ATIKU ABUBAKAR SHARES HIS EXPERIENCE WATCHING BLACK PANTHER

Over the weekend, I joined my children to watch the much talked about ‘Black Panther’. It was a good film, and I was happy they took me to see it. However, I came out of the movie theatre a little upset.

When the first scenes came up, and I saw “Sambisa Forest” I was unhappy that the only reference the film makers could have for Nigeria was a negative one, but I was later encouraged by the thought of Africans solving African problems. That is a good thing, the kinds of things we used to do. For young people who may not remember, Nigerian civil servants and indeed most able citizens used to contribute money every month to support the struggle against Apartheid in South Africa. Nigeria was the single stabilizing force across West Africa. Helping to restore peace in Liberia and Sierra Leone are examples of the gigantic status we once had.

Seeing another African country come play ‘Big Brother’ to Nigeria made me very sad. We must return to a place of respect. We may argue that the film is a work of fiction, but there are many truths in the story – one of them being that young girls are being abducted by terrorists across the northeast of Nigeria, and they need to be rescued. Only recently, a band of terrorists stormed another girls’ school in Dapchi, Yobe State. After days of confusing information, it is now confirmed that 110 girls are missing. Nigeria has once again been thrown into sorrow with many of us wishing that there was indeed a ‘Black Panther’ to help rescue the girls.

Here are my takeaways on Black Panther:

Institutions are important

Wakanda was portrayed as a technological giant, which ruled great kinds, supported by a council, and traditions are held in high esteem. But it was easy to see that most of the decisions are those of the king, which presents serious institutional problems. Institutional order in the dispensation of justice could have helped handle the betrayal of Wakanda by the king’s brother, which would have prevented the hatred of Wakanda which filled the heart of the nephew who was left behind...

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