Did you know that there are approximately 4.66 billion active internet users worldwide? Can you imagine all the different ways in which we all use the internet? Obasanjo’s Internet is our interview series where we speak to some of our internet favourites on how they relate to the internet and what it means to them and their work. This week, Head of Content at Eggcorn Digital, Ayo Lawal, talks to us about how he uses Obasanjo’s Internet.
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
It really depends on how I am feel when I wake up. Sometimes I pray, sometimes if I wake up late, I just get ready, sometimes it’s ‘igbeaux’ but I think a constant thing I do every morning is listen to music when I get ready for work. It really depends on what’s happening on the day, to be honest, but I’m trying to get into a routine.
How do you use the internet for work or pleasure?
It’s a balance of both. I work on social media and the internet so even while I’m scrolling through IG for pleasure, something can just come up and I’ll be like, “oh, I have to do this” or “I have to post this.” Or if I’m researching something I’m about to post or researching something that should be posted. I’ll honestly say a fair balance of both work and pleasure.
What moment or episode in your life would you say captured the essence of the internet?
Generally, right? For me, I think the essence of the internet is connecting with people. I remember this one time I was trying to look for my classmates from primary school and I found him on the internet, which was quite sick because I don’t think people who lived in the generation before us had access to do that. So I think that was one moment I felt “Ah we thank God for the internet.” And also maybe making money from the internet as well. I can literally sit down in my house and make six figures, sometimes more.
Your favourite social media platform and why?
Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter in that order. I don’t really tweet honestly, I just consume tweets. Instagram comes frist because if anybody is trying to set up a brand or something, the first thing they’ll probably go and check is their Instagram page and I feel like your Instagram page gives a clear view of what your brand is. So you notice, big brands are always very conscious about what their Instagram feed looks like or how it’s curated. Chances are that that’s the first engagement a prospective customer would have with them. So it’s cool, and everything you get on all these social media pages, you can get it on Instagram.
Do you remember the first time something you posted went viral? What was it? How did it make you feel?
Yeah, actually. Virality is very subjective, I might get 10k views and think it’s a viral moment but that’s not really viral. I would say my most viral video has to be the video I made with Adekunle Gold and Zinolessky on set. So I styled the Party No Dey Stop cover photo, and while I was there, I did a bit of BTS. When I posted that on TikTok, it kind of went viral. That’s my most viewed video to date.
https://www.tiktok.com/@mips96/video/7210775280636480774?_r=1&_t=8lpL41saV3l
What’s the most outrage you have ever generated over something you posted? How did you react to it
So, because I don’t really talk on Twitter, I don’t think I’ve had some crazy ass outrage but I think the maddest thing I posted on IG was a picture that I captioned “My girlfriend selected these photos” and everybody was like, “Oh, you have a girlfriend? Where’s your girlfriend?” This and this and this. It was a lot and I was like “Ahan what is going on?”
What rules do you live by on the internet?
I try to stay very true to myself. I don’t believe in Instagramable pictures in the sense that I post whatever the fuck I want. I try not to think about it too much like “Oh, is this a good spot? I’m going to this place to take pictures.” If I’m there and my friend happens to take a nice picture of me and I like it, I’ll post it. If you go to my Instagram page, I post the weirdest things.
Then I also try not to judge anybody from the internet because at the end of the day, the internet is not real life. People message me and be like, “oh, I’m sure you’re fine based on your Instagram page” I’m like, bro Instagram page is not real life. I can be dying inside and I’ll put a nice picture of me from two weeks ago. So those two things, generally.
What is your guiltiest online pleasure?
Watching things break. Yeah, I really enjoy these videos, especially the ones that have colored liquid in them or something. I have slight OCD so I like watching all those videos where people arrange stuff, you know, squeeze out stuff – all those satisfying videos. I really do enjoy that. And maybe Twitter porn, if that counts.
Would you say you have an online persona?
Honestly, I’ll say yes but I don’t think it’s something that started because I was trying to go for it. People just see me as this soft guy, always enjoying. Every time I post something, I’m always out, always enjoying so people see me as a soft boy. I think that’s my persona. A soft boy who works in media and entertainment.
What’s your favorite emoji and why?
Right now it’s the rockstar emoji – the hands doing the rockstar sign. I’m trying to make that my official emoji so when people see that emoji, the first thing they think about is me. If you check my feed, I use the emoji a lot. I also did a bit of research and it turns out that if you do the sign and bring out your thumb, it says I love you in sign language.
Are you particular about your feed?
Yes. I’m very particular. I feel like your feed is like a gallery. It can either entice people to stay on your feed and look through or throw them off. It’s also a guilty pleasure for me to go to my feed and admire it. As a social media person, it’s also part of my job to make sure the accounts I run look fantastic. That kind of trickled down into my page.
YouTube or TikTok? Which do you prefer and why?
YouTube. I spend all my time on YouTube, to be honest. I feel like it’s a wormhole. If I go to YouTube and I want to watch one video, it’s a lie. From one video, it turns to two videos, then it turns to three videos and I just keep going deep, deep until I realize I’ve spent one hour just watching YouTube videos. That never happens to me on TikTok.
Which Nigerian creator do you think the world needs to see and hear more of?
Two people who are both fashion and lifestyle influencers. I genuinely think if they were not Nigerian, they would be more popular, getting more accolades than they currently do, The first person is Larry Hector and the second person is Henrietta Itepu.
Who is the coolest person you follow and the coolest person who follows you?
Trick question o. I’m going to be biased and say Wizkid. Then the coolest person who follows me? A lot of public figures follow me so I don’t even want to put anybody on the spot. It’s all of them.
What is your favorite Nigerian podcast?
Jesu. Another on-the-spot question. I work with quite a number of them, but if I had to genuinely choose, I’d choose I Said What I Said, Tea With Tay and there’s this new podcast that Culture Custodian started called Booze and Business. I enjoyed the first one so it might be getting to my favorite podcast.
Have you ever hooked up with someone you met online?
Yes, I have. Did I regret it? Not instantly, but after our “relationship” ended I asked myself why I did that. It ended because she had put me on a pedestal because of what my Instagram feed looks like and when she saw that I’m a human being, and I have flaws, it kind of died and how she went about it was kind of weird. It didn’t even last long, it was like two weeks.
5 people you’d love to see answer these questions
Dahmola, Taymesan, Larry Hector, Dope Caesar, and Ayra Starr.
Read previous Obasanjo’s Internet entries here.
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