Nigerian video-films on History: Love in Vendetta and the 1987 Kano riots

Ugochukwu, Françoise (2014). Nigerian video-films on History: Love in Vendetta and the 1987 Kano riots. In: Ogunleye, Foluke ed. African Film: Looking Back and Looking Forward. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 125–135.

URL: http://www.cambridgescholars.com/african-film-6

Abstract

This paper considers a Nigerian video-film from 1996, Love in vendetta, featuring Zack Orji and inspired by the 1987 Kano riots, one of the many incidences of violent outbreaks which opposed Christians to Muslims in the 1980s and resulted in thousands of deaths, injuries and arrests. This Nigerian adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet presents two lovers: an Igbo man and a Hausa girl, who plan their marriage in the midst of strong family opposition on both sides. They eventually discover that their parents’ attitude is the result of deep scars left by the 1987 Kano riots and bloodshed. Love eventually prevails, sending a message of hope to the whole country and heralding a time when ethnical and religious differences would be part of the Federation’s rich cultural heritage.

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