The history of the war between the people of Egba and Oyo has been one of the greatest histories in Nigeria and I remember when I was very little that my dad will sit me down and tell me stories of what has happened in the past.
This contest does not only remind me of my childhood days but reminds me of numerous stories I have heard and how some of those stories or histories turned out to be movies in our world today.
This week, our #cinetvcontest centers around movies around a big event. This reminds me of a movie I watched early this year titled Lisabi.
Since it is a movie around a big event, war is a big event so Lisabi is the best movie to be described.
Lisabi is a Nigerian historical drama film which was directed by Niyi Akinmolayan. This drama film was released in 2024 and starring big Nigerian actors like Ibrahim Chatta, Odunlade Adekola, Lateef Adedimeji and so many others. One good thing about this movie is that every of those actors were given a role that the can manage and play well.
Plot
After the ruler of Olodan Kingdom refuses to pay tax to the Alaafin of Oyo, he was dragged to the Alaafin’s empire and executed as directed by the Alaafin. Every king pays tax to the Alaafin especially the people of Egba.
Sangodeyi, the head of all guards of the Oyo kingdom goes to the Egba kingdom to terrorize them and make sure that they all pay their taxes. Most importantly, Sangodeyi rapes their women until one day when he rapes Abebi, the lover of Oshokenu. This got Oshokenu angry including his friend, Lisabi.
After Oshokenu confronts Sangodeyi, he gets killed and Lisabi decides to take revenge of his friend and also stop all the paying of taxes to the people of Oyo kingdom.
That’s where the movie got started. All the people of Egba were cooperative enough to join hands with Lisabi and make this happen but after achieving it, Lisabi was betrayed by the same people he fought for.
What I love or hate about the movie.
One thing I love is the storyline. I mean, the history and the way they acted it. They did it in a way that it portrays a typical olden days movie and if you’re the type that gets carried away by movies, you are likely to think that you are in the ancient days realm. Here, I mean the language, mode of dressing, way of living and so many more.
Unfortunately, there is something I hate about the movie and it is that not all of them were good with the dialect. At some point, some of those actors started to switch dialets in just a movie that they all were supposed to have a uniform dialect because the history it tells is about a place where they all speak a particular dialect.
How it influenced you (and/or people around you).
It tells a story. This makes me remember back then when we used to be asked to tell a story in our examination script. Instead of reading the story, watching it even makes it easier to tell the story perfectly.
What part of it did you find most interesting.
The part where Lisabi got annoyed and decided to fight for his people. It’s crazy how they are being cheated by the Oyos every now and then because the Oyos are very influential so it feels good to see someone stand up for them.
Any scene that still pops into your mind.
That is the scene where Ibrahim Chatta who played the role of Songodeyi was killed. Look at how his head was cut off and if I don’t know about movies, I would have thought that he was truly killed so that scene was made to look so real.
Performance of the actors/actress that left an impression.
Ibrahim Chatta who played the role of Songodeyi did an an amazing job. He acted it like he was born during the days when this story happened in real life. It takes a lot of effort for an actor to act a role and be in control and in charge of the role.
I will rate this movie a 7.5/10. I cannot deny the fact that it is interesting even though it has its flaws. But we have to appreciate a great work whenever we see one.