Temi Otedola (Actor)

For almost every red-blooded Nigerian, the name Otedola has now come to symbolise wealth. This is as a result of how inspiring the wealth of billionaire businessman, and oil tycoon; Femi Otedeola is.

Recently, Otedola has also come to exemplify prominence in the Nigerian entertainment scene. Florence Otedola, popularly known as DJ Cuppy, through her music has managed to create an identity of her own outside her father’s wealth, and now her junior sister, Temi is following suit.

Following a jaw-dropping performance in the highly acclaimed social commentary movie; Citation, Temi proved that she is not just daddy’s little girl, but an ambitious individual in her own right. Her gritty performance in the movie opened the prospect of this heiress becoming the third celebrity Otedola.

She has a massive following on social media, with her Instagram boasting 1.1 million followers, while her Twitter doubles that with 2.3 million followers. Last year, alongside her hubby, Mr Eazi, she launched a podcast, where they both discuss everything from their relationship to social issues.

Maryam Sule (Writer)

How come we don’t hear nearly enough about the capeless heroes who make sure published works from their favourite authors get to the readers?  

Maryam serves as the bridge between readers and writers. Inspired by the idea that readers sometimes do not get the literature they need, she decided to go into the business of selling books. But she doesn’t just sell books, she insists on selling African Literature to an audience all too unaware of the genius that are African authors.

Prior to selling books, she too was a writer, and it was her experience with writing that made her understand the relevance of displaying an author’s works on the shelves. Employing the use of tech and social media, Maryam is able to promote books for her clients, and helps them to run campaigns that allow their work to be seen.

Daniel Egwede (Comedian)

The advent of social media has seen an influx in the number of independent content creators all over the world. Many talented people have used these mediums to showcase the talent they possess.

Daniel falls into the category of individuals who have taken advantage of the exposure social media creates, to deliver his craft. He is a comedian who unlike most, relies on clever punchline jokes, and situational comedy, rather than slapstick.

He began on the stages of Covenant University, where he had to learn to tell jokes that wouldn’t come across as objectionable, lest he get into trouble with the school’s authorities who insist that all students must adhere to the school’s strict Christian principles. Till today, watching his comedy online and attending his standup, you immediately understand that this is a comedian that has been drilled in the art of telling politically correct jokes, while still managing to be funny.

Tosin Junaid (Photographer)

For nearly six years now, this young creative has run his own photography outfit; Tosin Junaid Photography, where aesthetics, feel and quality defines his work. Telling stories of beautiful black women via photography seems to be this photographer’s whole emo. That is not to say that Tosin focuses exclusively on women, no. He also has photos of African men on his page and is seen to be versed in wedding shoots, not to mention the fact that he excels at taking family portraits, and corporate headshots.

One look at his Instagram page and you would feel nothing but pride for belonging to the black race. His social media engagement and followership has been on the rise which started from a few hundred likes to now thousands.

Yemisi Ajeojo (Entrepreneur)

For Yemisi Ajeojo, it seems to be all about accolades, as she has a good number of impressive feats under her belt. From being head girl in her secondary school and an active participant of her school’s debate team, to organising activities at Abacus College Oxford, to bagging a BSc Honors in Accounting and Business Management at Aston University where she was a student blogger, a member of the student outreach team and an eventual recipient of the Aston University’s professional mentoring scheme, she no doubt has a rich academic history. But, if you think these accolades are the height of her accomplishments, you would sound mistaken.

Her career resume is even more impressive as she took ‘ambitious’ to a whole new level. Right out of school, she was the programs manager at Slatecube, a year later she was the Projects and Financial Analyst at The Kwara Public-Private Partnership Bureau (KP3 Bureau). She is the co-founder and currently the head of operations at her very own social enterprise named Triift, which loans micro businesses funds. She is also co-founder of Cirkle Labs, a company aimed at educating and empowering individuals from disenfranchised communities.

For her work with promoting digital literacy in poor communities, she has been called to give a sermon on TEDx. She is an award-winning social entrepreneur, bestselling author, and international public speaker. She also uses her social media to educate and empower.

Ify Obi (Writer) 

Curator and storyteller perfectly defines this young lady. For her, writing about the culture including music, fashion and religion, constitutes her day. Most renowned authors can often boast being featured in notable publications, but this writer can boast of being featured in noteworthy publications across different diverse regions. 

