By Leshi Adebayo
As tributes continue to pour in following the demise of Hollywood legend Sidney Poitier, an interesting story of how former Nigerian leader, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe vacated his official residence to allow the shooting of a movie which starred the film icon, has been revealed.
In a tribute published on its Instagram page on Friday, the Nigerian Nostalgia Project narrated how Azikiwe, then the Premier of Eastern Region, had to vacate the Premier’s Lodge for some days to give room for the filming of some scenes for the movie, ‘The Mark of the Hawk’.
“This film starring Sidney Poitier and Eartha Kitt was partially shot on location in Enugu, Nigeria in 1957.”
“Dr. Azikiwe had to vacate the Premier’s Lodge for some days as some of the scenes were shot there!!,” it read in part.
Meanwhile, Nigeria Nostalgia Project (NNP) is an online digital archive of collected photographs dealing with images, video, sound bytes, press clippings, publicity stills, and various ephemera depicting scenes and people in Nigeria between 1960 and 1980.
The project first began on Facebook and it has over 15,000 members since 2010. Also, NNP has accounts on Twitter and Instagram. It focuses more on the identity and history of Nigeria.
