Nollywood actress Yetunde Wunmi has opened up on the painful experience of losing a child and her infamous NDLEA arrest.
In a recent interview, while reflecting on the arrest, she said she kept asking herself, ‘Why her?’, ‘How did I find myself here?’, until it became reality for her.
She said that before the incident, God blessed her with a gift: she would see whatever was going to happen beforehand. She said she saw her arrest twice in her dreams, but ignored it.
Speaking on her greatest pain, Yetunde said it was losing her only child, who was aged one year and 10 days. According to her, she had already left her marriage before her son’s demise, and his father forced him to choose between his profession, acting and him.
Recall that Wunmi was arrested by NDLEA officials on 23rd of September, 2006 at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, as she was about to board a Virgin Atlantic plane to London.
She was arrested on suspicion of trafficking cocaine and was later made to excrete 92 wraps of cocaine at the NDLEA cell.
The Yoruba actress was arraigned at a Federal High Court in Lagos in November on charges of trafficking in an illegal drug. She was later sentenced to three years’ imprisonment or ordered to pay a one million naira fine after admitting guilt.
The movie star served a two-year jail term and was released in 2008.
In an interview with Sun Newspapers, she spoke about the incident, saying it was her only regret in life and that she had learnt her lessons. She said the incident made her learn that nothing in life is permanent, lessons about the ups and downs of life and lessons about death.
Yetunde said she lost everything: her privacy, her popularity and her close friends. According to her, nobody wanted to relate to an ex-convict, and some of her colleagues despised her while others showed understanding.
She credited the Association of Nigerian Theatre Practitioners (ANTP) with bringing her back to life. She said they rekindled her hope and career and put her back on track.
On how she got back on her feet, she said she didn’t allow the past to weigh her down or disturb her future. According to her, her humility played a very important role in getting her back on track.
A few years back, the Yoruba actress lamented the unpleasant issue she had with fraudsters who hacked her account and defrauded her fans in her name.
She begged her fans, colleagues, and associates to disregard any information or request from the fraudsters who demanded money from them, saying she didn’t need any funds.
Nollywood artistes such as Ibrahim Chatta, Madam Saje, Toyin Adegbola, known as Toyin Tomato and others consoled Yetunde Wunmi.
On her birthday in 2022, her colleague, Fausat Balogun, showered her with love, describing her as a sibling and declaring her love. Calling her a hardworking woman, Fausat rained prayers on her.
For her 60th birthday celebration in 2020, Yetunde threw a grand party in Lagos, with Odunlade Adekola, Yomi Fabiyi, Ronke Ojo (popularly known as Ronke Oshodi Oke), Lola Idije, Fausat Balogun, and others in attendance.
At the event, she was gifted a Lexus Jeep, and on receiving it, she broke down in tears and rolled on the floor.
Yetunde Wunmi has earned a name for herself in the Yoruba movie industry. For over three decades, the pretty actress has enjoyed tremendous popularity and is one of Nollywood’s favourite veterans.
