MOVIE REVIEW: Wale Ojo takes on Soyinka’s role in 'The Man Died', but is it convincing?

There are stories we share because they entertain us, and there are those we tell because forgetting them has serious consequences. The Man Died falls into the second group.

Directed by Awam Amkpa and produced by Femi Odugbemi for Zuri24 Media, the 2024 Nigerian historical drama premiered on Prime Video on 15 August 2026.

The film features Wale Ojo as Wole Soyinka, with a cast that includes Sam Dede, Norbert Young, Segilola Ogidan, Christinah Oshunniyi, Abraham Amkpa, Tmilolu Fosudo, Similoluwa Hassan, and Ropo Ewenla.

Inspired by Soyinka’s book, The Man Died: Prison Notes of Wole Soyinka, the film looks back at a crucial time in the writer’s life: his arrest and imprisonment during the Nigerian Civil War.

It had a special screening in Lagos on 12 July 2024 to mark Soyinka’s 90th birthday the next day, and later went to international film festivals. The film was shown at the 2025 New York African Film Festival.

Background

Published in 1972, The Man Died: Prison Notes of Wole Soyinka details Soyinka’s time in detention during the Nigerian Civil War. It has become a significant work about political oppression, freedom, and resistance.

Soyinka tried to help end the conflict and met with Biafran leader Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu secretly to try to stop the war.

He was arrested by federal authorities in 1967. He spent about 22 months in prison without a trial, mostly in solitary confinement, before being released in 1969.

This imprisonment happened nearly 20 years before Soyinka became the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986.

Wale Ojo’s job is to portray this younger Soyinka, the writer and activist who stood up against military power, imprisonment, and isolation.

Storyline

The Man Died tells the story of Soyinka (Wale Ojo), a writer and public figure whose attempt to mediate during the Nigerian Civil War leads to his arrest by the military government.

The film is set against the war between the Federal Government and the breakaway Republic of Biafra from 1967 to 1970.

This conflict was marked by political unrest, two military coups, ethnic violence, and the killing and displacement of thousands, especially during attacks on the Igbo people in Northern Nigeria.

Soyinka’s efforts put him in a risky situation. His meeting with Ojukwu and his push for a peaceful solution are seen as suspicious by the federal military.

He is eventually arrested without trial and spends about 22 months in confinement, much of it in solitary confinement.

The film explores Soyinka’s time in prison and the political chaos, relationships, and beliefs that motivated his decision to intervene.

Review

Every adaptation comes with expectations, especially when it is based on a well-known story.

This familiarity raises the stakes for filmmakers, who must stay true to the original while making a film.

Adapting The Man Died was never going to be easy.

The film starts with a strong saying attributed to Soyinka’s grandfather: “Death is never the end of a man, fear is.”

This is a fitting start for a film focused on bravery, resistance, and survival.

From there, Mr Amkpa tells the story through party scenes from the 1960s, prison scenes, flashbacks, radio broadcasts, voiceovers, and Soyinka’s secret writings.

Wale Ojo takes on much of the film as Soyinka, showing the writer during a time far from the Nobel laureate and global figure we know today.

Instead of a typical biopic showing his whole life, The Man Died focuses on the person behind the literary figure, looking at the experiences and choices that made Soyinka’s story important.

The story shifts between his time in prison and earlier meetings with some of Nigeria’s well-known political and literary figures, including writer Christopher Okigbo, politician Bola Ige, and Biafran leader Emeka Ojukwu.

These meetings provide context for the political tensions that led to the Nigerian Civil War.

The film also revisits the environment of military coups, ethnic violence, political distrust, and the fight for national unity during one of Nigeria’s most chaotic times.

History versus drama

The film’s biggest weakness comes from its biggest ambition.

The Man Died aims to educate. Sometimes, it tries too hard.

At its best, the film lets the audience feel history through Soyinka’s fear, isolation, and uncertainty. At its weaker moments, it simply explains what happened.

Sometimes, the film relies too much on historical facts, while some dramatic scenes feel more ordinary than the reflective tone of Soyinka’s memoir. There are also gaps in its historical storytelling.

The result is that the amount of history the film tries to show sometimes competes with the personal story at its heart.

It is more engaging when the explanations fade away, and Soyinka’s personal experiences take center stage.

That is when Ojo’s performance becomes crucial: the history is not just about coups, Biafra, or military rule, but about the man feeling their effects from inside a prison.

Still, these issues do not overshadow the film’s achievements.

Mr Amkpa has created a serious historical drama that introduces viewers to Soyinka’s story, which they may not have read in The Man Died.

The film may not completely avoid the typical biographical drama style, but it succeeds in telling Soyinka’s story of courage and resistance in a compelling way.

And maybe most importantly, it reminds us that when power demands silence, choosing to speak can come with a price.

Rating: 7/10

The Man Died is available on Prime Video.