Obasanjo’s Prison Account Goes On Stage
By Kayode Aponmade
A stage play named Gula!, an adaptation of a book, The Story of Baba Ali written by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo will soon be performed for the first time to the Nigerian audience.
The book, The Story Of Baba Ali is the true-life account of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo on his encounter with one of the most dreaded criminals in Northern Nigeria during his incarceration in a prison in Yola, northeast Nigeria.
Directed by Kenneth Uphopho, the stage play is aimed at recapturing and drawing out vital lessons from Obasanjo’s experience while in prison.
According to the organizers, the premiere of Gula will hold on Saturday, 30 September, 2017 in Lagos, while the stage play will start showing from October.
Present at recently held press conference organized to announce the play include former President Obasanjo, the executive Producer of Gula on Stage, Tunde Oduwole, versatile actor cum comedian, Tunji Sotimirin (who will play the character, Obasanjo, in the play) and Nollywood actor, Paul Adams.
Speaking at the event, Chief Obasanjo noted that Gula on Stage is replete with important lessons for families, government institutions, policy makers, institutions and governments.
While in prison in Yola, Obasanjo had selected a few inmates to interview in order to understand their journey to jail.
He made efforts to influence and, if possible, reverse their accelerated downward spiral to self-destruction.
Obasanjo recalled his encounter with one of the inmates, ‘Baba Ali,’ a leader of a ruthless criminal gang in Northern Nigeria and part of Cameroun who was imprisoned together with him.
Baba Ali was the son of a missionary, but he became a cruel armed robber who dined with the devil and had both the police and judiciary in his pocket.
However, through encouragement and preaching, Obasanjo successfully changed Baba Ali to a better person.
“There are so many lessons to draw from the play. For me what lessons can we learn individually, collectively and as a country?
It does not matter how bad a man may be, you can change or improve him. There is an opportunity of a second chance for such person,” Obasanjo posited.
The executive producer, Tunde Oduwole, described the play as a story of courage, hope, taking responsibility and of second chances.
He said “while in incarceration, Obasanjo’s life was hanging in the balance, but rather than allow fear, depression, self-pity, or loneliness to engulf him, Obasanjo, in a rare display of humanity, took a personal responsibility to understand why the prison was full of young people.
Oduwole also thanked the former president, the author of The Story of Baba Ali, for taking the difficult challenge of documenting this unique experience for generations to come, and for giving him the right to produce the play.