Dennis Da-ala Mirilla

<h2>Rapper Travis Scott was taken into custody early Friday morning in Paris after a heated altercation with his bodyguard at the Georges V hotel, according to multiple reports.</h2>

<p>The incident, which occurred in the upscale 8th arrondissement, led to a significant police response, resulting in the arrest of the American music star.</p>

<p>Scott, who is in Paris attending the 2024 Olympic Games, had been spotted just hours earlier at the U.S. men's basketball semifinal, where the team secured a win against Serbia. The 33-year-old artist, known for chart-topping hits like <strong><em>Sicko Mode</em></strong> and <strong><em>Highest in the Room</em></strong>, found himself at the centre of a physical confrontation that escalated quickly.</p>

<p>Eyewitnesses report that the rapper, who appeared to be intoxicated, was involved in a scuffle with his own bodyguard. A hotel security guard intervened in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, but the conflict intensified, prompting the intervention of local law enforcement. The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed the arrest, noting that Scott was apprehended on charges of violence against the security guard.</p>

Travis Scott performs during 2021 Astroworld Festival at NRG Park on November 05, 2021 in Houston, Texas.

<p><strong>ALSO READ: </strong><a data-link-role-code="open_new_tab" href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/celebrities/travis-scott-rapper-arrested-for-inciting-riot/dcnw70l"><strong>Rapper arrested for inciting 'riot'</strong></a></p>

<p>This latest incident adds to a list of legal troubles for the rapper, whose real name is Jacques Webster. Scott has previously faced scrutiny, most notably in 2021 when ten people tragically lost their lives at his Astroworld music festival in Houston, Texas, due to a crowd surge during his performance.</p>

<p>As the investigation continues, fans and onlookers alike are left wondering how this altercation will impact Scott's presence at the remaining Olympic events and his career moving forward. No official statement has been released by Scott's representatives as of yet.</p>

<p><strong><em>This content was created with the help of an AI model and verified by the writer.</em></strong></p>

The premiere attracted a bunch of A-listers, including rapper Travis Scott.

The incident, which occurred in the upscale 8th arrondissement, led to a significant police response, resulting in the arrest of the American music star.

Travis Scott arrested in Paris following violent altercation at a luxury hotel

<h2>In a surprising yet familiar turn of events, Cardi B has filed for divorce from Offset, making it the second time the couple has headed towards splitsville.</h2>

<p>The <strong><em>Bodak Yellow</em></strong> rapper submitted the filing on Wednesday, August 1, 2024 seeking primary custody of their two children. Sources close to the couple reveal that while recent cheating rumours have surfaced, they are not the sole reason behind the decision.</p>

<p>Cardi B and Offset's love story has been a whirlwind from the start. The duo secretly tied the knot in 2017, only to publicly confirm their marriage months later. The following year, they welcomed their first child,<strong> Kulture Kiari Cephus,</strong> in July 2018. However, their relationship has been marred by allegations of infidelity, leading to Cardi's first divorce filing in September 2020, which she later retracted.</p>

<p>Despite their efforts to keep the marriage afloat, including public apologies and lavish gifts, it seems the couple couldn't overcome their differences. In recent interviews, Cardi has expressed the challenges of balancing her career and family life, hinting at the strain it put on their relationship.</p>

Cardi B shined in a bedazzled jumpsuit with a sheer panel across her stomach at the 2021 BET Awards.

Her black suit was sleeveless and had a scooped neckline. Cardi B also donned matching boots and wore her hair in a straight and long style.

<p><strong>ALSO READ: </strong><a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/celebrities/cardi-b-confesses-fear-of-social-media-backlash-paralysed-her-career/n32glhx"><strong>Cardi B confesses fear of social media backlash paralysed her career</strong></a></p>

<p>The latest filing indicates a more definitive stance from Cardi, who appears ready to focus on her children and career. While the couple has reconciled in the past, insiders suggest this time might be different, as Cardi is reportedly not considering a reunion.</p>

<p>Fans and followers are left speculating about the future of the couple, who have been one of hip-hop's most talked-about pairs. As the legal proceedings unfold, all eyes will be on Cardi and Offset to see how they navigate this new chapter in their lives.</p>

Offset and Cardi B attend the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2023, in Newark, New Jersey.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Cardi B and Offset secretly tied the knot in 2017, only to publicly confirm their marriage months later.

