Nollywood actress and producer, Funke Akindele, has revealed that Nigerian artiste, D’banj, inspired her to keep filming her popular series “Jenifa’s Diary.”
She disclosed the information on Saturday, June 8, 2024, during a dinner party held in Lagos, to commemorate D’banj’s 20th anniversary in music. Recounting the story to the crowd at the event, the actress said she met D’banj at a club and after several discussions, the artiste asked if she had commenced filming a new season for “Jenifa’s Diaries,” to which she replied in the negative.
“After the big break with Jenifa, everybody loved Jenifa so much. I was out there and everyone was celebrating me so much. I was invited to a club where I met Dbanj for the first time and he gave me his number and inquired if there was a sequel to Jenifa, I told him No,” Funke said.
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According to the actress, D’banj questioned her decision to put the series on hold, pointing out that the series is a brand that could generate endless revenue for her.
“Why did you let Jenifa go like that? That’s a brand that you can feed on for the rest of your life, he said. No, Jenifa has to come back, get in touch with me, any support you need I will give you,” she narrated.
She said the “Oliver Twist” singer gave her money to fund the production of another season of the series after she reached out to him.
“He told me that when you have a brand, you feed on the brand, you milk the brand very well and make money out of it. He gave me money and said I should go write another Jenifa. That was how we filmed “The Return Of Jenifa” and till date, the brand is still relevant,” she added.
After applauding D’banj for his motivation and generosity, Funke Akindele revealed that a new series titled “Everybody Loves Jenifa” will be released in December this year.
“Jenifa’s Diary” is a Nigerian comedy series that follows the adventures of an uneducated village girl called Jenifa (Funke Akindele), who travels to Lagos, to seek a better life and education. “Jenifa’s Diary” has a total of 28 seasons along with 292 episodes.
The series was created by Funke Akindele, who also wrote the screenplay and served as assistant director. She has received several awards for her roles in the franchise. She won the Best Actress in a Comedy award at the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards in 2016 and 2017. Akindele won the same award again in 2020 and 2022.
