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Synopsis

October 2020, as the idea a nation built for wealth, peace and unity, turns 60, a long evolving uprising expands to the streets. The mission to disband the notorious police units SARs turns out to be the tip of the iceberg. A broad conversation around more complex but related events that plagues Nigeria begins. Nigerians protest against repressive politics rooted in the upheld economic structures of slavery and the colonial systems.

Technical details

Title: Voices Uprising (Working title)

Director: Joana Adesuwa Reiterer

Running time: 58 minutes.

Release schedule: Autumn 2022

Language: English

Subtitle: English, German

OSAI OJIGHO

DIRECTOR, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

In recent years, we have seen cases of extrajudicial killings. Moving to disappearances, people will note that their family members have been taken, yet cannot be accounted for. 20th of october in lekki toll gate, Lagos state Nigeria, several protesters were shot at by persons wearing military uniforms. You cannot be in this country and be afraid of speaking out your truth. You are not saying what happened to someone else, you are saying what happened to you. And your country is saying don’t say it, you are embarrassing us.

SEUN ANIKULAPO KUTI

Musician & Activist

Your reality and your consciousness are very linked in such a way that if I am going to put it in national discussion, I will say, your nation cannot be greater than your consciousness. So Nigeria as it is, is the level of the consciousness of the Nigerian people. That is why Nigeria is as it is. When Nigerian was created, it was created to exploit the people and its resources. And nothing has been done since the 60 years we say we have our so called independence to actually reverse that, or change the characteristics of this Nigerian nation as it is or chance the habits of the monster.

YEMI DAVIS

CHRISTAIN RELIGIOUS LEADER

Yes, it is our culture. If you study the way of life of Africans, it is not just Nigerians, We kind of worship our leaders. So you find out that our democratic system is strained democracy, so you know. I am from yoruba and, in south west Nigeria, When we greet our Obas, that is our kings, we say Ka bi o osiKa bi o osi, means nobody can question you. Can you imagine that?

OBIANUJU ILOANYA

POLITICAL & SOCIAL ACTIVIST

#whereischijoke
When someone gets arrested, the next thing will be either the person gets bailed, or the person gets charged to court. If found guilty the person will go to jail. That is my opinion on things. That was what I believed not until 2012, when my brother was arrested. It is very important that you understand the economic aspect of all this. You find out that justice in Nigeria is for the Rich if you can afford it.

CHIEF EGBELADE OMIKUNMI

IFA SPIRITUAL LEADER

Money! In the olden day, it was trade by barter. Now they have put the money inside. If you want to buy something, you look for the money. There is nothing you can do without the money. But you have to slow. Look for a good character before you can involve yourself with money.

The life does not change, the character change.

DR HABEEBAH OLADOSU

UNIVERSITY PROFESSOUR

When you see a 10 year old American. Whenever he speaks about America,

he will say “God bless America”. Can a Nigerian Youth say God bless Nigeria?

If you remove history. How Nigeria came into being. How Nigeria became Nigeria. You know. How do you want them to appreciate Nigeria, when you do not teach them how what you call

Nigeria became Nigeria. We need to go back to the drawing board. When did it start?

OLAF BERNAU

SOCIOLOGIST & ACTIVIST

We have to speak critically about Europe, we have to speak critically about the African elite. We have to discus critically about their collaboration, because what the African elite do is often also in the interests of the European elite.

There is a very broad range of instruments that Europe is plays with. And far too little is known about it in the public. And that’s why I think or say these two things. Europe must finally give up and stop a lot of things. That alone would help a lot if Europe stopped doing certain things.

JAMES AMUTA

FILM PRODUCER & DIRECTOR

See the world the police people exists, come form and understand that what you see that is a lot of good men who join the police force with ideals, great ideas that I want to protect and serve and when you get there, there is a lot of corruption and that you do not even have the tools to protect and serve, you are not even encouraged to protect and serve, you go rogue. Yeah!

A RIOT IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE UNHEARD'

...MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

JOANA ADESUWA REITERER

Joana Adesuwa Reiterer is a Nigerian-born, Austrian Based social entrepreneur passionate to empower SMEs using countless works, projects and initiatives, amongst others films and books. She is the founder of Joadre business media and education platform, including the Joadre app for Idea and Self Development. Joana has been recognized with many awards and nominations for her work.

“My aim is to open up a deep and broad conversation around more complex related events that has plagued and shaped Nigeria to become the nations state it is today, despite the efforts of millions of enthusiastic micro enterprises, often termed informal market, who resiliently navigate the failed infrastructure to earn themselves a surviving income. I want to give a voice to the people that engage in their daily micro economic activities to uphold the idea of Nigeria and show how their burdens connect to a more complex global economics dynamic. What can be done to transform the idea of a nation state Nigeria to one that is conducive for its own people?”

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1st of october is a symbolic representation of Nigerian independence fron its britisch colony england. 60 years later, in october, amidst the covid pandemmic, the people of Nigeria took to the streets as an uprising evolving from twitter to the streets firstly to disban the notorious police units SARs but turning to be the tip of the ice berg where they protest against the years of repressive politics propelled by external interest to uphold the structures of slavery and colonial systems.

The environment that brought about the SARs has since been cultivated through the diverse programy that continued after the representative independence of Nigeria, like the SAP (Structural Adjustment Program) that destabilises the livelihoods of million in Nigeria. It goes beyond the nitty gritty of the daily management fo nigeria which can be plagued with corruption, insecurity and more but connects to a global dynamic of Nigeria suppressed to perform its pre-colonial role as cheep ressources deliverant.

If we can endure these external repressive politics imposed on us, why do we still have to die by the hand of the people who we pay their salaries? Protagonist Obianuju Ilonya