Actress and filmmaker, Toyin Abraham has penned a long note of reconciliation to her senior colleague, Funke Akindele.
The duo have dominated the box office space but Funke Akindele has moved past the competitor’s stage after hitting a billion and above in her last year’s cinema movie ‘A Tribe Called Judah’.
Following them closely is Mercy Aigbe who just had her cinema debut in December 2023.
In a lengthy Instagram post, Abraham noted that She and Funke became “competitors and persona non grata” due to gossip.
She recalled that their rivalry began in the Yoruba movie industry and they carried it over to the Nigerian-English cinema when they crossovered to Nollywood.
Abraham further said age and wisdom have made her realise that they can compete without being negatively competitive.
She wrote: “If you guys knew the fierce competition to be number one in those days in the Yoruba industry (I don’t know if that still exists though). The fierce competition created camps, enmity, and much professional gossip. The number one cause of fights in the industry then was ‘he said, she said’ before the social media era. Dear Nollywood people, let me chip this in, stop tearing the industry down with your gossip. You have caused lots of damage with ‘he-said, she-said’.
“Let me go back to my story. In those days of the Yoruba film industry, @funkejenifaakindele was number one after the likes of Aunty Bukky and Aunty Faithia. I was the next in line. The competition was much and with much gossip in between, we became competitors and persona non grata.
“She moved on to the English industry, I became number one before moving on too (A word of advice to young actors of today, no one will be number one forever. It doesn’t mean you fall down the pecking order, it might just be that you move on to bigger things. E rora tele bashubashu. You don’t own the industry, the industry is bigger than you).
“In the English industry, Aunty Funke and I continued the rivalry sort of. It pitted our fans against each other. We are two competitive Virgo women, we love to win and sometimes in that process, we splash dirt and mud. But with time, age, and more wisdom, I have realized we can compete without being negatively competitive.
“Aunty Funke, I celebrate you for showing us what is possible. You are a winner. You sold over 1B, you made it possible for other women to dream. You can use street with that 1B o, this year, many of us will move to 1B and we pray God makes you bigger. Thank you for making great movies and selling them like your life depends on it. You taught other women to hustle harder.
“I had set records in box office records, and Aunty came and beat them, today I am happy because she has challenged me to set higher goals. Sis, let’s complement each other even in competition at the box office, I owe you one post in December (only 1 o, I need to sell market…Lol). I pray that God will make all your dreams come true. I admire you and wish you all the best”.
Toyin Abraham also reached out to fellow actress and filmmaker Mercy Aigbe, offering an olive branch for peace and healthy competition in the Nollywood industry.
Mercy Aigbe launched her maiden edition in December 2023 with ‘Ada Omo Daddy’ which has also carved a niche for herself with the hope to surpass her current feat in her next cinematic production.
Toyin Abraham wrote: “I want to celebrate two people in Nollywood. Events in time past try to make us competitors and we all know how fierce competition can be in the industry.
“The competition often leads to people in the industry taking sides thereby creating an ecosystem of competitors and tear-him or her Down syndrome.
“Please it is time we celebrate ourselves more rather than compete with ourselves. We need to create an ecosystem of more successful people so we can all have more capability to create more successful people.
“@realmercyaigbe, I celebrate the woman that you are becoming. You came to the box office in December as a first-timer, and you proved your mettle. You gave it your all. You have contributed to the story of strong women in Nollywood. You made many women proud.
“Thank you for writing a better story for womanhood when the world is busy writing a different narrative about women. You are a bonafide star. If you come to the cinema in December, I owe you one post (Lol, you know I need to sell market o).
“Thank you for not making the competition in December negative. May God bless you more. BTW, you are doing a wonderful job on Michelle and Juwon, and may God keep you and your family. With Love T!”
