Funke Akindele Urges Youths to Embrace Hard Work, Skills Over Quick Wealth
Award-winning Nollywood actress and filmmaker Funke Akindele has encouraged young Nigerians to reject the pursuit of quick wealth and instead focus on hard work, discipline and acquiring practical skills.
Speaking in a recent interview with BellaNaija, Akindele reflected on her early struggles, saying she deliberately chose legitimate means of earning a living despite facing financial challenges.
The actress revealed that while studying at the University of Lagos, she sold bed spaces to support herself financially, describing herself as someone who has always believed in working hard to achieve success.
“I could have been wayward to earn a living but I decided to follow the right path. I was selling bed spaces in Unilag so I could survive. I was hustling. I am a hustler. That’s why you see that I am so ‘handsome,'” she said.
Akindele attributed her resilience and work ethic to the life lessons she learned through hardship, adding that she has always been driven by the desire to earn an honest living.
“I am very firm because life taught me. I can’t do otherwise. I just want to work and earn a living. I am wired like that,” she added.
The actress also stressed the importance of vocational and entrepreneurial skills, urging young people not to depend solely on academic qualifications.
“Skills acquisition is very important. As a young woman or man, you have to acquire skills so that when there is no job, you can use your skill to make money for yourself,” she said.
Akindele’s remarks come amid ongoing conversations about youth unemployment and the growing need for entrepreneurship and alternative sources of income in Nigeria.
