From Law Student to Meta Ambassador, Tobeszn Is Redefining Influencing In Africa

Gen Zs want to stand with a cultural shift, by championing authenticity and the freedom to be one’s true self and this one individual is capturing the heart of many Nigerians one video at a time. Tobe Ugeh popularly known as tobeszn is slowly becoming Nigeria’s sweetheart. Tobe, a content creator based in Lagos, Nigeria has used social media and digital platforms to his advantage by constantly sharing his thoughts, ideas, and opinions relatable to young Nigerians, and often finishing up with, how is your day going joor?

He has successfully carved a niche for himself offering this brand of content, and this year, Meta, (parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads) spotlighted and awarded him and four other creators in Africa its Creators of Tomorrow badge of honor.

In this interview with The Culture Custodian, Tobe shares his journey of becoming a leading voice of his generation.

How did you pivot from Law to content creation?

I’ve always loved being myself, whatever that may be; fashionable, witty, or outspoken, which is why I started using social media in the first place. To ask this question is to connote that both cannot mutually co-exist. Yet, I think that fame and education are not mutually exclusive. I intend to start my Masters’ program as soon as I am done with law school, there’s quite a journey ahead, and I must prepare myself academically and mentally. I personally understand the importance of formal education, and I also genuinely love being a creator. Handling both in university was quite a challenge, but the most beautiful part about challenges? It only makes you stronger.

Can you remember the first content you made that went viral?

Funny enough, I do. I was in perhaps my second or third year at Uniben. I shot a video with my friend and it was a fashion transition video and it went viral. I still remember it like it was yesterday. I watched it grow view by view. When it had about 100,000 views. I was so excited, I couldn’t believe that one hundred thousand people had seen my video, that one hundred thousand people had seen me, that so many people liked my style and most of them wanted to see more.

What about the first project you handled for a brand?

It was for an international brand, they had sent me outfits and even offered to pay me, I think was about $50 at the time, then I didn’t even have a domiciliary account, I was so excited that I was going to get paid to take a picture, little did I know it would be the beginning of so much more.

You’re a Meta Ambassador, how does that make you feel?

It feels unreal for the most part, to be recognized by the biggest social media platform for your hard work and dedication to your career, it feels very much unreal. Sometimes I still cannot phantom that I am a brand ambassador for Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook. For Meta!

What are some of the challenges you have faced, and what keeps you going despite those?

Like I previously said, I genuinely believe challenges make you stronger. I don’t like to focus on the obstacles, I genuinely don’t think anything is easy and to do something truly remarkable, you have to do remarkable work. I want to inspire generations after me, that if I could you can too, that it doesn’t matter where you come from, or who you are, that even if all the odds are not in your favor you still can. What keeps me going? All of this, I know there’s so much more to come, I truly can’t afford to give up, not now, not ever.

You have a presence on Instagram compared to other platforms, why is that?

I don’t like to believe I have ‘presence’ on Instagram as opposed to other platforms, but I do believe that I have been on Instagram for a longer time and built a tight niche community there as opposed to other platforms such as YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok. it can be perceived as such.

You are also an advocate for mental health awareness among young people, how do you use your platform to promote mental health?

In the best way I can, I’m constantly sensitizing my audience on mental health challenges, sharing my own challenges to help reduce the stigma so my audience knows they are not alone, I constantly encourage everyone to protect their mental health, educating them on the various mental health challenges and encouraging them to seek help from professionals when needed.

What are you looking forward to in the future?

Truthfully, I don’t have any definite accomplishment set in stone, I mean, except graduating from law school and maybe being a practicing lawyer. Mostly I want to impact and inspire people, even if it’s one person I get to inspire, to truly be happy and proud of myself, that would be my greatest achievement.