Charles Okpaleke has revealed the reason he wanted to make the upcoming historical movie, Hijack 93: The Mad Men & the Aircraft.
In a post on Instagram, the filmmaker expressed that he wanted to tell the story of the 1993 Hijack because he wants young people to know their history. He said, "May Day May Day!! Committed to telling our stories, so our children’s children will know and tell their own children about Nigerian history. #playnetworkstudios#nollywood."
The movie follows the striking event of October 25, 1993, that saw four teenage boys hijack a Nigerian Airways plane as a medium of protest against the June 12 elections.
On the said day, four Nigerian young men, Richard Ogunderu, Kabir Adenuga, Benneth Oluwadaisi and Kenny Rasaq-Lawal, commandeered a Nigerian Airways aeroplane en route to Abuja from Lagos, and forced its pilots to land in the Niger Republic. Their audacious move was an attempt to force the government to hand over power to MKO Abiola.
Okpaleke first announced details of the production in 2021, adding that the production wasn't just a tell-tale story of what had happened as they were going to include first-hand accounts of the incident. He said: "The preliminary plot I have just been sent is AMAZING! We are still reaching out to key participants of that hijack to share with us, a more in-depth account of their first hand participation!"
And then in 2022, he confirmed the partnership with the United Kingdom government’s Department of International Trade (DIT) and support from the British Film Institute (BFI).
Photos released on Instagram revealed Jemima Osunde, Idia Aisien, Ego Nwosu, John Dumelo, Yakubu Muhammed, Efa Iwara, Nancy Isime, Sharon Ooja, Sani Muazu, Adam Garba, Allison Emmanuel, Oluwaseyi Akinola and Nnamdi Agbo as the cast to expect in the upcoming movie.
The wait continues as a release date is yet to be announced.