Matters Arising In Female Genital Mutilation...

In Onikola, no hiding place for genital mutilators:

“Nigeria is fast becoming a dangerous place to have a daughter if you are in middle class and below. With our legislators making paedophilia legal, mine is a call to all who care to stand with us to make Nigeria safe again for our daughters. First, we need to turn away from a tradition that does not add quality to the life of the girl child and women.

"Then we would have a basis to fight the people seeking to make our girl children mothers before they can even vote.”

At a time that threats against the girl-child seem to be getting compounded, an actress, Funmi Fiberesima, is digging into unresolved questions that surround genital mutilation. Her maiden film titled Onikola (facial mark doctor), is due to hit the screen soon.

“Onikola is a film that brings to light the harmful side effects of female circumcision without flogging the viewers over the head with the message. It is a movie complete with elements that bring it home as a unique and entertaining movie. It is the kind of movie that would make us proud of our heritage and provoke the minds of Africans to think about the evil of female circumcision.

"Not only English movies are going international, this movie promises to meet all high expectations of the Yoruba movie goers,” she explains

Written by Gbenga Adesanya, Steve Anu Adesemoye, and Abosede Oshin, it features Fiberesima herself, deceased musician, Fatai Rolling Dollar, Dejumo Lewis, Ara, Sunday Afolabi, Ronke Ojo and Ibrahim Chatta.

Saying it was shot in Iseyin, Oyo State, Funmi notes that the movie “weave a blend of iconic and traditional scenes with compelling story of love without losing sight of the issue.” Her target in the work, she adds, it to achieve a kind of film that deals with issues without boring viewers.