POPULAR Nigerian actress and comedian, Funke Akindele, though married to London-based singer, Abdulrasheed Bello, aka JJC, has long ‘possessed’ London as her second home outside of Lagos.
It is not clear how the Glo ambassador and crossover thespian got to this point in her life, but recent events show that just as Genevieve Nnaji was practically living in Ghana in her heydays, Jenifa, as Funke Akindele is otherwise called, enjoys a fan base that endears her to London than any other city in the world.
This weekend, the actress holds sway with the three premieres of a two-hour cut of her current series, Jenifa’s Diary, a feat never attained by any of the Nigerian films which have been premiered in London.
Promoters of the back-to-back screenings which kicked off on Friday, at The Lighthouse, Camberwell Rd, London, followed today’s show at The Dance House, 10 Oxford Road, Manchester, and another leg tomorrow, at the The Lighthouse, London, say Funke Akindele’s events despite being staged in series, happen to be the most sold-out of Nigerian film shows in the United Kingdom.
How would you describe Funke’s popularity in London? I asked her event manager, DJ Abbas in London recently. “It is huge… Very huge o,” he said. “We have sold out Friday which is a 600 capacity venue and there are indications that we will do the same for Sunday in London. Manchester is a 500 capacity venue and it is almost sold out as well.”
The film is a two-hour cinematic version cut from Season 7 and 8 of Jenifa’s Diary which is about 24 episodes. Funke has been advised on the need to release that same film in Nigeria in the hope that it will match, if not exceed the over one hundred million box office hit of Ayo Makun’s A Trip to Jamaica.
It is amazing how a single film from Nigeria would attain such back-to-back exposure, but it is understandable, given that the U.K has the largest community of Nigerians in the Diaspora in the world. How the actress is able to carve a niche for herself in this market has to do with a business and social aura that is aided by today’s media. And it is doubtful that any other Nollywood figure can pull this kind of stuff right now in the U.K.
I tried to figure out if this is just about Jenifa’s Diary or the actress’ personality. I asked questions too, and it is amazing that there is something about her personality that suffices, despite odds.
Reports have it that in July when she launched her new season, she had a deal with iRoko TV where she had a Meet & Greet session in a 380 capacity venue and it was sold out in no time. Indeed, the attraction is Funke, whose rise may have been induced by the Jenifa brand. This much I witnessed of her in Toronto in 2008 where she took her art, when a huge number if the Nigerian community gave her a colourful welcome at the Toronto Pearson International Airport.
Today, apart from the campaigns that her event managers might be doing, it is said that her fans are doing more through social media retweets and reposts. This situation could have helped a great deal to build such huge fan base for Jenifa in London.
Let’s just say that the actress has done so well for herself to earn this feat, because despite the ‘parallel’ line that exists between the Yoruba and English language sectors in Nollywood, Funke has been able to crisscross from television to mainstream Yoruba sector and the hub of today’s Nollywood quantum productions which is in Asaba, Delta State.
