CNN explores how Nigerian comedians are making a living off laughter

In the latest episode of Inside Africa, CNN meets the new crop of gifted Nigerians harnessing the power of social media to turn one-time side hustles into full-time gigs, carving an unconventional path to success where jokes are aplenty and content is king.

Nigeria’s gig economy is expanding – becoming a space where young and savvy creatives are utilising social media to find their own opportunities to make money and realise their dreams. Inside Africa meets five content creators who speak about their journeys.

First up, Koye Kekere-Ekun is a lawyer and content creator. He tells CNN about why he makes videos, “The best part of creating videos, I think has to be when it gets to the end-user. I like to make people laugh. I love seeing people happy. And also when people send messages like “Oh, this got me through my day.” Or “This got me through a dark period in my life.” That sort of thing, it makes us want to create more.”

Ope Keshinro is a radio host and content creator. She speaks about how the coronavirus lockdown led to her creating videos, “The pandemic actually helped me start creating content. I mean, we were all bored at home. For those that were not working from home, the world stood still last year and people were just doing one or two things to keep mind and body together. So content creation was what was it for me. And, every day as I’m releasing one video, I’m thinking of the next one to do.”

Mariam Bakre is a Youtuber and writer. She explains how content creators make money, “I make a living from content creation. I’m monetised on YouTube and from the videos that I post on Instagram, brands get to reach out to me. I create content for different brands, and basically that’s how I make ends meet for myself.”

Tobi Olubiyi is a comedian. He tells CNN that he has always loved to entertain, “My dad, he called me, I think when I was 10 years old. He asked me what do I want to be in the future. And I told him all these things and he just looked at me and said, “Look, you are good at entertaining people. ‘Cause even at that age, anytime we’re in class I just wanted my environment to be light, my environment to be funny.”

Finally, Wofai Ewa is an actor, a chef, and a content creator. Between acting, content creation and cooking, Ewa has a lot going on. She talks about what inspires her, “What inspires my videos sometimes is my conversations with people, my conversations with friends. It’s not something I sit down and start thinking of what to create. Like when I see something funny, I recreate it. That’s why I have different videos.”