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Director Joanna Lipper elegantly explores past and present as she tells the remarkable story of Hafsat Abiola, daughter of human rights heroine Kudirat Abiola, and Nigeria's President-elect M.K.O. Abiola, who won a historic vote in 1993 that promised t

Synopsis

Director Joanna Lipper elegantly explores past and present as she tells the remarkable story of Hafsat Abiola, daughter of human rights heroine Kudirat Abiola, and Nigeria's President-elect M.K.O. Abiola, who won a historic vote in 1993 that promised to end years of military dictatorship. Shortly after the election, M.K.O. Abiola's victory was annulled and he was arrested. While he was imprisoned, his wife Kudirat took over leadership of the pro-democracy movement. In this riveting political thriller, the Abiola family's intimate story unfolds against the epic backdrop of Nigeria's evolution from independence in 1960, through a series of military dictatorships to present day civilian rule as Hafsat continues to face the challenge of transforming a corrupt culture of governance into a democracy capable of serving Nigeria's most marginalized population: women.

Military rule in Nigeria was marked by impunity for grave violations of human rights. Critics of the military rulers were subject to serious abuses, including long-term arbitrary detention and extrajudicial execution. Human Rights Watch highlighted the deteriorating human rights situation in Nigeria during the bogus "transition program," which was supposed to restore Nigeria to elected civilian government in the late 1990s.