Niyi Babade at the festival venue.

DOHA: Nigeria’s ‘Miracle Man’ is in Doha. Niyi Babade, the young film-maker and the country’s ace photojournalist, will be showcasing his tour de force work ‘Journey to Martyrdom’ at the ongoing Al Jazeera International Documentary Festival, today.

Included in the “Long Film” segment, Babade’s 62-minute documentary is a true life story of MKO Abiola, who won Nigeria’s first freest and fairest presidential elections in the political history of Nigeria. After the victory, Abiola was sent to jail and

he died there.

Abiola meant different things to different people. To some he was a man they hate to love and love to hate. To others he was a generous man, kind, shrewd businessman. However, by 1992, he won the hearts of many Nigerians and emerged as their hero and idol before becoming a hero of democracy in Nigeria. “My attempt was to document these different phases,” Babade told this paper.

Babade’s film was nominated, amongst other renowned films in the world to answer the puzzle surrounding the death of Abiola. A photojournalist working for the Associated Press in Nigeria and engaged in musical video TV Commercials and Documentary production, Babade has covered most hot areas in Nigeria and named by Reuters TV, the ‘miracle man’. Asked what inspired Babade for doing “Journey to Martyrdom”, he quipped:” I am a beneficiary of Abiola’s generosity

and goodwill”.

On the documentary’s entry to the international festival Babade said: “It feels good to be nominated among great film-makers, I will cherish this moment and go back home to project this film about a great Nigerian. My appreciation goes to the Al Jazeera Network for its support for bringing me here”, he said. 

THE PENINSULA