Obasanjo’s Internet – Mo Isu

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, writer and audio producer, Mo Isu, talks to us about how he uses Obasanjo’s Internet. 

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

Damn girl. You’re exposing my worst habits. I check my phone. Obviously, that’s the first thing I do when I wake up. I check whatever notifications are on. Right now I have all my notifications off. But I usually check WhatsApp and if I am, like right now, in the middle of a lot of work, I’ll check my email as well.

How do you use the internet for work or pleasure?

Both. I think to equal amounts even. I mean actually just to live, I’m incredibly dependent on the internet. 

What moment or episode in your life would you say captured the essence of the internet?

Oh, I don’t know. That question is not specific enough. Like I actually really need to search my mind because that’s definitely not something I’ve thought, “Oh, this anecdote describes how important the internet is or what role it plays,” it’s just a constant necessity for work and communication in my life. The intertwine is so intricate. 

Your favourite social media platform and why? 

I think they all suck. Before I proceed to answer, I think they are all fundamentally flawed. They suck so bad except Pinterest. Pinterest is pretty damn great. I use WhatsApp the most because it’s the fastest way to communicate with most people. 

I like Instagram, a little bit because it’s easy for me to curate a way to be surrounded by things that inspire me. Pinterest is basically that on steroids. My Pinterest is just a lot of things that inspire me. I like that it’s possible to fully surround myself with imagery that inspires me.

Do you remember the first time something you posted went viral? What was it? How did it make you feel?

I have never experienced a viral moment and I appreciate that. Usually, if I get too much interaction, I panic. On Twitter, for instance, if ten people retweet a tweet, I will probably delete the tweet immediately because I don’t need all that attention.

I don’t remember when my stuff start started to grow really quickly. I think I started out for like the first couple of months with 50 subscribers and then one day it was a thousand and then two thousand and I was like who the fuck are all of these strangers and why are you subscribing to my personal essays. It was a moment of pause because I guess I was worried about – the internet is a really toxic place and I always try to be intentional about curating the community around stuff I share and in that moment it felt like I didn’t really have control over that curation. I still feel that way, but I don’t care.

You don’t care about how you feel? 

No, I just feel like the toxic people would notice that this is not the place for them and they will leave. At least that is what I hope. But I still think that whoever finds access to my stuff and takes a moment to look at it knows very early on what they are signing up for. I never post uncharacteristically viral content that is not consistent with everything else. People are not going to find me because I was funny one time and be disappointed that I’m not always funny. I am never funny. Now that I have a lot of attention, I am not worried about the virality of it because I’m never trying to be viral.

What’s the most outrage you have ever generated over something you posted? How did you react to it?

Maybe like 2 years ago, 3 years ago, my friend Korty posted something that pissed off the Wizkids. Well, she didn’t post something, someone found a really old tweet where she had said something about Wizkid not being all that or something like that. And this was soon after she posted a video trying to get an interview with Wizkid so Wizkid FC was really angry at her. So on my TL, I asked “Why is everybody angry at 10 years ago Korty who was like 14 or something?” and she quoted my tweet. I don’t know why she did that, but she quoted my tweet and then they all got angry at me. I was really freaking confused. I think that’s the most amount of outrage I’ve ever gotten. I was so perplexed by the insults because they made no sense. Like you don’t know me, why are you angry? I didn’t even call Korty out by name. I think I might have used “K” or something like that. I did not try to connect myself and this was back when I tweeted –  I don’t really tweet anymore.

Yeah, that was the most outrage I’ve generated, and I didn’t even do anything to generate it. 

What rules do you live by on the internet?

That there is no space for any worthwhile discourse between two people who disagree, so I don’t try. The internet doesn’t lend itself to talking to someone you don’t agree with, unfortunately, and there’s no point trying.

I also really believe that it supports whatever you believe in already. I pay attention to the fact that that’s both a good thing and a bad thing. It’s a good thing that I can shield myself from things that piss me off and it’s a bad thing that I get stuck in my version of what I think the world is.

What is your guiltiest online pleasure?

Instagram and YouTube. The fact that it’s really easy for me to do things that feel productive, but are actually distracting me from the actual work I should be doing. So like reading essays or watching videos essays on YouTube. I can lie to myself that this is in some way fuel in my creative inspiration but in reality, it’s just me procrastinating the actual work I need to do. 

Would you say you have an online persona?

I hope not, but I actually think I do. People might think I’m more eloquent than I am. I think I sound more eloquent and put together on the internet but in reality, all of my thoughts come out as rambles.

I also look like I have my life together, which is not so true. If someone followed me on Instagram they’d be like “Oh, this person cares about his friend and makes time for them and pays all of his bills easily” and like, yeah, that’s not the reality. I do not have my life together. 

What’s your favourite emoji and why?

I use the heart emoji a lot but I also use this emoji that’s like the chef kiss. I like using the chef kiss emoji because it’s just better than using the thumbs-up. It’s my go-to emoji of approval. 

Are you particular about your feed?

I’m not particular, but recently I found out that every time I open Twitter they show me Elon Musk’s tweets first and I’m like “Why? I don’t really care about this,” so I blocked him, which is something I wouldn’t usually do.

I know that if something I really don’t agree with shows up, I will take an action which will stop it from showing up again and I think that shows that I care.

YouTube or TikTok? Which do you prefer and why?

The answer to that question is that I don’t have a TikTok account, I don’t have the TikTok app, and I’ve never used TikTok in my life. I’ve reached my capacity for apps. I cannot get any new app no matter how great it is. I don’t have space. 

Which Nigerian creator do you think the world needs to see and hear more of?

Korty is pretty great but I also feel like she’s already there. I don’t have an answer at the moment. 

Me? But that is actually a joke.

What is your favourite Nigerian podcast?

I don’t have one. That sounds really bad, but I think that’s the most truthful answer I can give you. I feel a dissatisfaction. This afternoon, for instance, I was looking for something to listen to because I needed to write a script but I just could not listen to any Nigerian stuff. 

Have you ever hooked up with someone you met online? Did you regret it?

I’ll say yes because my last committed relationship was through the internet. But no, I have not regretted it. 

5 people you’d love to see answer these questions 

Hauwa Lawal, Korty EO and Fayfay Odudu.

Read previous Obasanjo’s Internet entries here