A Critical Look At Ycee’s Olodo Uprising & The Resultant Brouhaha

Few days ago, the internet went berserk following the statements made by a Nigerian rapper, Oludemilade Martin Alejo aka YCee on the Afropolitan Podcast. The rapper expressed concern that Nigerian internet culture currently rewards ignorance and shock value rather than academic or artistic excellence. He compared the rise of online viral stars to “Peller culture” and claimed society is accommodating “unintelligent and ignorant people.

Many Nigerians, especially the younger generations were rattled by his opinions, but we must face and accept the truth. For your information, YCee is just 29 years old, and could be said to miss the Gen Z age group by just one year or so. This means that he is not even in his middle age yet, but could boldly stand up and say the bitter truth.

Our internet culture, truth be told, does not promote academic intelligence and excellence in our young ones. It oftentimes promotes mediocrity and people with little or no societal value. If a young person invents or introduces a technology that could be developed to boost the living standard of the society, it fades away within 48 hours or less on the internet. But Nigerians become so focused and vibrate with so much energy that can power the National Grid when it involves the nude video of an actress or a content creator. We dwell so much on trivial issues. If a so-called content creator with big ass and big boobs cries online that she is broke, Nigerians don’t mind requesting for her account details to send money. Even the ones that cannot give their parents 2000 Naira. But just post a young lad that invented something worthy and call on people to donate to him so that such technology could be improved, and watch how people quickly slide to another video online.

The truth is that the internet culture in Nigeria does not promote excellence in academics, science and technology, innovations, etc., rather it promotes nudity, fake life, trivial discussions, and things that destroy our culture and traditions.

Peller might not be the centerpiece or theme of YCee’s statements. Peller could just be a metaphor for such internet practice and belief. So it is not worthy for people to make it seem as if it was a direct attack on Peller. We should always see such statements from a deeper side. Truth is a bitter pill.

This twerking culture on social media platforms that our young women have come to embrace actually started among the black American females. They sold that culture to us. It wasn’t ours. You don’t see Asian women twerking on the internet. It is always black American women and their counterparts in Nigeria (mostly Nigeria), Ghana, Kenya, etc. It is the same reason why the black internet culture in America promotes gun violence, drugs, and nude twerking.

Sometime ago, one young man in Nigeria trended for screaming one thing or the other while selling fish pie. Fish pie! Can a young man in Nigeria trend that way for inventing a robot that can do house chores? Which one is more difficult to achieve? To scream and sell fish pie or to invent a robot that can do house chores? Your answer should be able to tell your level of reasoning.

In conclusion, YCee’s podcast goes beyond Peller. It is more about how Nigeria internet rewards mediocrity over excellence.