Shehu Sanni Reacts As Oscar Disqualifies Genevieve’s ‘Lionheart’

A former lawmaker representing Kaduna Central district at the National Assembly, Senator Shehu Sani, has reacted to the disqualification of “Lionheart,” Nigeria’s first-ever film submitted to the Oscars by Nigeria.

NAIJALOADED had reported that, “Lionheart” which was directed by actress-turned-director Genevieve Nnaji, was disqualified because it violates an Academy rule that entries in the category must have “a predominantly non-English dialogue track.”

However, “Lionheart,” in which Nnaji also stars, is partially in the Igbo language of Nigeria but it is mostly in English

The Academy announced the disqualification of, “Lionheart” to voters in the category in an email on Monday.

Reacting to the development, Sani in a tweet on his official Twitter page on Tuesday, said Oscars’ disqualification of “Lionheart” only exposes the degree of their ignorance of the World outside of theirs.

He wrote: “The reasons given for the #Oscars disqualification of LION HEART only exposes the degree of their ignorance of the World outside of theirs, and their discriminatory and contemptuous views about African history and our ways.”