A fictional adaptation titled ‘Tenants of The House’, produced by a former house of representatives member, Dr. Wale Okediran, screens at the cinemas. Ferdinand Ekechukwu reports
“Tenants of The House”, a political drama that focused on the need for a peaceful resolution of the herders/farmers crisis in the country is coming to cinemas nationwide on 25th June. The movie is directed by Kunle Afolayan. The story is by Dr. Wale Okediran who also serves as producer, and the screenplay is by Tunde Babalola. Okediran, a former member of the House of Representatives and author, described the flick as a fictional adaptation of his stay in the lower chamber of the National Assembly.
The movie is inspired by his 2009 award-winning novel with the same title and adapted into screenplay to bring out the scenes of suspense, intrigues and thriller which scenes of a recent trailer for the movie depict. In the trailer a glimpse of the conflict, against a political background manifests, featuring a mix of established and up and coming actors including Farouq Mohammed, Joselyn Dumas, Dele Odule, Saeed Funkymallam, Chris Iheuwa, Umar Gombe, Rashida Labbo, Abiola Ogunmowo and Deihler Musa, among others.
In Nigeria, the Fulani-farmer conflict has been an unending nightmare, ravaging states in the South and North and leading to bloodletting and economic losses. The thrust of the film, which exposed the nagging issue of herders/farmers conflict and did not fail to address corruption in high places and political class, makes it germane at this material time. Right from the time ‘Tenants of The House’ premiered to privileged members of the lower chamber in Abuja in 2019, movie enthusiasts have shifted their attention to knowing what Okediran has in the offing.
Apart from emerging as one movie that many people looked forward to seeing at the cinemas, the brains behind the project and its producer, Okediran, was another factor that drew a large audience to the venue of its premiere then at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja. Giving news sources an insight into the journey that birthed the movie from his novel, Okediran a member of the House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007, would explain the idea behind the cinema project.
He said: “The idea for the film was not mine; rather, it was mooted by a friend of mine, an Irish filmmaker, Cashmere Hogan, whom I met when he came to do some work in Nigeria for a few days. After reading the book, Cash believed that the story would make a good film.”
