To Adaego With Love

Set in 1975 Nigeria, less than a decade after the civil war, To Adaego With Love tells the story of Major Balarabe Alkali — a Northern soldier sent on a mission of national reconciliation — and Adaego, a young schoolteacher from Eastern Nigeria whose distrust of the army runs as deep as her grief. Their love story unfolds slowly, painfully, and beautifully, carried by two performances that deserve every award the industry can give them.

Demi Banwo disappears into the role of Balarabe with a quiet authority that catches you off guard. He communicates volumes without dialogue, and his chemistry with Chioma Chukwuka Akpotha is the kind that makes a cinema go completely silent. The late Onyeka Onwenu appears in one of her final screen performances as Adaego’s grandmother, and the weight of knowing this is her farewell adds a layer of grief that the film channels deliberately and with great care.

Director Nwamaka Chikezie does not rush the healing. She lingers in the silences between Balarabe and Adaego — in a shared meal, a song across a compound wall, a letter that takes three weeks to arrive. The 1975 production design is meticulous without being museum-like. This is a living Nigeria, bruised but breathing.

The screenplay, which won Best Screenplay at AFRIFF 2025, occasionally leans too heavily on dialogue to state themes the visuals have already landed. But these are small complaints against a film that is genuinely moving and politically mature. To Adaego With Love is a love letter to a Nigeria that chose to survive.

Verdict: The best Nigerian film of early 2026. A masterclass in restraint, performance, and the quiet power of historical storytelling.