Controversial actor and comedian Ijoba Lande has shared his experience working with renowned Nollywood actress and filmmaker Funke Akindele.
During a live session on his social media page, the skit maker recounted how he was paid only N90,000 for an entire month of work on one of Akindele’s projects.
In the viral video, Lande urged aspiring creatives in the entertainment industry to know their worth, set their rates confidently, and avoid placing anyone on a pedestal.
He revealed that he had to stay at Funke Akindele’s residence in Amen Estate for a month, despite being married and living in Ayobo at the time.
His story has since sparked conversations about fair compensation in the Nigerian entertainment industry.
He said, “That Funke Akindele, when I went to work for her, I spent a whole month working for her at Amen Estate, I was living in Ayobo and I was married then. Whenever I saw that we didn’t have much work to do, I would quickly go home. After working with Funke Akindele for a whole month, she did not even give me N150,000, I swear to God. Is it that industry? The reason I’m saying this is for all you upcoming, anybody that wants to use you, if God has already helped you to gain some fame, don’t look at anybody as a god.”
In the video, Lande shared that Funke Akindele contacted him through direct message after enjoying one of his videos.
He expressed his excitement at receiving her message, believing it could be a significant turning point in his career.
However, when he arrived at Amen Estate, Lande mentioned that he couldn’t take a single photo with Funke because she seemed unapproachable, and he dislikes asking people for pictures.
He also noted that he learned from this experience and would charge anyone who seeks his services, even if it were Michael Jackson.
He said, “Do you know what they did to me then? I made one video then that she liked and she messaged me, I no dey message anybody as I dey like this. And when Funke Akindele is talking to you, she would talk to you nicely, her voice is gentle. All the time that I worked for her, we never took a single picture, she was never approachable, I swear to God and I hate begging people that I want to take pictures with them to avoid getting insulted. Even if Wizkid or Davido comes here, I will only greet them, I am not photogenic. That time, when I saw that I was going to work for Funke Akindele, I was very happy that it was a big platform for me.
“If I tell you guys how that work ended for me, you won’t believe it. When they brought the form to me, Wendy came to meet me, when Funke Akindele showed interest in working with me, I felt I could not be billing someone like her, that was that time ooo. If it’s now, even if Michael Jackson wants to use me, I will tell him the specific amount I want to collect. If he really needs me, he will pay.”
Lande recounted that upon arriving at Amen Estate to start his job with Funke Akindele, he met a woman named Wendy who introduced herself as the producer. She handed him a contract stating that he would earn N90,000 each month for his work.
Lande mentioned that although he was surprised, he decided to sign the contract, believing it was just a formality. To his astonishment, he actually received the N90,000 at the end of the month. In his words:
“For you upcoming creatives, don’t see anybody as them wanting to help you, na lie o. But to be honest, I was very happy that I was going to work with Funke Akindele. I was very happy I didn’t even know how to ask how much she was going to pay me so that she wouldn’t change her mind about working with me. When I got there, someone came and said she’s Wendy, the producer and then she brought a document for me to sign. I read it and saw that they were going to be paying N90,000 every month, and I was already at the location. It’s good to be educated. If I was well read, I would not have signed and it’s not that I’m an illiterate but I wanted to work with someone like her, so I thought what was written on the document was nothing and that they only wanted to use that to do normal protocol, only for the month to end and I was truly paid N90,000 after a month of working.”
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