She has written for American publications – CNN, Teen Vogue, Canon USA, and Yahoo Lifestyle. Quartz Japan. Highsnobiety, a Germany-based English streetwear blog. Hypebae, a Hong Kong fashion company, and OkayAfrica, a digital media platform dedicated to African culture.

When Ify talks about culture, the whole world pays attention. She seamlessly curates near clairvoyant insights on how different cultures are habitually intertwined and similar, and of course she is not afraid to sell the beauty of Africa to the world. When she is not letting the world know what the word on the street is, she is writing pieces that focus on social justice and condemns the actions of situations that seek to consume the sanity of the human society.

Alex Onukwue (Tech Journalist)

Year-in-year-out, Nigeria doesn’t seem to experience any shortage of writers. Thousands of young people who have something to say now have a number of means by which they can voice their opinion. This advantage no doubt extends to Alex, as his opinion on tech and politics has found itself on some insight driven platforms.

Alex is a well versed writer who tends to lean towards the more arithmetic side. His passion for tech is plainly visible and undeniable, and he has channeled this passion into curating content that discusses the effect of tech on the African continent, specifically the Nigerian market. He delivers this content for a blog site named TechCabal. Prior to working for this company, he worked for YNaija, contributing his take on Nigerian politics.

This alumni of the Federal University of Owerri, managed to snag a 4.32 in his Environmental Technology BSc. He would later follow that up with a 4.00 on Research and Public Policy MSc, at the University of Lagos. His academic prosess at least ascertains his authority in the topics he chooses to discuss.

Chinedu Akeudike (Comedian)

Not many people get to experience fame in their pre-adolescence stage. Talent plays a huge role in establishing their brand, but a chunk of the work, particularly the creativity comes from an external source, for Chinedu, this is not entirely true.

This young actor/comedian began enjoying the limelight when he partnered with his elder brother Chukwudi D. Akuwudike, a fellow actor and comedian to deliver hilarious jabs aimed at the stereotypic Nigerian mother/stubborn son relationship. But, then you could tell that Chinedu brought his own brand of comedy to the mix, adding some sauce to what would have otherwise made the pair’s delivery bland.

More impressive is the fact that Chinedu is beginning to branch out, building an identity of his own which has nothing to do with that of his brothers’. His ability to portray a character convincingly is bringing some much needed attention to his brand, and catching the eyes of potential business partners.

Ani Kayode Somtochukwu (Writer)

As many specialists have noted, writing provides an escape for both the writer and the readers, and in no form of writing is this more so than in fiction writing. To write fiction is to create a different world with its own set of rules, and Ani dabbles flawlessly in this form of therapy. 

Ani is also a Biologist, Journalist, and Queer Liberation Activist who resides in Enugu, Nigeria. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Biology from the state’s university, but has since taken the path of a writer. It goes without saying that his writing touches on the sensitive issues of homosexuality in the Nigerian society.

His writing has appeared in The Enkare Review, The Rustin Times, Gertrude, Bakwa, and Plenitude Magazine, among others. He was awarded SOGIESC Rights Activist of the Year by The Initiative for Equal Rights  in 2019. 

He continues to play with inspiring muses and both produce masterpieces you don’t want to ignore. 

Angel Nduka-Nwosu (Writer)

It is ironic that sometimes, nonverbal communication sparks more of an impact than actually speaking. This is no more so true in anything than for the ancient art of writing.

There have been publications that have literally changed societies and governments, and sparked revolutions. As a result, even till this day, people still draw inspiration from the change our predecessors had affected when they decided to put pen to paper.

Our society still experience a lot of social injustices, and it is only appropriate that because of this, we continue to have writers who write for social change.

Passionate and eager for a change towards societal induced female challenges, Angel has taken to the internet and social media, to identify and call out some of the practices we still adhere to that enslave women. She is a fervent feminist, and advocate for women’s right.

She is a journalist for Avalon daily, a news analysis platform, and the co-founder of ‘As Equal Africa,’ described as a safe space for young African feminists.

She was also a finalist for YNaija’s diversity prize 2020, an award honouring those who dare to be different. She can often be seen sticking to her roots by referencing her Igbo culture or writing pieces of literature or poetry in said dialect.