I graduated with First-Class Honours (CGPA: 4.76/5.0). I've already paid my enrollment fee using my tutoring savings and loans from friends.
I still need to raise €3,122 (about ₦4.9 million) to complete my journey.
This scholarship covers my tuition, accommodation, meals, and stipend. However, I still need financial support for my visa, flight, document processing, and initial settlement so I can begin my studies in Italy.
NIGERIANS DO NOT HAVE SHORT ATTENTION SPANS. THEY WILL WATCH A 24 HOUR FIGHT BETWEEN CONTENT CREATORS, BUT CALL FIVE PARAGRAPHS OF EDUCATIONAL CONTENTS “TOO LONG.” IS THIS NOT THE PERFECT DEFINITION OF THE OLODO UPRISING?
The so called “Olodo Uprising” is not merely about people who did not perform well in school. It is not an attack on content creators, comedians or people without university degrees. It describes a dangerous culture in which ignorance is deliberately displayed, celebrated, rewarded and defended as though refusing to think is now a form of authenticity.
The biggest problem is not even with the people producing empty content. The biggest problem is the audience consuming it. Nigerians have repeatedly demonstrated that they would rather be entertained than educated, distracted than informed, and emotionally stimulated than intellectually challenged.
Post something foolish, controversial or completely meaningless, and millions of people will gather within hours. Post something that teaches financial literacy, law, science, history, health, politics or personal development, and the same people suddenly become too busy to read.
People claim that educational content is boring, but they can spend six uninterrupted hours watching strangers quarrel online. They cannot read ten paragraphs explaining something that could improve their lives, but they will read five thousand comments beneath a celebrity scandal that contributes nothing to their future.
One of the clearest examples of the “Olodo Uprising” is how some people react whenever I make my usual posts about law, finance and trading.
Even when a post contains only a few short paragraphs, you will see people complaining that they cannot read it. Many of them have already decided not to read it simply because they consider it too long.
But when the post or topic is about a fight between two content creators, something that will add absolutely nothing to their lives, they do not mind watching a 24 hour video, interview or livestream. They suddenly have the time, patience and attention.
The perfect real life example is this: 90% of the people who see this post will simply swipe past it because they do not want anything meaningful to hold their attention for three to five minutes. Ironically, many of these same people are criticising Ycee and condemning the “Olodo Uprising.”
That is the perfect definition of the “Olodo Uprising”: people would rather be entertained for hours than educated for a few minutes.
This is why the “Olodo Uprising” continues to grow. Social media rewards what people repeatedly consume. The algorithm did not independently decide that foolishness should dominate Nigerian social media. Nigerians have continuously voted for it with their attention, reposts, comments, laughter and money.
Every time you promote meaningless drama while ignoring valuable information, you are helping to build the culture you later complain about. Every time you make an unserious person famous merely because they are loud, you are teaching the next generation that noise is more profitable than knowledge.
We now live in a society where someone can explain an important economic policy and receive little engagement, while another person can intentionally mispronounce simple words, display ignorance or start an unnecessary fight and become a national conversation. That is not merely entertainment. It reveals what society values.
There is nothing wrong with entertainment. Human beings need laughter, music, comedy and relaxation. But entertainment becomes dangerous when it completely replaces education, critical thinking and meaningful public conversation.
A serious society knows how to entertain itself without worshipping ignorance. It can celebrate comedians while respecting scholars. It can reward content creators while still honouring lawyers, doctors, engineers, teachers, researchers, writers, entrepreneurs and skilled professionals.
But Nigeria increasingly treats intelligence as arrogance and ignorance as relatability. Speak thoughtfully, and people accuse you of trying to sound intelligent. Speak confidently without understanding the subject, and thousands of people applaud you for being “real.”
We have created an environment where people are no longer embarrassed by what they do not know. Instead of asking questions and learning, they defend their ignorance aggressively. They insult anyone who corrects them and gather other uninformed people to turn their error into a movement.
The ability to make money does not automatically make someone intelligent, informed or worthy of imitation. Money proves that a person has found something the market rewards. It does not prove that everything the person says is correct or that their behaviour should become society’s standard.
Education is also bigger than possessing a university degree. A person can hold several certificates and remain intellectually lazy. Another person may never attend university but may constantly read, learn, question ideas, develop valuable skills and demonstrate exceptional intelligence.
Therefore, the real enemy is not the uneducated person. The enemy is the person who glorifies remaining uninformed, ridicules learning and encourages millions of young people to believe that knowledge, competence and discipline are unnecessary.
