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 favorites on how they relate to the internet and what it means to them and their work. This week, Chioma Okoro, Head A&R of MBA for Africa and CEO of Music Marketing Agency, Synnex Entertainment talks to us about how she uses Obasanjo’s Internet.
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
I want to say that I wake up and pray but some days when I’m having a calm morning, I pick up my phone and I open my Instagram to see what’s happening. That’s my go-to app.
How do you use the internet for work or pleasure?
For work and pleasure because I work in the music business and the entertainment space. I have to be on top of conversations with clients and a whole lot of other things.
What moment or episode in your life would you say captured the essence of the internet?
So I think 2020, the ENDSARS movement. That affected a lot of Africans, not just Nigerians, right? It was a conversation because the internet exists. There was some sort of unity. Everybody was like, “We stand with Nigeria. What did they do? What happened?” All of that. There was one mindset for older and younger people, that it (the brutality) was unnecessary and it must stop. Everybody; Yoruba, Igbo whatever tribe understood what we were saying and it’s because of the internet. That was the only way we were able to connect. I think the ENDSARS movement was very beautiful.
Also, the growth of Afrobeats. How Afrobeats has been able to move from Lagos, Nigeria and everybody’s trying to jump on it. Music from Africa has been really good. You see how everybody is dancing the South African dance. Everybody is talking about Amapiano. It’s the internet. It’s crazy.
Your favorite social media platform and why?
I like Instagram because I’m also creative. I like to see a lot of content and get ideas from them. A lot of the time that’s how I get inspiration. So Instagram is the app that takes a lot of my time and sometimes I’m not in the mood to do anything. I just want to be looking at things and I go to the comments section and I’m reading the comments and I’m like, why are you guys thinking like this and all of that? Sometimes it just helps with the stress as well.
Do you remember the first time something you posted went viral? What was it? How did it make you feel?
I think it was on Twitter – X. I didn’t go viral. I won’t say I went viral because I don’t want to go viral, please. But as a talent manager, I tweeted about something that was frustrating me and a whole lot of my colleagues could relate.
I didn’t realize that I was living a lot of people’s past and current situations because people were just reaching out to me asking how I handled it. Me, I came to rant o because I was going crazy. It just made me realize that I think I have gone a step further in my growth process because I now realize that people who have also experienced this are now talking about their own. A lot of times people just focus on the artists and all of that, but nobody is talking about the execs, right? So I think it just got me closer to more people in that community. It made me realize that omo, sometimes I need to speak out and try to assist as much as I can, right? But I didn’t think of monetizing or anything like that. I’m not interested. I don’t want to be a celeb, please. But it was just a really good realization. Then I now told myself that ok, from time to time, I should do this more often so we see where it can get us.
What’s the most outrage you have ever generated over something you posted? How did you react to it?
I don’t think I don’t have any answer and I don’t want to lie as well.
What rules do you live by on the internet?
I think it’s better when I read it from other people but me putting myself out there, being vulnerable? I don’t know if I want to do that. I think I’m still in my comfort zone of, oh, I can see you post about your family, your life, difficult challenges, or I could relate to some of it like this is how you handled it. Let me see if it can work for me. But me, put myself out there? No, No, No, No, No.
So, I think my rule is just that I always have to remember It’s social media. I don’t know you, I don’t know what you’re going through, and I don’t know if you’re lying on the internet, but the content was cool.
What is your guiltiest online pleasure?
I enjoy watching a lot of cleaning videos. If I’m scrolling through IG or TikTok and I see content where you start cleaning your kitchen and everything. I will just watch you clean. I just keep doing it and keep doing it and I enjoy it. It’s so interesting. I think maybe because in real life I’m almost like that. But, yeah, I think that would be something weird. It’s very interesting to me. Very interesting.
Would you say you have an online persona?
I think I do. I think if you go over my tweets and the kind of things I talk about, you can tell the kind of person that I am because sometimes I come on Twitter and I can diss one of my clients or something. You can tell that this is a shot fired at somebody and that I’m not happy. I’m angry or I’m being petty. Yes, I think there is a persona.
What’s your favorite emoji and why?
There’s this strongarm emoji. I’ve been sending that a lot recently. Maybe because of the phase I am in life and with everything happening in my environment – because family, friends, everybody is going through everything that they are going through. That emoji is just like “Omo you’ll get through it. You’ll do it better.” And even when it’s fun times and everything, when I send those emojis, it still fits into all of the sentences.
Are you particular about your feed?
Yes, I am. I like to customize what I want to see. There are some people’s IG accounts where we see a lot of weird things. We’re seeing horror movies. Why? What’s happening in your life? I’m not interested. I like to curate it – this is what I want to see. How would I just open my IG and you’re showing me a horror film?
Youtube or TikTok? Which do you prefer and why?
TikTok because TikTok has a similar simulation to Instagram. But YouTube is interesting too. I started watching it recently. There was one content creator I saw who was doing a lot of cool stuff and I was like, “Wow, Nigerians are trying.” But TikTok is for me.
Which Nigerian creator do you think the world needs to see and hear more of?
His name Diate Kamalli. He put out his debut EP in January. If you listen to his songs, you’ll like it. I’m 100% certain.
Who is the coolest person you follow and the coolest person who follows you?
So because I work with celebrities, some of them follow me. I don’t know if I want to say they are the coolest people I follow. I think I’ll pass on that question.
The coolest person I follow? There are some cool people. I like The Weeknd, I like PARTYNEXTDOOR and Don Toliver.
What is your favorite Nigerian podcast?
I like I said what I said I also like Zero Conditions.
Have you ever hooked up with someone you met online?
Wow. hm, let me see. Okay, so not hooked up. When I was younger we got into an online relationship. When I saw the guy’s picture, he was so fine, like wow! Jeez. Then were now supposed to meet and we eventually did. See, I was so underwhelmed. You know when they say “What you ordered and what you got”?
5 people you’d love to see answer these questions
Obinna, Links, Amanda, Cynthia, Grace
