Dr. Mekam, the upcoming film from Oby Olebara Uzoukwu with Ike Nnaebue as director, is a commentary on the Nigerian political landscape. It’s also a comedy and Dr. Mekam (Kalu Ikeagwu) is the unfortunate subject whose fragile American worldview is crushed by the political realities in Nigeria. He’s a respected, successful doctor who returns home to contest in the elections in Anambra as governor. He’s motivated by a genuine sense of service and his intentions are selflessly pure.
But there’s a bottleneck in his quest to become someone his state needs. In the trailer, Dr. Mekam’s grassroot campaign takes a disastrous turn as he isn’t versed or proficient in the language of Igbo. The more he persists with his sunny, well-meaning manifesto done with impeccable oratory, the more he isolates the people.
“Money will destroy you,” Dr. Mekam admonishes the youth with passion, which is tragic, and ironic, because money is the exact language these youths understand. His political rival smiles because he knows this too. His spokesperson (Uche Jumbo) cuts into Dr. Mekam’s speech and energizes the crowd in Igbo. They respond with a roar and money is dispensed to seal their votes. Dr. Mekam tries to win back their attention but he is shunned and ignored. In the age of stomach infrastructure and the utilisation of young people as political mercenaries and thugs, Dr. Mekam’s naïveté will be his own undoing. It will be fun to watch, at least.
Dr. Mekam opens in cinemas March 16, and it also features Yemi Blaq, Gloria Anozieyoung, Chika Chukwu, Emeka Okoye, Eric Obinna, Eva Appiah and more. Check out the trailer below.
When Bernard Dayo isn’t writing about pop culture, he’s watching horror movies and reading comics and trying to pretend his addiction to Netflix isn’t a serious condition.
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