The most dangerous part is what children are learning from this culture. They can clearly see who receives attention, endorsement deals, invitations and money. They are watching society reward spectacle more loudly than substance, and many of them will naturally imitate whatever appears to produce success.
You cannot consistently make foolishness profitable and then become surprised when more people choose foolishness. You cannot ignore intelligent creators, refuse to share educational content and then complain that social media contains nothing valuable.
Many people defending the “Olodo Uprising” are confusing the right to earn money with immunity from criticism. Content creators have every right to earn an honest living. Society also has every right to examine the values their content promotes and the influence it has on younger audiences.
Nigeria needs entertainment, but Nigeria also needs citizens who can analyse policies, identify misinformation, understand contracts, manage money, question political leaders and make rational decisions. A country facing serious economic, legal, technological and security problems cannot afford to make critical thinking unfashionable.
The uncomfortable truth is that many Nigerians do not genuinely want education. They want entertainment disguised as education. The teacher must dance, shout, create controversy, use comedy and compress a complex subject into thirty seconds before they are willing to listen.
That demand is gradually forcing intelligent people to either become entertainers or remain invisible. Meanwhile, loud people with little knowledge dominate serious discussions because they understand how to capture attention. We are allowing popularity to replace credibility and virality to replace competence.
The “Olodo Uprising” will not end by attacking one influencer or mocking people who struggled academically. It will end when the public changes what it rewards. Follow people who teach you something. Share useful information. Celebrate excellence. Ask better questions. Demand substance from the people you make famous.
Until Nigerians learn to value education as much as entertainment, the “Olodo Uprising” will continue. The painful truth is that the uprising is not being imposed on us. We are financing it, promoting it and strengthening it every day with our attention.
Isn't it always convenient to leave out the factor of social class in age discourses?
The 27-year-old you talk about is the son of a retired Legal Director at Shell. He studied at Nile University and enrolled for his master's degree right away at the University of Leeds. He chose Leeds because his granddad was a renowned, practicing solicitor in the UK courts. He has generations of guidance and support behind his every step.
And then, there is Moses. He is the first graduate in his extended family. He lost his dad in his 200 level and was mocked by his aunts for his dad's decision to enroll him in school instead of the second-hand clothing business in Ariaria, Aba. He had to self-sponsor his way through UNIZIK, sleeping in classrooms after delivering tutorials. Then came the strikes. Then, the endless scholarship applications without guidance. Then, the countless job applications without responses. Finally, there is the burden of his seven siblings, which his mother simply cannot carry alone unless she wants her own demise too.
One is a 27 with 100+ years of financial, structural and experiential backing. Moses is just 27 navigating a world that everyone he calls family is a stranger to.
They are not the same 27!
1 DAY TO GO: Meet Two Scholars from the MT Community
The countdown is almost over.
Tomorrow, applications for the 2026 Michael Taiwo Scholarships will officially open. As you prepare to submit your application, meet two scholars whose journeys reflect the global reach of the MT community.
Scholar 1: Oluwapelumi Egunobi
Cohort: 2024
Country of Origin: Nigeria
Graduate School: Stanford University
Scholar 2: Tsegay Kidanu
Cohort: 2024
Country of Origin: Ethiopia
Graduate Schools: University of Oulu, University of Leoben, Federico Santa Maria Technical University, and the University of Zagreb
From Nigeria to Ethiopia, and from Stanford University to leading institutions across Europe and South America, MT Scholars continue to pursue ambitious goals and create impact around the world.
Tomorrow, another chapter begins.
Will you be part of the next generation of MT Scholars?
Applications Open: June 15, 2026
Time: 12 PM GMT
My rice distribution journal dashboard for this month.
While many people see agriculture as hard work, few realize it is one of the largest cashflow industries hiding in plain sight.
This month alone:
🌾 Total Rice Distributed: 6,490kg
💰 Revenue Generated: ₦13.5 Million+
📈 Net Profit: ₦3.9 Million+
Numbers don't lie. Agriculture rewards structure, consistency, and market access.
The biggest mistake most people make is waiting for opportunities to come to them.
Meanwhile, others are building distribution networks, supplying their communities, and creating income streams from products people consume every single day.
Rice is not a luxury.
It is a necessity.
Every household eats it. Every restaurant buys it. Every food vendor needs it.
If you're looking for a business with real demand, consider becoming a rice distributor in your area. Start small, learn the market, build relationships, and grow from there.
As for us, we're focused on moving quality rice consistently across different locations and expanding our distribution network one community at a time.