Funke Akindele-Bello Shares Her Story of Love, “Omo Ghetto: The Saga” & 2020 on “#WithChude”

Funke Akindele-Bello, the Nollywood actress, producer, and director of the highest-grossing film in Nigerian and West African film history is the newest guest on Chude Jideonwo‘s show “#WithChude.”

For the first time, she discusses everything from the drama of her first marriage to the joys of her second and the difficult 2020 she had.

She told Chude about how she kept pushing and giving her team the motivation they needed to keep going. The result was the highest-grossing movie in Nigeria entertainment history.  This phenomenal feat was accomplished a year after she was arrested for allegedly breaking the COVID-19 rule. Funke disclosed that that period was so tough for her that at some point she considered death. 

“When I was told to write my statement, I said, ‘I wish I could just die. I didn’t do anything wrong. Let me just die so it will cover the whole thing”, she said. 

She further revealed that she had spent a lot of time crying and wondering what she could have done differently. Her mom and husband, however, helped her get through it with words of encouragement.  

I said that minute but after a while, I took it back. Whatever it is Chude, it will pass.

They are times negativity will come, there are times jealousy will come, they are time anger will come. Do not let it overwhelm you, do not let it eat you up, so that when the trouble times come, it will pass. So you just have to take the time.

You are human. You are allowed to break down.

On her first marriage:

You know, I just wanted to get married. I want to do things right, have children and all that. And I went into the (first) marriage, it didn’t work fine. And it ended in a very bad way, in social media, the noise was everywhere. I was actually filming and somebody called me and told me, I wanted to die!

You know I cried, lost some good deals then. But I didn’t let it’s break me.

As a young lady out there, do not be pressured to get married. Get married because you want to get married, get married because you love him, you want to spend the rest of your life with him. Don’t get married because mummy and daddy are saying get married or your friend just got married, have children because you want to have children, you want to be blessed with children, you love children.

Don’t have children because the society will say “ah she’s barren ohh, 12 years 6 years e never marry” ignore the gossips, ignore the naysayers, give them “sorry the middle finger, I don’t care”. Yes, ignore because you have your life, do what makes you happy.

Talking about the process that went into the making of “Omo Ghetto: The Saga” she said:

I became the PA, makeup assistant, wardrobe manager. I styled the movie, designed the production because this is what I live for. I gave my everything to Omo Ghetto: The Saga. I had sleepless nights, swollen eyes.

Playing multiple roles paid off but it took a toll on the actress. She revealed that shuffling in between roles required her to learn new things and constantly going beyond her capacity. She said, “I trained for a month for all the fight sequences. I had to fight for a month with everybody. I had to jog. I had to shed weight. I had to be in the picture. I was directing, acting- at some point, I almost passed out. They had to bring ice and put all over me.”

Today, Funke Akindele is a household name in the movie industry and continues to support other upcoming actors and actresses.

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