Chinasa Anukam had been thinking along these lines when she returned to Nigeria for her sister’s wedding in 2020. By her words, she has lived many lives and switched careers one too many times. But, comedy, her first love, began to feel sustainable during drama school in New York.  

Stuck in Nigeria during the lockdown, Anukam began brainstorming the possibilities available to her in the comedy industry. In a flurry of experimental activity, she got a production crew together and started a conversational talk show, Is This Seat Taken?. ‘Before I started,’ she said, ‘I found that a lot of the conversations that pop culture figures had in Nigerian interviews felt very mechanic. I didn’t want that, I wanted to humanize them.’ 

The rapper, Falz, didn’t need a lot of convincing to be the first guest on her show. The artist is known for his wit and quirky character, so he was her first choice because she knew he would understand her vision.  

In the show, Anukam sets the date scene with her catchphrase, ‘Is this seat taken?’. The tone of each episode takes on a life of its own based on the responses of each guest. During the date, she asks in-depth questions about their personal growth and career goals. Oftentimes, her guests are awed by her research and intrigued by her comedic timing. They get comfortable enough to go along on this [pretend] date, wining and dining as they banter and spar with Anukam. She told me: 

Every episode exists as an individual concept. Everybody brings something different. If I sit down with Layi and I sit down with Tems, they won’t give me the same thing. So, everything is tailored by what makes the most sense for the guest and what will get the best conversation out of them. 

Three years and over 20 episodes after her first ‘date’, Anukam believes the talk show is the best idea she’s ever had. Having her high-quality production reach over 100,000 subscribers on YouTube is the icing on the proverbial cake for her. 

YouTube has become a useful platform for creators like Anukam. In 2020, the video-sharing company launched the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund, to support black creators and storytelling from their perspective. Spurred by the #BlackLivesMatter movement and aiming to amplify Black voices, YouTube set up the $100 million fund to sponsor authentic Black content and stories for three years. Each year had a new cohort of over 100 Black creators globally.  

Eniola Olarenwaju was a recipient of the Black Voice Fund in the class of 2023. Popularly known as Korty, Olarenwaju was one of the 15 African creators in her cohort. When Olarenwaju started her YouTube channel, it was a way to experiment and express her thoughts and experiences. A 2021 video about moving out of her parent’s home at 22 has garnered over 300,000 views, and it set the tone for the lifestyle videos she would eventually create. Today, she spotlights select Nigerian culture, taking us into the world of artists, tech entrepreneurs, footballers and more of the creative scene in her docu-style show, Flow with Korty. According to Korty:  

My shows exist out of curiosity. Flow with Korty started because I was very curious about people who I personally consider trailblazers or trendsetters in some sense. How they got where they are now and navigating their journeys, because I think it’s a hard responsibility to take up, which is why I wouldn’t just film anybody. 

Like Anukam’s show, each episode of Flow with Korty is based on the mood and personality of the guest. However, it feels more intimate to the audience because it encapsulates what a day in the life of these guests is like. One episode of Flow with Korty shows singer, Rema’s artistic side and how he would navigate his life as Divine (his first name) if he didn’t have his music career. Another episode shows the playful side of the artist Tems and her penchant for mathematics. 

But shows like these are not just there to help viewers find a light-hearted moment in their day or a new revelation about their ‘fave’; they are also a way to provide solace for those who need to share how they found their way out of trauma, depression and life challenges. That’s the purpose of the series WithChude, for instance, according to Dorcas Taiwo, the product manager at Joy Inc, company behind the series. 

In June 2019, photographer and content creator, Busola Dakolo, alleged that she was raped by Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo, the founder of Commonwealth of Zion Assembly, during her tell-all interview with media entrepreneur, Chude Jideonwo. Many Nigerians were shocked by these accusations and moved to find a resolution on the matter, taking to the streets to protest, and calling for Fatoyinbo to step down from his pastorship and be investigated. Eventually, Dakolo filed a case against Fatoyinbo but the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Bawri dismissed the case, and she was fined N1 million. 

Although WithChude could not have predicted the viral response the interview got, the team was glad to have been able to provide a platform for Dakolo. Five years and many episodes after the Dakolo interview, Suzanne Emma, ex-wife of Nollywood actor, Emeka Ike, alleged that she endured domestic violence during their marriage. According to Emma, she chose to speak up because she had had enough of her ex-husband maligning her character. 

After a bout of depression, Jideonwo started researching mental health issues, quickly realizing that the number of young Africans experiencing depression was rapidly increasing yearly. That propelled him to create Joy Inc. in 2015, with WithChude becoming a media product of the company. 

‘Our mission [at Joy Inc.] is to transform sub-Saharan Africa into a mental, emotional and social safe place,’ Taiwo told me. ‘WithChude tells stories that strengthen the mind, the earth and the spirits. We’ve had multiple experiences [to tell those stories] much more over the four years that we’ve been existing.’