By Doris Obinna
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) , Godwin Emefiele, and director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, tomorrow, May 7, will lead screening/discourse on a documentary, Unmasked: Leadership, trust and COVID-19 in Nigeria, structured around the incidence and management of the pandemic in the country.
According to a statement by the organisers, a collaborative work between Daria Media and Zuri25 Media, Unmasked was produced/directed by Femi Odugbemi, and co-produced/presented by Kadaria Ahmed. It features a stellar cast of resource persons drawn from medical, political and other relevant sectors of society. It was released in March.
The event, however, is not just for the screening of the film, it will feature a conversation around the issues thrown up by the extensive research that led to the production of the documentary.
The conversation is designed as a public-private sector collaboration for the development of a robust and effective public healthcare system.
Other personalities lined up to participate in the conversation are Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, immediate past chairman of First Bank of Nigeria, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, and chairman/non-executive director, Evercare Hospital, Lekki, Mr. Tosin Runsewe.
After the Lagos premiere, the screening of the film and the attendant conversation will also be staged in other major cities of the country, with other sets of speakers and discussants.
The documentary was first screened at the 2021 iREP International Documentary Film Festival to critical acclaim by the international audience from four continents.
In giving the background to the production of the documentary, Odugbemi said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the world on its head and hit the world’s most populous black nation Nigeria with predictable ferocity. And with its soft underbelly of corruption, poor healthcare infrastructure, weak systems and an ever-increasing number of its population below the poverty line, the portent is dire. Could this also be an opportunity for reset?”
This is the context in which the conversation will hold after the documentary would have been screened.
In the words of the co-producer and presenter, “It is the hope of the producers of the documentary that Unmasked acts as a catalyst for a conversation on shortcomings in our public health sector that were unmasked by COVID.”