Obasanjo’s Internet – UT

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, UT talks to us about how she uses Obasanjo’s Internet. 

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

Sometimes I check the time to make sure its not earlier than 4am. If it’s earlier than 4am, I’ll try and force myself to go back to sleep, if not, i’ll roll over and go to the bathroom.  

How do you use the internet for work or pleasure?

Both. I work in consulting so I do a lot of research often, but its mostly a pleasure for me because the internet is a distraction from real life. But then, real people make up the internet so its a contradiction. 

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

I’m honestly not sure because I’ve been on the internet for over a decade now and there are so many moments, particularly on Twitter. So I’d say when Rihanna was on Twitter because she got banned from Instagram, the chaos was immaculate and I love chaos. The energy was perfect, it was great.

Your favourite social media platform and why?

Twitter, which is sad because it might be gone soon. Twitter is a terrible place and such a beautiful place, you’ll find the best of humans and you’ll find the worst, you’ll find the most uneducated opinions and in the same breath you’ll also find something worth learning. I learn a lot on Twitter, it pushes me to go in search of things that I never actually considered. Like yesterday I learnt a new word on Twitter, it was “solecism.” 

What was the last meme you saved?

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

Yeah. It was a tweet where there was a pair of shoes, I don’t know how they were designed but they were facing backwards so I tweeted something along the lines of “when they tell you to come and be going and they loved it. It didn’t make sense to me because I was just thinking out loud, but they loved it. I was like aww people think I’m funny, that’s cute, it was like well done for catching on to something I already knew, it’s cool.

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

This one landed me on Linda Ikeji and my parents found out about it from my aunt in the U.S. I called the Bible “daft” and the Christians weren’t having it, and my mom is a pastor so that didn’t go down well. My parents told me to go and write my own Bible if I knew so much, but in my head it made sense and to a certain degree I can still justify it. It was just me looking at period pains and the stress of just existing as a biological woman, and I was like yo, the Bible is daft because God put this thing as a curse but from my point of view, it would have happened anyway, the pain of childbirth could have happened anyway. He just put it as a curse to scare people. It was a scare tactic, not anything else, it was still going to happen so that’s why I thought it was daft! Granted, my phrasing may have been wrong, but I still stand by what  I said. The Bible, if you take it literally, is a very daft book, but if you embrace it as a work of fiction, like a storybook or Greek mythology, it’s cool. Contextualise things, and read between the lines. When the tweet found its way to Linda Ikeji, I went and read the comments of people insulting me and I laughed at the comments. My parents didn’t find out till six days later so they called me to their room, it was an entire thing, but everybody was fine at the end of the week because what can you possibly do? The worst you can tell me is to write your own Bible, but then I might.

What rules do you live by on the internet?

Also, when in doubt, be sure that an Igbo man will run to the scene in his isi agu to defend misogyny. Say shit with your chest, if you can’t say it with your chest, don’t say it at all. Assume that everybody except you is stupid. 

What is your guiltiest online pleasure?

I go on YouTube a lot and I just watch public marriage proposal fails. I don’t like the idea of public marriage proposals, it feels very manipulative, unless that’s your thing then it’s fine. But I just enjoy seeing niggas told no. You know your babe, she probably doesn’t like that shit. I hope we get more failed public marriage proposal content on the internet. 

Would you say you have an online persona?

No, but people have a perception of me online, I’m aware of it. People think I’m constantly angry but 99% of the time, I tweet my shit very calmly but people assume I’m angry. So the perceived online persona is angry, but in real life, I am chill and laid back until you piss me off, and then there’s actually anger. But other than that, I’m chill as fuck and I cannot come and stress myself. So personally I don’t have one, but I have a perceived online persona.  

What’s your favourite emoji and why?

It’s one of these three – 🥺😂💀. 😂💀 because people are hilarious and I love that comedy is not just restricted to the TV so a lot of things be having me laughing and very dead. 🥺because I be taxing my brother and dad a lot so that’s always there. 

Are you particular about your feed?

Yes and no. I would follow people because I stumble on a tweet of theirs that’s interesting and I’ve gone through their profile and its great tweets or their bio drew me in. But then if I see tweets heavy on misogyny, I just mute or unfollow. There’s no particular rhyme or rhythm to it, I just like seeing people that make me happy or bring joy in some regard to my life, be it by making a fool of themselves or tweeting something funny. 

YouTube or TikTok? Which do you prefer and why?

YouTube. I spend hours a day on YouTube, even using it as background noise, YouTube shorts, etc. I feel like I don’t go on TikTok as much because TikTok ends up on YouTube anyway. Everybody with a TikTok page and a large following also has a YouTube page because YouTube also gives money so why not just transfer your content over? I also feel like YouTube pays more than TikTok, but someone should correct me if I’m wrong about that. 

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

SGawD. Le Mav, he’s such a breath of fresh air. TMT too. TMT is a fountain of wonder.

Who is the coolest person you follow and the coolest person who follows you? 

The coolest person I follow is either TMT or Dare. I think they are really cool. The coolest person who follows me, even though I find her really corny, is Erykah Badu. And it’s really funny because Erykah followed me after I insulted her. Her music is great, but I think she has questionable opinions. 

What is your favourite Nigerian podcast?

Submarine And A Roach, it’s literal chaos, you get politics, banter, and culture. It’s an all-encompassing, 10/10 podcast.  Submaroach is a good time.

Have you ever hooked up with someone you met online? 

I feel like most of the people I’ve hooked up with, I met online. All my boyfriends have been from Twitter.

5 people you’d love to see answer these questions

@DunsDoesitAll @imoteda @Dusten_Truce @MayowaIdowu @NaomiAs_ 

Read previous Obasanjo’s Internet entries here.