Barely hours after the film Efunroye: The Unicorn, which is based on the life of Efunroye Tinubu, the infamous Madam Tinubu was announced, producer and lead actress Faithia Williams (formerly Fathia Balogun) came under heavy criticism for glorifying her legacy of slave trade.
“Power. Trade. Legacy… The untold story of a warrior queen is about to unfold. She built an empire. She defied kings. She changed history. When freedom had a price, she paid it in gold. The merchant queen who rewrote the rules. Now, it’s time for her to rule your screens,” Williams posted on Instagram on Tuesday, 22 October 2024.
What are critics saying?
Critics have blasted the promotion of the film as trying to whitewash Madam Tinubu’s dirty laundry as a staunch defender of slave trade and make her a patriotic martyr.
“A deliberate decision was made to fund a Nigerian movie lionising not just ‘a’ slave trader but THE ULTIMATE SLAVE TRADER, as in THE EFUNROYE TINUBU herself,” David Hundeyin, the journalist said on X. “The one who decided she would rather sink a ship loaded with a cargo of kidnapped African human beings than reduce their asking price to the European buyers. THAT Efunroye Tinubu. This would be like getting Tyler Perry and Spike Lee to produce and direct a movie titled ‘Robert E. Lee: The Unicorn.”
“Africans who say you are victims of slavery and forced labour by the Whites are now building monuments and making movies to honour your own people who sold you as slaves to whites. You hate the slave buyers but are hailing the slave sellers as ‘unicorn’ who ‘re-wrote history.’ The yoke is heavy,” another user posted under Williams’s post.
“One of the most wicked female Figures in African History. They are calling her a Warrior,” a user posted.
Who is Madam Tinubu
Madame Tinubu was just about her coins. She had serious political power. She was tight with four Lagos Obas — Adele, Dosunmu, Oluwole, and Akitoye. She married Oba Adele for that extra street cred and used her wifey perks to build a solid trade network with European merchants. Her stock list? Slaves, tobacco, salt, cotton, palm oil, coconut oil, and firearms.
When the British came with their “abolish the slave trade” energy in 1852, they had Oba Akitoye sign a treaty to officially put an end to it. But Madam Tinubu was like, “Treaty for who?” She kept her trade popping on the down-low with her Brazilian and European business partners, and Akitoye was just there looking the other way.
Benjamin Campbell, the British consul at the time, wasn’t having it and called her out for still dealing in slaves and basically controlling all the trade in Lagos.
After Oba Dosunmu took the throne, things got a bit spicy for Madam Tinubu. Under pressure from Campbell, Dosunmu had no choice but to exile her to Abeokuta after she plotted and scattered the British influence in Lagos and even planned to assassinate Campbell.
When the Kingdom of Dahomey came for Abeokuta, Tinubu stepped up, supplying Abeokuta with the weapons needed for victory. This earned her the title of Iyalode of Egba.
Madam Tinubu passed away in 1887, but her legacy is very much alive. Lagos’ Tinubu Square is named after her, and there’s even a statue of her there.
What we know about Efunroye: The Unicorn
Williams has not said much about the film. In fact, the poster she posted on X was the first public announcement she made about it. There is no release date yet, but it’s coming soon. The film is a biopic of Madam Tinubu’s life. Williams is the producer and will also play Madam Tinubu.
