AMINA: Did the movie really tell the story of the famous Queen of Zaria?

What’s really of concern about Amina, supposedly a biopic around the famous Queen Amina of Zaria is: did it actually depict the life and times of this legendary woman from the northern part of Nigeria? Directed by Izu Ojukwu (’76, White Waters) the entire feature did not seem to capture the real-life 16th century Zazzau (now known as Zaria) story, but rather relied on excessive costuming and war actions sequences which took away a lot of from the real narrative. 

Casting also played a major part in preventing a well delivered audio-visual narrative. For instance, there could have been a better choice for the role of young Amina (played by Jenevieve Ogunjiofor) particularly at this stage of Nollywood, and having seen what other child actors have done. Clarion Chukwurah’s role as Zumbura kept reminding me of her priestess role in the 2003 movie, Egg of Life. That’s not to say that she didn’t do a good job though, but it is what it is. 

Amina is a poor replication of a good biopic with its amalgamation of subplots so many that an average viewer may become confused and the main theme obfuscated. The themes of betrayal, gender (female) repression and (black-on-black) slavery are humongous, each on their own. One feels that any of these could have been deeply exploited to buoy the narrative while the main historical facts subsist. 

In all, this movie didn’t look anywhere near a biopic talk less of being an epic. By the way the ‘story’ was credited to Okey Ogunjiofor, the producer and I am wondering: which story?