I missed a big opportunity, Bunmi Nelson regrets ignoring Funke Akindele

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Nigerian actress, Bunmi Nelson, has expressed regret over overlooking opportunities to support fellow actress Funke Akindele when the latter was still building her career.

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Nelson made the revelation during an interview with actress Biola Adebayo on the Talk to B podcast, which was shared on Sunday.

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Reflecting on her experience, Nelson admitted that she never imagined Akindele would become as successful as she is today.

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“If I knew Funke would go far like this, I would have held her tight,” she said.

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The actress used her experience to advise people against underestimating or looking down on others, noting that circumstances can change.

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“I didn’t see Funke Akindele going far; that’s why in life, don’t underestimate anyone. Don’t look down on anyone except when you’re admiring their shoe lace,” she said.

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Nelson recalled that Akindele approached her in 2006 after learning that she had a house that could be used as a filming location.

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According to her, she had regularly allowed filmmakers to use her home for productions while she was also involved in a soap opera.

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“I used to give people my house to shoot. I just love it. I used to do location then, and I was also in a soap opera. Funke now approached me and said she needed a house. She even brought Mama Fali Werepe to our house then at Magodo that she wanted to shoot,” Nelson recalled.

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However, she admitted that she failed to recognise the opportunity at the time and would often ignore Akindele’s calls.

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“The mistake I now made was I just felt… she will be calling me then, I will just ignore. I don’t know if it was my village people ooo,” she said.

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Nelson said she believed she had missed a major opportunity because the Nigerian film industry was not as crowded as it is today.

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“I had every opportunity when Funke was calling me because the industry was not overpopulated like now,” she said.

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She added that Akindele had also encouraged people to join the Yoruba movie industry during that period.

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“I missed that big opportunity in 2006 and 2007 because she was telling them to join the Yoruba movie industry,” Nelson said.

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Looking back, the actress said the experience had taught her the importance of humility.

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“If there’s anything I have learned in this life, it is humility. I’m more humble now than anything else because life has taught me the hard way that nothing is constant,” she stated.

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Watch the video below:

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𝐈 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐀 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐁𝐮𝐧𝐦𝐢 𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐈𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐞 𝐀𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐞

Credit: IG | biolabayo1

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August 24, 2026

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