Ghanaian actor and filmmaker Kwadwo Nkansah, popularly known as Lil Win, has claimed he rejected a $20,000 offer to shelve his upcoming film centred on Burkina Faso’s military leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré.
The highly anticipated film, titled The Last African Hero, is a biographical portrayal of Traoré’s rise to power and leadership in Burkina Faso.
The project has sparked considerable buzz since Lil Win released a teaser trailer on May 21, showing cast members, including himself, dressed in military regalia reminiscent of Traoré and his revolutionary comrades.
However, the film’s production has not been without controversy. In a video shared on social media, Lil Win disclosed that he and his team were approached by an unidentified individual allegedly sent by a powerful figure who wished to stop the movie from being completed.
“A man I don’t know came to meet me,” Lil Win said in the video. “He said his boss had sent him to persuade me to drop the project. He mentioned there were gifts prepared for my team and me — and to prove his seriousness, he presented $20,000.”
Lil Win displayed what appeared to be an envelope of U.S. dollars in the video, asserting that he had turned down the bribe out of principle and commitment to the film’s purpose.
“I am not for sale,” he said firmly. “This story deserves to be told.”
Despite the attempt to suppress the project, Lil Win has received a groundswell of support from fans and prominent figures in the Ghanaian creative industry. Veteran hiplife musician Okyeame Kwame is among those publicly backing the actor, urging him to stand firm and move forward with the release.
