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, Visual Artist, Haneefah Adam, talks to us about how she uses Obasanjo’s Internet.
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
You know what? It depends. If I woke up on my own, I’d pick up my phone, unfortunately. I think everybody does that but we’re not supposed to pick it up, right? Secondly, sometimes it’s my kids that wake me up. So the first thing I wake up to is my heart beating fast because somebody came to wake me up either by shouting my name or slapping me. That way, I have no idea where my phone is.
Oh, you know what, that is the wrong answer. I pick up my glasses first. I just realized sorry, I had to ramble till I got to the real thing. I pick up my glasses first. But it depends, either my phone, my glasses, or my children’s face in my face. I get surprised every day.
How do you use the internet for work or pleasure?
Both. I was just thinking recently about how we all got introduced to the internet by going to cyber cafes and, you know, getting tickets just to go and check Hi5 or this Naija social media platform. I can’t believe we were spending money to go and be doing social media. And now the internet is just in the palm of our hands and quite affordable, I think.
What moment or episode in your life would you say captured the essence of the internet?
So here is the thing. I don’t have one moment, just several moments. I am a self-taught artist so I didn’t go to school for art and everything. So the internet has been really important in my career growth, my career development, and even my personal development. I started my journey on the internet when I started blogging. So from then on, I’ve made friends on the internet. Most of the people that I know now are friends I made on the internet. I met my husband on the internet. So, the internet has been really important for what I do with work.
Your favorite social media platform and why?
Ah! Twitter. Twitter is just really interesting. Twitter is crazy, but it used to be Instagram because on Instagram, you can share recipes, and everybody looks good on Instagram. But Twitter is where all the drama goes down. All the gist – it’s funny, especially whenever any stupid thing is happening in the country, you know, people post memes and crack jokes about it. So it just makes you laugh, especially if it’s not so serious. Sometimes bad things happen and it’s quite depressing but Nigerians are funny so you get to see people crack jokes about very serious things and that sort of eases your anxiety on the internet. Sort of.
What was the last meme you saved?
I usually do not save memes. I just search for memes in the GIF section. That’s where I get all my memes from. I usually don’t see memes to be honest.
Do you remember the first time something you posted went viral? What was it? How did it make you feel?
I have lots of viral moments. It should be Jollof Wars, I think. I did a food art of John Boyega when he was in Star Wars and I illustrated Jollof Wars and Dodo and he posted it on Instagram. He forgot to tag me though. But that’s OK. I think that was my first viral moment.
The most memorable one is Hijarbi. I created the Hijab wearing doll. That one went super, super viral in the sense that I was getting articles in Business Insider, Forbes, The Times, CNN, and BBC. I got lots of interviews. It was just really huge. That was just the most, that was the biggest one for me so far.
What’s the most outrage you have ever generated over something you posted? How did you react to it?
I’m a gentle girl. I don’t look for trouble. Trouble finds me, I don’t find it. I rarely generate outrage for my posts. So before any of that even happens, I’ll padlock my page. I don’t like wahala.
What rules do you live by on the internet?
The real answer is that I try as much as possible to be kind, even though just recently somebody called me out for not being kind. I apologized immediately because I mean, again, I’m always telling people to be kind and you know, the internet is a very crazy place. Some people are behaving in a certain way. People are saying some things that are not kind and I wish people would like, just be kinder. A lot of people are dealing with a lot of things. You never know how you’re affecting somebody’s psyche.
What is your guiltiest online pleasure?
I used to go and look for gist. I used to do ofofo up and down. I’m going to be DMing people like “Do you know what’s happening? Point me to the gist.” I won’t ask on the TL because you know, I like pretending that I’m classy but I mean, if I cannot find something that people are talking about, I’m in the DMS looking for gist or I’m searching for the gist, going to people’s profile. I won’t follow the account that is creating the drama, so if they lock me out of the account, that’s too bad. But, yeah, that’s my pleasure. I’m always looking for what’s happening. May God not disgrace us. I hope I’m not the center of drama one day on that internet.
Would you say you have an online persona?
Oh, yeah, I think so. I think I’m part of Mommy Twitter. We’re always dragging our Children.
Wherever I see children doing stupid things, we are there insulting them. And I said we should be kind o. After being kind, we insult them.
What’s your favourite emoji and why?
It’s the laughing emoji. You know the laughing emoji with two tears coming out of the eyes? I just like it because I’m always laughing. I think it’s one of my favorite emojis because most of the time when I’m tweeting I’m saying “lol” or something.
Are you particular about your feed?
Twitter? No. But for Instagram, it’s very curated. I’m very particular about how I arrange stuff, the color coordination, everything. It’s quite deliberate, some things that I post and how I post them.
YouTube or TikTok? Which do you prefer and why?
YouTube. Here is the thing, I sort of beef fast content these days. Meaningless content, fast content, short content. I do not want to partake in it. And sometimes I feel like it fills my head with rubbish. It’s nice when you want to just scroll through things when you’re on the toilet seat or when you are passing away time. But I don’t like short-form content that is not doing anything for my brain. YouTube is a place where I can learn, especially as a self-taught artist, I have to do a lot of research on my own. If I need to research or find recipes, it’s there. If somebody wants to talk about art or how to go about doing something, it’s there. YouTube is like basically my University.
Who is the coolest person you follow and the coolest person who follows you?
All the people I follow are cool, that’s why I follow them. So many cool people follow me honestly.
What is your favourite Nigerian podcast?
I don’t have a favorite but I love I Said What I Said and I Like Girls by Nana Salahudeen.
Have you ever hooked up with someone you met online? Did you regret it
I’ve not. I don’t move that way, to be honest, but I did meet my husband on Twitter, but he doesn’t agree that we met on Twitter. He said somebody introduced us, but then, even the person who introduced us, I also met them on Twitter.
5 people you’d love to see answer these questions
Aisha Ife and Hauwa.
Read previous Obasanjo’s Internet entries here
