Nollywood releases film on Obama’s roots

Nollywood based Nigerian-born filmmaker Ose Oyamendan has released a six-part satirical comedy web series on United States President Barack Obama.

The film, titled: Oh-BAMA, unravels the “mystery” of Obama’s Kenyan roots. The series was filmed in Nairobi, with a couple of scenes filmed in Los Angeles. It stars some of Africa’s leading artistes like Nini Wacera, Chichi Seii and one of Africa’s top models, Ajuma Nesanyana.

According to Oyamendan, who directed the series, the “witty, well paced film” successfully crosses over between two cultures and continents.

He said: “I first thought of the series four years ago but felt there are people out there who would actually believe a show like this is factually correct.

“We decided since Obama is not running for office again, we should go for it. Interestingly, our lead detective is called Donald John. And, you know who the other Donald John is? Yes, Donald J. Trump!”

In the series, Detective Donald John (Jason Corder), America’s top right wing private detective goes to Kenya to dig out all of Obama’s Kenyan secrets. He arrives in Nairobi full of Southern swagger, self-righteousness and right wing scorn.

A statement by Oyamendan quoted the Coder as saying: “I liked the intense satirical take on the absurdity of the idea that Obama is not actually American. It’s also an extremely funny script, funnier than any I’ve had the pleasure to work on yet in my career.”

Detective Donald John’s sidekick is Amani Gitau (Mugambi Nthiga), a former police detective who is down on his luck. They comb through Nairobi, falling for one scam artist after the other in what Oyamendan said is a hilarious series that touches on and knocks off all stereotypes.