Renowned Nollywood actress and filmmaker, Toyin Abraham, has taken to her social media platforms to shower her colleagues, Mercy Aigbe and Funke Akindele, with heartfelt messages, commending their outstanding achievements in the Nigerian film industry.
In a series of Instagram posts, the celebrated actress lauded Mercy Aigbe for her remarkable success in the history of Nollywood, particularly highlighting her recent blockbuster movie ‘Ada Omo Daddy’, which grossed over 300 million in cinemas after its release in December.
Addressing Mercy as a bonafide star, Toyin expressed admiration for how Mercy juggles her successful career with nurturing her children, Michelle and Juwon.
Additionally, Toyin Abraham extended her praises to Funke Akindele, celebrating her exceptional accomplishment with the movie ‘A Tribe Called Judah’, which emerged as the highest-grossing movie in 2023. She likened Funke Akindele to legendary figures in Nollywood like Fathia Williams and Bukky Wright.
“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 many professional gossips. The number one cause of fights in the industry then was ‘he said, she said’ before the social media era,” she wrote.
“Dear Nollywood people, let me chip this in, stop tearing the industry down with your gossips. 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 like number one after the likes of Aunty Bukky and Aunty Faithia. I was the next in line. The competition was much and with many gossips 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 ran us 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, Aunty came and beat them, today I am happy because she has challenged me to set higher goals.”
“Sis, let’s compliment 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.”
She furthered, “@realmercyaigbe 7 I celebrate the woman that you are becoming. You came to the boxoffice 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 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!”
