasaq; and Dr Abisoye Fagade.
Also present were the likes of Lateef Adedimeji, who played the role of President Tinubu in the biopic; his wife Bimpe Oyebade Adedimeji; Shushu Abubakar, who played Remi Tinubu; Tunde Olaoye, the director; Kofoworola Abiola Atanda popular as Madam Kofo and who starred as Iyaloja Abibatu Mogaji; Foluke Daramola; and Segun Arinze, a member of cast who also compered the event. Others include Dr Shaibu Husseini, Zeb Ejiro, and a host of others.
The film, ‘Last Man Standing’, which had previously premiered in Abuja is a biographical film of the flow of events during the tenure of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his eight-year tenure as the governor of Lagos State.
Speaking at the event, Sanwo-Olu’s representative, Opayemi, stated that the producers deserve all of the support, commendation and applause they can get. “Lagos State is not just Africa’s entertainment capital; Lagos is indeed the bastion of entertainment, it is the place where we export the very best of creativity to the rest of the world. I must say that every support that government at different levels should give to the creative industry is needed. Those of us who are also on the professional side advising government will do everything we can to ensure that the creative industry gets all of the support it requires because the creative industry can employ even more people than the oil and gas industry. I am sure that those of you who are professionals in this room understand that. This is to say thank you to the producers and the cast and crew who have put this biopic together in recognition and celebration of my boss, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
According to Dr Fagade, the executive producer, the film might look very patronising because Asiwaju is the president of Nigeria today. “When Seun Oloketuyi conceived this idea, the man called Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was not even in the top three in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in terms of projection and perception for those who would get the ticket, he was an unpopular candidate at the time.
“Our major problem in Nigeria is that we do not document things. If our forefathers had documented some of the things they knew, things would be different for us today. But I was privileged to be alive at the time Asiwaju was the Governor of Lagos State. I can remember Lagos State in the 80s through the 90s, and how the Island, the Maroko in those days, has become the choice of the people today. I realise that there is no better way to celebrate Asiwaju and to contribute my own quota to the history of this country and to document it. At that time, it was most difficult getting this cast and crew together. I pitied everyone in the film during the election season because of the abuses. But I also say thank you to them because they have done it for our country.”
Also sharing insight at the event was Oloketuyi who revealed that Dr Fagade was the first person to say yes to the idea as he had reached out to a lot of people.
“Another person who made a lot of things happen is Mr Tope Oyefeso. It was a difficult task getting someone to play the role of Asiwaju because that was the time when social media was volatile on the subject of politics. After the director, Tunde Olaoye, suggested Lateef, I called him and explained what we were trying to do. Lateef told me he would think about it and that I should call him the following day. For about five days, he was avoiding my calls. Whenever I saw him change his status, I would call, and he would say he was on set, so I knew he was avoiding me. I then called his wife, Mobimpe, and she said she would talk to him. Lateef called me the following day and said he really didn’t want any issues, that he just wanted to do his acting and keep to himself. The moment he agreed to take the role, he put in a lot of effort and did well.”
In many ways, the film shows the dynamism, tenacity and grit of President Tinubu while a mere governor in the opposition, and how for eight years he masterfully withstood federal might over issues like the creation of more local governments to bring government closer to the people. It serves as a raw showcase of the brilliance of Nigeria’s number one citizen, who became a political enigma against all odds.
