RismadarVoice Reporters
October 1, 2026
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday attended the national premiere of MKO, a documentary chronicling the life, political journey and legacy of the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola.
The premiere was held at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts in Iganmu, Lagos, as part of activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary.
Tinubu attended the event alongside First Lady Oluremi Tinubu and other senior government officials and dignitaries.
Directed by Nigerian-American filmmaker Ose Oyamendan, MKO examines Abiola’s life and the political events surrounding the June 12, 1993 presidential election, its annulment by the military government and the pro-democracy struggle that followed.
The documentary also explores Abiola’s subsequent detention and the wider campaign for the restoration of democratic rule in Nigeria.
Abiola is widely recognised as the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which was annulled by the military government led by General Ibrahim Babangida.
The annulment triggered widespread protests and became a defining episode in Nigeria’s struggle for democratic government.
MKO combines archival material with first-hand accounts from individuals connected to the events surrounding the election and its aftermath.
Among those featured in the documentary are former military leaders Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka and Abiola’s running mate in the 1993 election, Baba Gana Kingibe.
The documentary had its international premiere at the Sheffield International Documentary Festival in the United Kingdom in June 2026.
Following its national premiere in Lagos on Thursday, the film is scheduled to open in cinemas across Nigeria on Friday, October 2.
Other dignitaries at the Lagos premiere included Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun and Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu, Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila, Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy Hannatu Musawa and former Ogun State Governor Segun Osoba were also present.
The documentary places Abiola’s story within the broader history of the June 12 struggle and Nigeria’s eventual return to civilian rule in 1999.
