With over 200,000 followers on Instagram, Wofai Ewa popularly known as Wofaifada, is one of the funny Nigerian ladies on the social media platform. She tells Ademola Olonilua about her journey to stardom via Instagram
Out of all the social media platforms, which do you use the most?
That would be my Instagram account. I am more vibrant on my Instagram account and I have about 295,000 followers.
How were you able to get such a large number of followers?
I think it is because of my consistency. I keep producing skits every day and with the hashtag, people watch them, enjoy them and decide to follow my account for more skits.
Which of your skits shot you to internet fame?
I think it was the one I titled ‘My Jacuzzi party’ and it featured Don Jazzy. I invited Don Jazzy for my birthday party but he later called to tell me that he could not make it and his excuse was that he was with Rihanna. He later posted the skit we did together on his Instagram page and it went viral.
How did you feel when you saw your skit on Don Jazzy’s page?
I felt very good with myself and it inspired me to do more. After I did the skit with Don Jazzy, I started calling other A-list artistes telling them that I had a skit with Don Jazzy and I would also love to feature them. I have done skits with the likes of Iyanya, Ycee, Skuki, and virtually all the A-list celebrities in Nigeria. I think it is fun.
You have also been spotted in music videos of top celebrities, was it through your social media activities that you achieved such a feat?
Yes. The first music video I was featured in was Harrysong’s ‘Reggae blues.’ When I got to the set of the video shoot, I did not know I was going to be in the music video because I only accompanied Iyanya there. I gave the director a concept which impressed him and he asked if I could do it. I answered in the affirmative and he gave me a shot. That is how I appeared in my first video shoot.
Did you create your Instagram account to be famous?
I always heard people talk about Instagram, so I decided to join them in 2014 with the aim of uploading my pictures like everybody else because I love taking pictures. There was a day I kept a ladder somewhere and I was playing a funny song at the background; I was only clowning around in the video but when I posted it, the video went viral. As of then, I did not know what was going on because I was still new to the social media platform. Then I did another one which went viral as well and since that day, I have not relented.
What did you study in school?
I studied theatre arts in the University of Calabar.
How do you get ideas for your skits?
Sometimes it is from personal experience. Other times, when I am around people, there is this creative flow that comes to me. The beauty of my work is that everyone can relate with my skits because they are on the happenings around us as we face our everyday life. My environment inspires me. I also think this is a gift from God because sometimes I don’t know how I come up with these ideas.
People see you as a funny and crazy young lady on Instagram, are you like that in real life?
I am not crazy but I don’t like when someone steps on my toe. That is when you see the other side of me. But normally, I am not crazy.
Did you ever imagine you would be this popular when you created your account?
I did not know I was going to be popular through social media; I thought modelling would make me popular because I was a runway model. That’s what I leveraged on in school. Back then, there was nothing like social media. Immediately social media made me popular, I stopped modelling.
Does it mean that chapter of your life is over?
I am not doing runway modelling anymore but I can still do other kinds of modelling like billboards and other forms of advertisements.
Do you get romantic advances from men via your platform?
I do, in fact, I get them every day.
Some people say that they want to hang out with me so that I can talk and make them laugh. Some say they want to have sex with me. The funny thing is that when you look at the people that say these nasty things to me, they are small kids between the ages of 16-18. I call them ‘upcoming men’. They say obscene things about how they want to have sexual intercourse with me but you can never see a responsible person send such a message.
When they send me such nasty messages, I go through their Instagram pages and I see that they are small boys. I just laugh it off and wonder why someone responsible cannot send me a sensible message. It is really crazy. I made the worst mistake of my life when I put my number on my page but I have removed it. I could get a message on my whatsapp and when I check it, I would see inappropriate pictures these young boys sent to me. I can just wake up one morning and when I check my messages, the first thing I would see is an inappropriate and obscene picture on my phone. Some people are crazy.
When you see such messages, what do you do?
