The historical “Ali Must Go” event, which caused much upheaval in the nation, has been captured in a movie and is set to hit the screens.
The event happened in 1978, when 36-year-old student leader Segun Okeowo led a fearless nationwide protest after seven months of negotiations against a military government led by then General Olusegun Obasanjo that increased university school fees.
Dialogue failed, and soldiers opened fire, but the daring student leader never gave up, and it erupted into the most bloody student public protest in Nigeria.
The “Ali Must Go” movie is written and produced by the late Segun Okeowo’s son, a popular filmmaker known as Kolade Segun Okeowo. He unveils the true story of Nigeria’s unforgettable biggest student uprising.
Speaking on what inspired the film, Kolade Okeowo said that the movie is not about a protest. It is about what happens when conscienceless power meets powerless conscience. And who laughs last.
”I did not choose this story. This story chose me. My father, Segun Okeowo, was 36 when he stood in Dodan Barracks and told a military government that education is not a luxury. He was arrested for it. He was rusticated for it.
”For years, I heard people call it ‘Ali Must Go’, like it was a slogan. But the documents he left behind call it something else. The struggle for the democratization of education.
”This film is not nostalgia. It is a warning. In 1978, students were killed for asking that school fees not be raised. In 2026, parents are selling properties to pay school fees. The numbers changed. The question did not: Who gets to be educated? I am making this film in three layers”.
Though the cinema release date has not been disclosed yet, The movie,Ali Must Go which shaped lives and policies in Nigeria will become more of a talking point.
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