I’m Grateful To See My Purpose Keep Unfolding – Funke Akindele

Nollywood actress Funke Akindele has come out to reflect on her early days in the movie industry. She recently revealed that not being in the spotlight wasn’t enough to kill her passion and dream.

Speaking via her Instagram page, Funke shared that it was a difficult learning phase she had to deal with during the early stage of her acting career.

According to her, the waiting period ended up teaching her all she needed to know about people, purpose, and process, and she is very grateful for the wait.

Thanking God for grace and growth, the movie star expressed gratitude for her purpose on earth that keeps unfolding.

Funke concluded by saying that even when she didn’t have the right tools to channel her talent properly, her passion kept burning regardless.

“One year, no spotlight. The dreams were loud. The tools? Not much. But the passion showed up – every single day.

I wasn’t just about playing a role. It was a season of deep learning – about people, purpose and process. Once, it was all about potential. But time, growth and grace turned the process into purpose.

Each frame carried quiet prayers. Each moment is a seed, and truly, this is only the beginning. Throwback Thursday frames…Not just pictures — but reminders of where it all started.

The quiet days. The learning moments. The little beginnings. Every step shaped the journey. Grateful for growth. Grateful for grace. And most of all – grateful for the purpose that keeps unfolding,” she wrote.

WOW.

Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in The New York Times. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there is no clear or agreed-upon definition for the term, which has made it a subject to several controversies.

The origin of the term “Nollywood” remains unclear; Jonathan Haynes traced the earliest usage of the word to a 2002 article by Matt Steinglass in the New York Times, where it was used to describe Nigerian cinema.

Charles Igwe noted that Norimitsu Onishi also used the name in a September 2002 article he wrote for the New York Times. The term continues to be used in the media to refer to the Nigerian film industry, with its definition later assumed to be a portmanteau of the words “Nigeria” and “Hollywood”, the American major film hub.

Film-making in Nigeria is divided largely along regional, and marginally ethnic and religious lines. Thus, there are distinct film industries – each seeking to portray the concern of the particular section and ethnicity it represents. However, there is the English-language film industry which is a melting pot for filmmaking and filmmakers from most of the regional industries.