The Best of Nollywood (BON) Awards, founded by Seun Oloketuyi, has announced that this year, four extraordinary Nigerians will be the recipients of its esteemed Special Recognition and Lifetime Achievement Awards.
According to Oloketuyi, the 17th edition recipients are:
Funke Akindele: The Box Office Queen and multi-talented actress and filmmaker. The award is in recognition of her hard work and resilience that has seen her constantly breaking box office records.
Akindele is the highest-grossing director in the Nigerian box office, with cumulative earnings exceeding ₦4.7 billion. Her films currently hold the top four spots on the list of highest-grossing Nigerian movies of all time: Everybody Loves Jenifa, A Tribe Called Judah, Battle on Buka Street, and Omo Ghetto: The Saga. Her phenomenal success has set new standards for commercial viability in the industry.
Pete Edochie, MON: The Nollywood Sage and veteran actor. He will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his role as an iconic figure in Nollywood. His career, spanning decades has seen him in legendary roles like the portrayal of Okonkwo in the NTA adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Edochie is widely respected for his commanding presence, gravitas, and his consistent representation of traditional wisdom and authority on screen, earning him both national and international recognition, including the Member of the Order of the Niger (MON).
Steve Ayorinde, a Journalist, Film Critic, and Cultural Ambassador will be specially recognised for his immense contributions to the industry. As a journalist, he rose to become the Editor of The Punch and later the Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of National Mirror Newspapers. He has served on the juries of major international film festivals, including the Toronto, Cannes, and Berlin International Film Festivals. He is a former Lagos State Commissioner for Information & Strategy, Tourism, Arts & Culture. His critical insight and public service have significantly impacted the arts and culture sector.
Dr. Shaibu Husseini, Journalist, Film Scholar, Documentarist, and Cultural Ambassador, is widely regarded as one of the most consistent documentarists of Nollywood, authoring the monograph Moviedom: The Nollywood Narratives. He is the current Director-General of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), has chaired the Selection Committee of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) for 16 years, and is a voting member of the International Golden Globes Award. His work provides critical and intellectual depth to the Nigerian film industry.
Speaking on this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipients, Oloketuyi said, “These individuals are pillars of the Nigerian creative economy. From Funke Akindele’s unprecedented commercial success to the lifelong artistic impact of Chief Pete Edochie, and the intellectual and administrative contributions of Steve Ayorinde and Dr. Shaibu Husseini, their legacies are undeniable. It is our honour to celebrate their excellence at this year’s awards.”
The 2025 award is set to hold on December 14, with Lagos as the host state, at the Federal Palace Hotel. This year’s event will also feature a Guinness World Record Attempt for the Longest Red Carpet.