IWD: Celebrating 4 women shaping Nigeria's entertainment industry

Accomplished Nigerian women have used their influence to channel the attention of the globe to the entertainment industry.

As the world celebrates women today, MyNigeria sheds light on some great Nigerian women making waves in the entertainment industry and putting the country at the forefront.

Below, in no particular order, are four strong Nigerian women who are rewriting history in their space.

1. Funke Akindele

Few Nollywood forces are as tenacious and powerful as Olufunke Ayotunde Akindele-Bello. Popularly known as Funke Akindele. She has broken several records in her career and still keeps breaking records.

Funke is often praised as the best actor of this generation. The actress made her debut appearance on television in 'I need to know', a high school drama from the 1990s.

Funke eventually made a full-time transition into Yoruba movies and rose to prominence. She transformed the industry in 2008 with the comedy Jenifa, for which she received the African Cinema Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading role.

In 2015, she launched the Jenifa Diaries series, which completely changed the path of her career.

Although going through marital issues and parting ways with her husband JJC Skills, Funke refused to be defeated by the situation - that was when she ventured into politics.

The actress was appointed by Olajide Adediran who is also known as Jandor to be his running mate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship in Lagos State.

Funke with all the backlash and criticisms she received after joining politics, has still kept her head high in her quest to achieve greatness.

2. Tems

Nigerian singer, songwriter and producer Temilade Openiyi who is popularly known as Tems, is turning heads on the global stage.

Tems gain prominence after the release of her single 'Try me', which became a viral hit in the Nigerian music scene in 2019.

After gaining the hearts of the majority of Nigerians and the biggest stars in the music industry, her career skyrocketed when Wizkid featured her on his 'Essence' track which subsequently gained her a Grammy Award nomination.

She was also nominated for the 2022 MTV VMA award and appeared on the soundtrack of the Black Panther sequel, demonstrating the extraordinary success of her career.

Tems also clinched her first Grammy Award at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards with her contribution to Future's 'Wait For U' which also featured Canadian rapper Drake.

She appears to be the most desirable woman in Africa right now as DJ Khaled, Gabrielle Union, Rick Rose, Big Fat Joe, Dwayne and many others have idolized the young talent.

3. Kemi Adetiba

Nigerian filmmaker, television director, and music video director, Kemi Adetiba has had her work featured on Netflix, BET, Channel O, MTV Base, Sound City TV, and MTV.

Before directing her first movie, "the wedding party," which was an instant hit and the first Nigerian movie to gross over a million dollars from ticket sales, she had began her career as a radio host with Rhythm 93.7FM and a television presenter for several shows on Mnet, Sound city TV, and three seasons of the Multina Dance reality TV show.

Kemi's contemporary cult classic movie "King of Boys," which she co-wrote and produced, grabbed the hearts of many as it was ranked as the third most successful in 2018 and the fifth most popular Nollywood film of all time.

She has also directed music videos for artistes such as Wizkid, 2face, Tiwa Savage, and many others.

4. Mo Abudu

Mosunmola Abudu, who is popularly known as Mo Abudu, is a renowned Nigerian media mogul, philanthropist, and former consultant and manager of human resources.

She was recognized by Forbes as 'Africa's most successful woman' and the Hollywood Reporter also rated her as one of the '25 most powerful women in Global Television'.

Mo's media career took off after the debut of her talk show, 'Moment with Mo'.

Afterwards, she created EbonyLife TV, from which EbonyLife Films was birthed.

She created and co-produced movies like 'The Wedding Party,' 'The Wedding Party 2,' 'The Royal Hibiscus Hotel,' 'Chief Daddy,' 'Your Excellency,' and many others with EbonyLife Pictures.

It is indisputable that Nigerian women are pacesetters, they overcame obstacles of their time, in order to do what had never been done before.

Some first achieved something spectacularly new and others are receiving a recognition that is long overdue.

Collectively and across the globe, they have created a remarkable legacy for the generations ahead of them. These women indeed deserve a standing ovation!









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