Popular Nollywood actress Faithia Williams late Thursday disclosed the intentions behind her upcoming biopic movie titled ‘Efunroye: The Unicorn.’

The movie has gained a large reaction on Nigerian social media space, especially X (formerly Twitter), as some netizens have given different views about the history surrounding the movie’s main character, Efunroye Tinubu.

Tinubu (c. 1805–1887) was a prominent Yoruba businesswoman and political figure during the 19th century. She was famous for her political and economic influence in Lagos State and Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

In a tweet by the actress on October 22, 2024, she wrote, with the image of the movie’s cover, “Power. Trade. Legacy. She was more than a warrior, she was a ruler who rewrote history.”

Reacting to this, some netizens lauded the actress’ efforts to portray one of Yoruba’s powerful women in history, while others saw the biopic movie as unnecessary, alleging that Tinubu was famous for amassing wealth during the slave trade era, which was apparent at the time.

An X user, David Hundeyin, tweeting as #DavidHundeyin, criticised the movie, alleging that Tinubu was an “ultimate slave trader.”

His tweet, among others, read, “A deliberate decision was made to fund a Nigerian movie lionising not just ‘a’ slave trader but the ultimate slave trader, as in the Efunroye Tinubu herself. The one who decided she would rather sink a ship loaded with a cargo of kidnapped African human beings than reduce their asking price to the European buyers. That Efunroye Tinubu. This would be like getting Tyler Perry and Spike Lee to produce and direct a movie titled ‘Robert E. Lee: The Unicorn.’”

Also, the 2023 Labour Party’s governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, wrote, “The Yoruba were the biggest victims of Madam Tinubu’s kidnapping, human trafficking and enslavement network. In the British attempt to end human trafficking and her ruthless opposition to it, she was exiled from Lagos. When Nigerians do DNA test like 23 and me, etc., they will see the number of unknown relatives they have scattered all across the Americas and the West Indies. They will realise how close and how deep this chapter of our history is. It is unfortunate that Nigerians are still dealing with a ruthless elite that amass their fortune at the detriment of their people.”

Amid the backlash on the yet-to-be-released biopic movie, the actress clarified that there was no political intention behind the movie production.