By Halimah Olamide
Rave actress, Funke Akindele popularly called Jenifa, has earned the commendation of President Bola Tinubu over her record-setting film, A Tribe Called Judah. The film is said to have broken record by grossing N1bn.
The movie, which was released on December 15, 2023, has been a massive success, grossing over ₦613 million in just two weeks of its release. In a statement released on behalf of Tinuby by his media aide, Ajuri Ngelale, the president commended the creative industry for its doggedness in selling Nigeria to the outside world.
President Tinubu congratulates Ms. Funke Akindele on her record-setting film and commends the ace thespian for her contributions to the growth of the industry.
The President extolled the excellence of the Nigerian creative industry, acknowledging its pivotal place as a medium not only for artistic expression but also a source of enormous soft power and viable export, the statement said
“The creative industry is one of the high-employment sectors, providing jobs for our able and talented youths. It is an industry that is crucial to my administration.
I salute Nigerians for their enduring support and patronage of home-grown creative efforts. We will provide the conducive environment for the industry to thrive further,” President Tinubu states.
For Akindele, the President’s commendation comes as a huge one having been dismissed from the field of politics when she ran as the Deputy Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 governorship election in Lagos state. At one of the campaign meetings attended by Tinubu, who was then the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress at the time, campaign singers had mentioned Akindele’s name, a mention which did not sit well with Tinubu. NPO Reports that in response to that, Tinubu had waved Akindele off telling them women not to even mention her name in his presence.