Jumoke Aderounmu planned relocating to UK due to job scarcity — Brother
Adeola, the younger brother to a recently deceased actress, Jumoke Aderounmu, popularly known for her role of Esther in popular sitcom, ‘Jenifa’s Diary,’ has said that the deceased was actually planning on relocating to the United Kingdom before her demise.
Speaking in an interview with Saturday Beats, Adeola noted that Jumoke wanted to relocate to the UK, because she was not getting movie roles.
On why he did not reach out privately to popular actress and filmmaker, Funke Akindele, instead of bashing her online for allegedly not helping the deceased in her time of need, he stated that he did not have a number.
He said, “I did not reach out to her (Funke), because I don’t have her phone number, and I am not close to her. But, my sister had her number, and even sent another actress, Paschaline Alex to her, all to no avail.
“She (Funke) stopped calling her for jobs. Jumoke tried to know why, because she wanted to retrace her steps if she had committed any offence,”
He reiterated that only two of her colleagues— Rita Dominic and Tayo Sobola— came through for Jumoke in her time of need.
Describing his sister as an introvert, Adeola said, “She was an introvert, and usually kept to herself. She was actually not sick. She just died in her sleep.”
He added that though Jumoke had been buried, the family will organise a tribute event in a church on the 40th day after her death.
However, Funke Akindele, stated that she was not aware that Jumoke needed help, and nobody reached out to her about that. Shedding tears, Akindele stated that she could not keep quiet when some fans went to the extent of wishing her children dead after Adeola’s accusation.
She added that actually asked another actor, Jide Awobona, who also starred in ‘Jenifa’s Diary,’ about Jumoke. According to her, Awobona later contacted her that the late actress said that she wanted to be featured in movies.
She said, “There was a time I sent Jide a message, because ‘Jenifa’s Diary’ is on break. He got back to me and said Jumoke said we should be calling her for jobs. And, I said there was no problem; that we would call her for acting gigs.
“After ‘A Tribe called Judah’ (her latest movie), I have not done any project. I tried (reaching out), and Jide can testify.”
Meanwhile, since the news of her demise went viral, several of Jumoke’s colleagues have been mourning her.
Recalling that he chatted Joke sometime ago, Deyemi Okanlawon posted a screenshot of their last conversation on WhatsApp, dated November 23, 2023.
His post read in part, “Death brings everything into perspective, helping us see how trivial some of the things we concern ourselves with are.
“Jumoke, I am so sorry. I thought we had all the time in the world and really should have just called. Goodbye, my dear friend. We will continue the conversations in a better place. Please pick up the phone and call someone you love today.”
Aside from ‘Jenifa’s Diary’, Jumoke also appeared in movies such as ‘Soul Sisters’, ‘La femme Anjola’, ‘Gone’, ‘Industreet’, ‘The Ex’, ‘Alakada2’, ‘Wings of My Dreams’, ‘Dazzling Mirage’, ‘The Unwritten’, ‘Arugba’, ‘Awa Obinrin’, and ‘When Love is Not Enough’, among others.
