- Title: Musical puts spotlight on Nigeria's humanitarian crisis
- Date: 20th December 2019
- Summary: LAGOS, NIGERIA (DECEMBER 19, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MAIN CHARACTER "BINTU" SINGING A SAD SONG
- Embargoed: 3rd January 2020 12:27
- Keywords: Bintu the Musical Boko Haram insurgency Humanitarian crisis displaced people north-eastern Nigeria
- Location: LAGOS, NIGERIA
- City: LAGOS, NIGERIA
- Country: Nigeria
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Insurgencies
- Reuters ID: LVA001BAS6ES7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A musical about the conflict in northeast Nigeria and the efforts of the affected people to rebuild their lives premiered in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos on Thursday (December 19).
It's titled "Bintu - The Musical". The play is centered around the life of a young girl named Bintu whose dreams of going to university to study Business Administration are cut short when insurgents attack her hometown of Gwoza and abduct her father.
Oluchi Odii acts as Bintu.
"At some point I literally broke down because I have somehow seen stuff like that happen to a few people that I know so it was traumatizing and I had to put myself in that condition, in that situation and relay it so that people can watch ad actually feel the emotions that these people or these little girls go through," she said.
Islamic militant group, Boko Haram has kidnapped thousands, killed more than 20,000 people, and forced about 2 million to flee their homes since it began an insurgency in 2009 aimed at creating an Islamic state in northeast Nigeria.
Nearly half a million people including refugees, displaced people and poor local communities who have been affected by the crisis also face acute food insecurity.
Directed by Agozie Ugwu and featuring an all Nigerian cast of 20, the playwrights were tasked with creating a production that would raise awareness and spark conversations amongst Nigerians about the crisis.
"I'm so glad that they are bringing the reality of what is happening in our nation down to come here so we can actually see. So many people who don't even know what is going on in Nigeria and this is the truth. It is the true story of families who are being torn apart, it is the true story of women who are being subjected to rape. It is the true story of people just dying because people just blow them up. Insurgents coming up, students whose lives are just cut short and their whole future is gone. But more importantly what humanitarian aid does, people who are sacrificing their time and their money to just go out and give people hope, so at the end of the day it is a story of hope," said Tonye Cole, the CEO of energy and infrastructure conglomerate Sahara Group.
"We can't leave UN or World Food Programme alone to do this alone, I think more people should come up to support them, like my sister was saying how do we help after watching this, how do we help, and that is the step we are taking to see in what ways we can do to help because we know they are still going through some challenges in the north east," added former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Sarah Adebisi-Sosan.
Bintu was sponsored by the World Food Programme.
(Seun Sanni, Angela Ukomadu) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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