"Managing Stars is as Tough as Marriage”: Femi Adebayo's Manager Lakunle Speaks, Blames Social Media

• Famous talent manager, Lakunle, has shed light on the importance of his profession to ensure the longevity of the careers of celebrities
• With over a decade of experience, working with notable figures like Ronke Odusanya, Femi Adebayo, Ruth Kadiri and others, the talent manager revealed that his role is often mistaken as that of a personal assistant
• In a chat with Legit.ng, Lakunle explained the complexity of his work, the reward, the challenges, and how he has managed to ensure the smooth sailing of his talents

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Popular talent manager Olakunle Adediwura Oni, better known as Lakunle, has shared insights about his journey from media production into talent management and why he believes Nollywood actors need strong professional teams around them.

The entertainment executive, who has worked with stars like Ronke Odusanya, Ruth Kadiri and Femi Adebayo, explained to Legit.ng that his experience as an associate producer at Goldmyne TV exposed him to gaps within the Nollywood industry.

Lakunle's career inspiration

According to Lakunle, he began his entertainment career as an associate producer; however, Nollywood stood out to him because of his close interactions with actors and musicians at the time.

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He explained that while many musicians already had structured management systems, most actors only worked with personal assistants who later became managers.

Lakunle said he quickly realised that talent management involved much more than handling errands or schedules and led him to his first major talent, actress Ronke Odusanya, popularly known as Flakky, around 2013 or 2014.

“Managing talents is like marriage”

Speaking about the realities of celebrity management, Lakunle described the relationship between talents and their managers as similar to marriage. According to him, disagreements are unavoidable, but both parties must put their differences aside and work together as a team.

In his words:

"We basically just have this understanding that the relationship between a talent manager and a talent is that of a husband and wife. We quarrel, we fight, but we resolve it. Husbands and wives can keep malice for some time, but we can't do that because in the entertainment space, the show must go on."

On the positive side of his work, he noted that one of the most rewarding parts is watching talents grow successfully over the years. Lakunle particularly praised Ruth Kadiri’s growth, recalling how her film “Alaye” became successful after landing on Prime Video.

Social media pressure remains a major challenge

Despite the successes, Lakunle admitted that managing public perception and social media criticism remains one of the toughest parts of the job.

According to him, false stories and online attacks can emotionally affect celebrities and even damage relationships with brands and future opportunities. He explained that while managers often know the truth behind viral rumours, they cannot respond to every online allegation.

In his words:

"Social media can add a very huge jab to the talent. Managing that aspect is a lot because fans don't know that these things affect our talents. I've seen instances on social media where people just wrote a lot of lies. I wanted to go out and say, 'This is a lie, this is not true, it cannot be real'. I know how the talent is feeling. That emotion is also transferred to us as talent managers. But we can't go out and be responding because how many do we want to respond to."

Why stars need managers

Lakunle stressed that both actors and musicians cannot build long-lasting careers alone and need trusted professionals around them to survive in the entertainment industry.

Using late pop icon Michael Jackson's recent documentary as an example, he emphasised that every successful talent needs a strong team structure who ensure they bring out the best in them.

He added:

"In the music industry, when the artists blow, it can be for a period. They can disintegrate or disappear in a very short time. But, for actors, for players in the Nollywood, they are there for a long time. To build and have a structure for a long time requires a lot of planning and projection. You cannot do it on your own. For actors who want to be consistent or for talents that want to be consistent in the Nollywood space, you need to have a team."

Emotional tribute to late Alexx Ekubo

Lakunle also reflected on his relationship with late actor Alexx Ekubo, describing him as cheerful, peaceful and scandal-free.

He revealed that they met several times on movie sets and during film festival trips. Reacting to the actor’s passing, Lakunle said the situation was heartbreaking and reminded people about the importance of checking on loved ones.

According to him, Nollywood would deeply miss Alexx Ekubo because he still had many years ahead to continue entertaining fans.

Femi Adebayo on how his father influenced his career choice

Legit.ng reported that the famous actor, Femi Adebayo, revealed that his father, Adebayo Salami, played a big role in shaping his career path. According to the Nollywood star, he initially studied law because his father once dreamed of becoming a lawyer but could not achieve it due to financial challenges.

Femi explained that while he loved the prestige that came with being a lawyer, he gradually fell in love with acting after constantly following his father to movie rehearsals and film sets during school breaks.