Nigerian actor and filmmaker Funke Akindele has responded to critics who question her popular dance-and-comedy style of promoting her movies online, saying her approach does not stop anyone else from succeeding.
In messages shared on her Instagram Story on Saturday, 31 January 2026, the Nollywood star, a leading figure in Nigeria’s film industry in West Africa, said she is not responsible for another person’s lack of progress. Instagram is a social media platform where users share short videos, photos, and messages.
“I’m not the one hindering your progress. Ka rin ka po, yiye nin ye ni,” she wrote.
Okay News reports that Akindele also urged fellow film professionals to focus on building their own strategies instead of attacking what is already working for others.
She said the entertainment space is big enough for many people to thrive, adding that those who do not like her style should develop their own path rather than harbour jealousy.
“If you can’t beat them or join them, create your own path. No allow jealousy burn you. The sky is so big for everybody to fly. Eyin Werey jojo!!!” she wrote.
Akindele encouraged colleagues who do not agree with her method to explore different ways to promote their work, including hiring professionals to handle marketing and publicity.
“Go ahead and create alternative promotion or marketing strategies for promoting your business, or hire a company to handle it,” she said.
“You can do it! The opportunities are endless, and everyone has their own path. I’m focused on mine, and I have faith in God’s plan for me,” she added.
Akindele is widely known for using dance skits, humour, and trending social media formats to push her projects, a method that often draws strong attention online and helps films reach large audiences quickly.
She is also regarded as one of the most commercially successful filmmakers in Nigeria’s cinema industry, with reports crediting her with three of the country’s highest-grossing movies in recent years.
Figures cited for those titles include Behind The Scenes (released in 2025) at ₦2,407,000,000, Everybody Loves Jenifer (released in 2024) at ₦1,882,553,548, and A Tribe Called Judah (released in 2023) at ₦1,408,227,541.
