Funke Akindele at the heart of industry brawl

While politics may be my forte on X, I am no stranger to entertainment – and the intrigues it carries. Particularly the Nigerian movie industry, as founded and dominated by Yoruba filmmakers.

From Ogunde’s eternal productions – Jaiyesimi, Aiye – to Duro Ladipo’s thunderous Sango; to Ade Love’s iconic Taxi Driver; to Lere Paimo’s unforgettable Ogbori Elemosho; to Alade Aromire’s groundbreaking Asiri Nla; to Tunde Kelani’s luminous Oleku; to Tade Ogidan’s masterful Owo Blow – and then it evolves. I am no mere spectator. I am a student of every field as it concerns the Yoruba creed.

My observations of yesterday’s events – at the movie premiere of Iyabo Ojo’s The Return of Arinzo – will arrive in three dimensions.

1. Funke Akindele’s snub.
2. Is Toyin Abraham gesture eye-service knowing they aren’t friend?
3. Iyabo Ojo’s expected Intervention.

Shall I Begin?

1. Funke Akindele’s snub:

Unless one’s situational awareness has flatlined entirely – or one is a certified sufferer of acute selective blindness – you do not stand in a room full of colleagues and pretend not to hear a loud, deliberate greeting from one of them. So let us not excuse bad behaviour as absent-mindedness and unfer the guise of fanship. She was present. She was aware. She chose to snub.

So why the snub?

The Bible says, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” And in this age of social media, what the heart overflows with, the finger also types. You will recall Funke’s response to Kunle Afolayan’s professional commentary on dancing as a marketing tool.

Any mind unburdened by bitterness – even in disagreement – would have answered a professional argument with a professional rebuttal:

“Dear Kunle, I dance to promote my movies because it is a personal hobby I derive joy from. It has also become a niche my fans have grown to love.”

Instead, Funke reached for venom: “I am not the cause of your misfortune.” What misfortune? When did professional discourse become an invitation to broke-shame, insult or belittle?

Funke suffers from a God-Complex.

She has crowned herself the sole authority of cinema production, and anyone who dares to walk that corridor with comparable stature is not seen as a colleague – they are seen as a threat. An adversary. An enemy to be eliminated.

Every other filmmaker has read this memo and bowed to it quietly. They dare not release their big-screen projects in the same season as Funke Akindele. They have been bullied – not by her fists, but by her monumental success – into suspending their cinema plans until her shadow passes over the screen.

Only one woman refused to read that memo. Only one filmmaker had the audacity to consistently share the cinema space with Funke Akindele – and returned not in tears, but in triumph. Content within the boundaries of her own target. Unbothered by comparison. Unbroken by competition.

Who is the Woman?

Toyin Abraham!

And guess who she chose to snub at yesterday’s premiere?
Your instincts are correct.

They say: The great cock does not smile at the little ones who dare to crow. It bristles. It turns away. Because deep in its chest, it knows – the crowing is no longer little.

2. Is Toyin Abraham gesture eye-service – knowing they aren’t friend?

Shall I Begin?

Good Morning Severally…

Jowosimi Olabamiji Eniitan