About four years after the idea was oroginally mooted with the late fiunder of African Movie Acadeny Awards, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, the biopic about the life and time of Lateef Kayode Jakande is about to go into production.
In a country where history was once removed from the school curriculum and where the legends of yesteryear are often reduced to blurry black-and-white photos in dusty archives, one man has taken it upon himself to be one of the nation’s visual historians.
Seun Oloketuyi, the brain behind the prestigious Best of Nollywood (BON) Awards, has earned a new, more heavy-duty title: The King of Biopics. Having already immortalised the lives of a few political gladiators and traditional icons, Oloketuyi is set to lens his most ambitious project yet—a biopic on the legendary Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, the first civilian governor of Lagos State.
The film is titled ‘Baba Kekere’.
To understand why this film is a necessity, one must understand the man.
Lateef Jakande (1929–2021) was not just the first civilian governor of Lagos State; he was considered to be the architect of modern Lagos.
Nicknamed ‘Baba Kekere’ (the junior version of his mentor, Chief Obafemi Awolowo), Jakande’s four-year tenure (1979–1983) remains a golden era of governance.
He built over 30,000 low-cost housing units, established the Lagos State University (LASU), and provided free education that birthed the professionals leading Nigeria today.
He lived in his private house, drove his private car, and prioritised the ‘greatest good for the greatest number’.
For Oloketuyi, the motivation is as much about patriotism as it is about production.
“Our young people do not have a sense of history,” Oloketuyi says with a hint of concern. “After every biopic we do, people call me to confirm some of the things they saw in the film. Our history is being eroded because we are not documenting it. It is time to start doing that.”
Oloketuyi’s filmography, as a producer, is becoming a library of Nigerian power. He has already delivered ‘Last Man Standing’ (chronicling President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Lagos years), ‘Yahaya the White Lion’ (on former Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello), and the stories of Chief Michael Koleosho in Babalaje.
In addition, his biopic on the late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, and Lamidi Adedibu, the ‘Strongman of Ibadan Politics’, are soon to be released.
With two more biopics in the pipeline, he is systematically ensuring that the Nigerian story is told by Nigerians, for Nigerians.
Oloketuyi is also not just looking at the past; he is investing in the future of the lens. In a strategic collaboration with Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye LCDA, he is spearheading a Nollywood Talent Development Training program.
The initiative is powered by the Executive Chairman of the LCDA, Seyi Lawal Jakande, the son of Jakande, who carries the legacy of the late Baba Kekere. It aims to train 100 talented youths from the local government area.
This isn’t just another workshop; it’s a career pipeline. Oloketuyi is giving young Lagosians the technical skills to tell their own stories, ensuring that the next generation of filmmakers has the tools to document the history that is happening right now.
As Oloketuyi prepares to bring ‘Baba Kekere’ to life on the silver screen, he isn’t just making a movie. He is building a bridge between the discipline of the past and the potential of the future. In the hands of the ‘King of Biopics’, Nigeria’s history is no longer a forgotten chapter—it’s a blockbuster in the making.
