07/12/2025
A REVIEW ON THE FEATURE FILM 'GARI GUDA'
By Nadir Nasidi PhD.
Amidst the amorphous and sometimes, the seeming eclipse of the Northern political establishment into the abyss of radical insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and political chaos, Gari Guda, a movie of the Sefjamil Media and Development (SMD) emerges to symbolize an eclipse at dawn. Using a 3-Act Structure screenwriting method, the film, which was produced and directed by Sufyan Lawal Kabo dramatizes the major reasons promoting social vices, especially kidnapping, as well as rural urban migration and its attendant consequences on national development. This is achieved through Abdul, the protagonist who chooses to break-away from his rural origin to the extent of discarding his parents in squalor and abject poverty. Abdul’s life reaches its climax with a strong nemesis as he fell into the trap of kidnapping driven by the tide of insecurity.
Personally, I find this film not only creative and entertaining, but also didactic, thought provoking and timely. This is adequately displayed through the use of the state-of-the-art equipment, professionalism and a unique sense of originality. I honestly believe that viewers and film lovers out there will surely find Gari Guda as an interesting, meaningful and suspenseful movie.
Gari Guda to which I was also a consultant is a typical example of a film with definite thematic impulses on the socio-political, economic and psychological life of Nigerians who are frequently challenged by a cyclonic societal decay, corruption and the breach of the Rule of Law. Despite the fact that the film was earlier on stolen at its completion, the doggedness, resilience and the spiritual will of its producer who made sure that it has seen the light of the day is quite impressive.
