Toyosi Etim Effiong: I Became a Talent Manager Through Marriage

Toyosi Etim Effiong, the wife of Nigerian actor and filmmaker Daniel Etim Effiong, said that her marriage to the movie star prompted her to pursue a career as a talent manager.

During a recent podcast appearance, Mrs. Etim Effiong explained that after getting married she noticed a lack of structure and legal frameworks in her husband’s career and in Nollywood as a whole.

Drawing on her experience as a show organiser in New York, she decided to bring some of the organisational systems used in American show business into the Nigerian film industry, beginning with her husband as her first client.

She added that after a few months of managing Daniel’s career, several of his colleagues observed the positive changes and approached her to manage them as well.

Etim Effiong said, “I am married to Daniel Etim Effiong – Nigeria’s finest filmmaker and actor. And earlier on in the marriage, I realised that there wasn’t a lot of structure in his career and the Nigerian movie industry generally.”

“Producers just casually call actors and ask when they will be available for a shoot and when the actor is available, they start bargaining for the artiste’s fee over the phone like market women. It was very informal.”

“Sometimes, you will clear your calendar for a shoot and the producer will call and tell you it has been cancelled at the last minute and give excuses. There was no structure or legal framework. The negotiations were also horrible.”

“So, I became a self‑appointed manager, which he was fine with. I started to support him, even with his social media and reading through his contracts. My support brought immediate results. And after some months, some of his friends approached me to manage them, too.”