I decline to reply. Sometimes I block them or I just laugh it off. If someone wants to take me out on a date, I agree and accept their offer. But when we go out on a date, all we do is take pictures and that is it.
Have you ever got a marriage proposal via Instagram?
Can you share some weird messages you get?
Yes I have but I don’t know if they were actually serious. I normally get messages like, ‘I want to marry you’, or ‘you are a wife material, 100 yards.’ But I don’t know if they are actually serious or they are joking.
Have you ever felt like quitting social media?
Yes.
What happened?
I was depressed at that time. I get easily depressed. I think a lot. I don’t really know what happened that day but I was going through my page and I noticed people were laughing at my jokes and skits. For a moment, it irritated me because I was very upset yet people did not know, they were busy laughing and commenting on my skits. I was on the verge of deleting my account but I had a rethink. There are times I just want to be on my own and stop what I am doing but when I look at the positive feedbacks I get, I continue to forge ahead.
What message are you trying to pass across with your skits?
I try to preach to people that they should be original, they should stop pretending. Sometimes girls approach me and ask why I am exposing most of the ladies’ secrets. If you go through my post, you would understand the reason behind the way some girls act. For example, in my post where I told a guy that I didn’t want madam to come and break my head, that is girls ask guys they have just met if they have a girlfriend without being too direct. Even though some girls complain that I am exposing some trade secrets, it is real life and I am trying to preach to young ladies to be genuine.
Do you make money through your posts?
Sometimes, I wish Instagram was like YouTube where you can monetize your likes and views. I actually make money through gigs and it is courtesy of my social media account. I anchor events and I am also a presenter on EbonyLive TV. I make money from there as well.
Is it right to say that Instagram has opened doors for you?
Yes it has; no doubt about that. It was through Instagram that I got a job at EbonyLife TV. It was through Instagram that I started appearing in movies. I am approached by big brands, like Access Bank, to provide content for them. Nobody came to meet me at home for jobs, I put myself out there, I showed the people what I can offer and my audience found me.
Are you saying that Nigerian youths can make money through social media instead of browsing for fun?
Of course they can. If you check Instagram now, it is like ‘balogun market’. Everybody is a comedian now and it annoys me sometimes because some people are not funny. If you know that you cannot do comedy, try something else. There are so many things that can be done online, so why must everybody be a comedian? You will just see one boy wearing wig on his head, downloading and editing app and he begins to portray himself as a comedian. It annoys me when I see that someone is not funny but he is forcing himself. Try something else. If you want to be creative, you must not wear a wig, all the guys on social media are now wearing wigs.
Have you ever wished you were as popular in real life as you are online?
I think I am popular in real life as well because sometimes when I go out; people stop me to take pictures. I am not as popular in real life as I am on Instagram but I know whenever I step out, people stop me to take pictures and they make me feel as if I am popular in reality as well.
When they see me, they behave as if they have known me for a long time. I was at the beach one day eating, then a guy just came from nowhere and began chatting with me. He started talking about my skits and asked me to feed him from my food. I was shocked. It is very funny. When some people see me, they begin to mimic some of my mannerisms online.
How much does it cost you to post skits online?
If it is a sponsored post, I pay whoever is helping me out. They don’t ask for money but I feel it is fair to pay them. Sometimes, it could be really stressful. If it is not something that I have a passion for, I would have stopped a long time ago because it could be really stressful. I would be under the sun shooting for hours sweating and some of my friends usually to ask if I am being paid for all my stress. At night, I would be awake while everyone else is asleep editing my work. This is my work and I feel excited whenever I am doing it.
Sometimes I shoot for an hour straight. Comedy has to be precise and sharp and that is why people don’t really like going on YouTube. They would rather watch a minute skit and laugh than watch a comedy skit that lasts for an hour because it becomes boring. Sometimes I stay under the sun and shoot for about three hours only to extract a minute from the whole video. You also have to buy editing apps and songs from itunes. It is really stressful and that is why I said that if it was not something that I have a passion for, I would have stopped.
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