Pascal Amanfo’s "Nation Under Siege" (2013) as an ideological discourse in the management of Boko Haram Insurgence in Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34640/ct10uma2025sesanoyewoKeywords:
Nollywood and Boko Haram scourge, Nigeria’s security challenges, Nation Under SiegeAbstract
The persistence of violence in Nigeria’s socio-political space has called for critical interventions of government and other stakeholders with a view to finding solutions from ideological and combative fronts. Nollywood filmmakers have been consistently intervening in national discourses aimed at ushering in peace and national cohesion through the subject matter and themes of their films. Pascal Amanfo’s Nation Under Siege (2013) is one of the Nollywood films that have intervened in ideological discourse aimed at sustainable peace in Nigeria. With the tenets of psychoanalysis, the article critiques the film’s focus on Boko Haram insurgents. With content analysis, the article found that the film highlights the operative strategies of the insurgents and the ineptitude of the government in the fight against them. The film, however, upholds the view that ideological warfare should also be engaged in the fight against the insurgents as underlined in the characterisation and role of Lina, a prostitute in the film. With the topicality and relevance of the film to ideological discourse, Nollywood has come of age considering the quality of its story and boldness to take risk in the face of state censorship.
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