Nollywood actress and filmmaker, Funke Akindele, has revealed how a social media influencer ignored and turned down her offer to pay for promotional content for her 2024 movie, Everybody Loves Jenifa.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Akindele made the revelation during a panel discussion at the Creative Africa Nexus Weekend (CANEX WKND).

The actress explained that she was initially hesitant to contact the unnamed influencer but eventually decided to reach out to explore a possible promotional partnership for the movie.

According to her, she waited for several days before receiving a response that the influencer’s management was not interested in the proposed collaboration.

Akindele said she even offered to pay for the promotional content, but the influencer allegedly ignored her message.

Despite the experience, the filmmaker maintained that the rejection did not discourage her from seeking promotional partnerships, adding that she had learnt not to allow such situations to affect her emotionally.

She also disclosed that she later came across claims that she had blocked someone over the disagreement but did not reveal the identity of the influencer.

Recounting the experience, she said:

“There was this influencer I reached out to, I sent a message to them that I would like to create content. One, two, three… for almost a week. And I did not want to send this message, this was during ‘Everybody Loves Jenifa’ but I tried and I was like let me send it, so I sent it.

“The person was like ‘I am sorry, my management does not want me to do this’. And I was like ‘I would pay’ but the person ignored me. Then months after, I read that I blocked somebody because of this.

“I didn’t let it affect me. I embraced it. I didn’t go and reply. I just said, God, take control. I got back to it.”

Veteran Nollywood actor Nkem Owoh, popularly known as Osuofia, has clarified that Yoruba people pioneered home-video production in Nigeria but did not start Nollywood.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Owoh made the clarification during an appearance on Curiosity Made Me Ask, a programme hosted by Nigerian skit maker and content creator, Adebayo Abidemi, better known as Bae U.

The actor explained that the name Nollywood was not in existence when he and other filmmakers began producing movies. He noted that the term was introduced much later following discussions among industry stakeholders.

He credited Yoruba filmmakers, particularly veteran filmmaker Hubert Ogunde, with pioneering the home-video tradition and contributing to its popularity in Nigeria.

Owoh also insisted that his earlier comments about the origins of Nollywood had been misunderstood, stressing that he was referring specifically to home-video production rather than the creation of the Nigerian film industry.

He said, “I never said Yoruba started Nollywood. When did Nollywood come out? When we started film, there was no Nollywood as a name.

“Ogunde is not Igbo. I am not telling you that Yoruba started it.

“Yoruba did not start Nollywood; they started home video and the rest.”

Meanwhile, Owoh recently opened up about how his reputation as a comic actor sometimes influences people’s reactions to him, even in serious situations.

According to him, many people have become so accustomed to seeing him in humorous roles that they often laugh at his actions, even when he has no intention of being funny.

He recalled an incident at a gathering where he was invited to lead a prayer. However, shortly after he began praying with words calling on God, some attendees reportedly burst into laughter.

Nollywood actor, Baba Ijesha, has claimed that he did not know the meaning of the word “paedophile” until he was incarcerated over a child sexual abuse case.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The actor also maintained that he was falsely accused, alleging that some individuals conspired against him.

Baba Ijesha made the claims during an interview with Agbaletu Uncensored, where he insisted that he was not a paedophile.

He said, “I am not a paedophile; I don’t even know what it means until I was in prison.”

The actor also disputed aspects of the incident, claiming that he had never visited the house where he was captured on camera.

“The house where I was caught on camera, I have never been there before,” he said.

Baba Ijesha further recalled what he told his accusers while in prison after allegations that he used a key to sexually assault a seven-year-old girl.

He said, “They said I used a key to deflower a 7-year-old. I told them I also have a girl child; when is time they should do likewise to her if I truly did it. I laid that curse.”

The actor also claimed that someone had warned him about the incident before it happened, adding that he only remembered the person’s name afterwards.

These are Baba Ijesha’s claims during the interview and should be distinguished from the allegations and findings in the case that led to his imprisonment.