In an intriguing new episode of Falz’s show Untapped, Funke Akindele tells us about her rebellious days. Funke Akindele talked about her wild days and said:
FUNKE AKINDELE: I was very notorious. I was very rebellious growing up. My mom was the one that encouraged me to be this successful as an actor, yes. My dad just wanted me to go to law school, be a lawyer, you know? And I actually studied law because of him.
So that part of me that people don’t really know is that, growing up, I was very rebellious. You know, we attended Celestial Church, and in church, when a child is so rebellious, they start saying, “There’s something wrong with this girl,” blah blah blah. My mom would be worried, saying, “Pray for her,” and telling me to kneel down. The white garments, the prophets—they would surround me, pray, sing, do everything.
There was a day one prophet was praying for me, saying, “This girl, the way she’s acting, maybe she’s a witch.” You know, I was so crazy. I didn’t want to go to school, I just wanted to act and sing. I was very rebellious. Gosh! I just wanted to do acting; I didn’t want to do anything serious.
The only person that really got me was my dad. You know, ‘cause my dad never used to beat me, but my mom would beat you! In secondary school, whenever I got into trouble, my dad would say they should punish me. My dad was the vice principal of the school, but not because you’re the vice principal’s daughter now, they can’t punish you. He would say, “You must do the right thing.” My dad was a disciplinarian but was softer than my mom. He was very, very soft.
And then I’d get into trouble, they’d punish us. A senior would say, “Go and sweep the dining hall.” Me alone, that big dining hall—I would sweep it, do everything. After the punishments, you know, then I was very skinny and had big eyeballs. So, one late night in the dining hall after dinner, I just cornered the senior and said, “Don’t sleep tonight. I’m going to kill you. I’m going to come for you.” I chopped punishment on top of that because the guy no sleep na! I was crazy.
I was just rebellious, you know? All the energy, the drive, the crase, the imagination—it has paid off today. I’m a fantastic writer now. I’m a crazy writer. But then, my mom, she didn’t give up on me.
I mean, my mom gave us military training. My mom would not tell you she’s coming—she would just show up! One day at night, we went clubbing, partying from Abeokuta to Festac. My mom now came at night. Funke was nowhere to be found. When I came back, she scraped my hair! After scraping it, I entered Ikorodu market and bought a wig. I was crazy.
But now, looking back, all I can say is, you know, I’m grateful to God. I’m grateful for the training. I’m grateful for the experience. It shows off in my career right now.