Why I Can Never Repay Funke Akindele for Sacrifice She Made for Me - Uzee Usman

Nollywood actor Uzee Usman popular for starring in the hit movie A Tribe Called Judah, and the Netflix series, Anikulapo: Rise of the Spectre, is opening up in a new interview about the sacrifice Funke Akindele made for him, and why he's so appreciative towards her. Here's what he said.

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Speaking about the huge sacrifice Funke made for him, Uzee Usman said:

UZEE USMAN: I remember when Voiceless came out in 2022, Funke Akindele reached out to me then. She was like "Where have you been? Such a performance". She followed me on Instagram, I followed her back. We started chatting. And I kept the relationship. So she said "I have a project, A Tribe Called Judah." The funny thing about Funke is A Tribe Called Judah has always been in her bucket list. She had written it down, it had always been. Because she told me about this in 2022. She told me "there's this project and it's you. It's you I'm seeing in this project". She told me and she never said anything again.

I'd already accepted Anikulapo from Kunle [Afolayan], and then she called that she's shooting in July, and she had meeting with the 5 boys, and she was telling the story. I remember this very well, in front of everybody, she held my shoulder and said "Uzee, this is it for you, this movie is on your shoulder". She said it three times. So I had no option but to go all out for Funke, because I don't know what she saw in 5 of us that made her assemble 5 of us.

I accepted Anikulapo first, and then the dates now clashed, and I now told her. I went to meet her in her house and then I told her, "my lover, how are we going to do this? Kunle, everybody knows I respect him a lot. I can't say no to him. And I need to do this your movie, how we wan do am?" She said she would get back to me that night, I should just go.

That night, around 2am, she called me, I remember it very well. She now said "Uzee, I'm gonna shift this job because of you for one month. Go and shoot Anikulapo and come back." That is one of the most happiest days for me, trust me. Cuz I know that those are two heavyweights. It's rare for actors to have that opportunity to be in both jobs. As you can see, it was a slim line for me to lose one. But me understanding them made me not to lose any. Because it's not easy for a producer, a name like Funke Akindele, to shift her job for one month because of me. That's the reason why if you noticed December period, all of us went all out for Funke. In short, I shut down my entire calendar for the entire December. I was in Abuja doing meet and greet and all that.

I just want to use this opportunity to appreciate Funke Akindele so much for the opportunity, and the love. I can never repay her.

Wow, Funke's own kindness is another level. That is such an extraordinarily nice thing to do: shifting a whole job, one month, just to accommodate one person. Not many people will do it, in any industry. Wow. What do you think? Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment either below or on my Jide Okonjo Facebook post.

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