Cardi B files for divorce from Offset again amidst fresh cheating allegations

<h2>This is the premise of a recent challenge that dominated TikTok. Creators dance to the classic hit Who Get Dat Thing by Dangerous Chicks, dressed in retro fashion à la 2001. Many users have jumped on the challenge.</h2>

<p>But for male skit makers whose trade is female personalities, a new opportunity to offer humour was presented.</p>

<p>One of the videos by these skit makers has been viewed more than a million times on X (formerly Twitter). The actor, <strong>Chinedu Ikedieze</strong>, has joined the challenge in exaggerated makeup, a skimpy skirt and a very awful wig.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ: </strong><a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/movies/layi-wasabi-one-of-funniest-men-on-instagram/8yp9hmg"><strong>How Layi Wasabi became one of the funniest men on Instagram</strong></a></p>

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ladies and gentlemen, the winners of this trend. <a href="https://t.co/olTzyVghj8">pic.twitter.com/olTzyVghj8</a></p>&mdash; Ogagus (@Ogagus) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ogagus/status/1812932571136708767?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

</div>

<p>As TikTok has become the de facto public town square for the Gen-Zers, there has been an explosion of male skit makers cosplaying as women, presenting a kind of false, exaggerated representation of otherwise normal activities many women engage in.</p>

<p>“<em>Men cosplaying as women has been going on for centuries. With ancient Greeks, it was rooted in patriarchy</em>,” the feminist thinker, <strong>Ololade Faniyi</strong>, who this year wrote the essay, <strong><em>An African Feminist Manifesto</em></strong>, said.</p>

<p>For her, the expression veers from otherwise acceptable tradition when it becomes stereotypical and loses its political or spiritual significance. “<em>Sango priests transgress gender when they dress in typical women’s dresses to worship their orisa</em>. <em>What becomes problematic is the adoption of drag by male comedians, who when out of drag are not making any political statement, and only create stereotypes about women for likes and laughs</em>,” she said.</p>

The comedian Josh2funny cosplays as women. [Josh2funny]

<p><a data-link-role-code="open_new_tab" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbOQOZWleeE">In their video</a>, <em>Nasboi and Lasisi want to be women</em>, the comics who go by the monikers, <strong>Nasiru Bolaji </strong>and<strong> Nosa Afolabi</strong>, seek to be women for a day. So they don dresses and wigs and enter a Women's World where they experience cramps and have to forgo heavy food in the evenings. But the situation gets dire as the skit comes to its climax after Nasboi asks for a new car from a male love interest, a rapist who subjects him to sexual assault. The skit abruptly ends, leaving the audience asking what the joke’s punchline had been. That women who ask for cars could be raped?</p>

<p>“<em>What you see here is a sort of toxic empathy, a phrase coined by</em><strong><em> Lisa Nakamura. </em></strong><em>With toxic empathy, you see violence enacted on the gender you are cosplaying, you see the comments degrading the character you are playing</em>,” Faniyi said. “<em>But because you do not actually live in the body you are playing, the abuse becomes easier to ignore or laugh over, because for you, it is never a big deal.</em>”</p>

<p>Critics have blasted the return of this brand of comedy to the mainstream as part of a concerted effort to deny the ability of women to offer humour as humans sometimes do. “<em>I don't know why men have consistently turned to female clothes to drive home some humour when many Nigerian men will tell you that women are not funny, except in the ‘Women are funny</em>,’ <em>sort of way,”</em> the editor of a women's website said. “<em>I have seen harassment of female comedians in posts. We also see it in terms of longevity in actual female skit makers</em>.”</p>

<p>In an interview with Technext, one such comic, <strong>Joseph Onaolapo</strong>, who goes by <strong>Jay On-air</strong>, and has content like <em>How Angélique Kidjo Performs</em> and <em>Mothers Being Extra</em> defended his portrayals of women.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ: </strong><a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/celebrities/how-instagram-helped-tobeszn-regain-his-confidence/jzfh9dm"><strong>How Instagram helped Tobeszn regain his confidence</strong></a></p>

<p>“<em>I find women very interesting and I didn’t know it was going to be a thing. I’m not trying to exaggerate. I’m not trying to make fun of anybody</em>,” he said.</p>

<p>Faniyi considers him one of the more ethical creators in the category who has offered nuance and not opted for consistent caricature. “<em>You see their intentionality and a portrayal that is not caricature. But that is a very small percentage</em>,” she noted.</p>

<p>She added that it's the stereotypical streak that crosses the line. “<em>Why are they only interested in the sexual, stereotypical aspect? Why are the characters they play presented as shallow, greedy?</em>” she said. “<em>These comedians do not and have never made an attempt to understand what it means to be a woman, speak up for any causes, and as soon as their cameras are off, they go back to being men; men who degrade women. These comedians are only replicating what is already ingrained in their social conditioning.</em>”</p>

<p>The women's website editor argued that this moment in Nigerian comedy would otherwise be a great opportunity for women to rise through the ranks and build their own careers, but the opportunities for them have been hijacked by the men. “<em>Why don't you just get a female comedian?</em>” she said.</p>

<p>But in the periphery of this debate, there is the conversation around the strict binary expression of the gender systems across the country, “<em>especially in a context where mocking femininity is acceptable, but actual expressions of non-conforming gender or sexuality are not</em>,” Faniyi offered.</p>

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<p>But she cautioned that “<em>there is a very thin line between undercover resistance and blatant mockery. They are doing the latter, and what they consider harmless funny entertainment is doing so much harm to women and queer people</em>.”</p>

<p>As the gender debate has come into sharper focus online, feminists have raised alarm about female social media users who denounce hard-won progress in women's rights as eradicating so-called “<em>privileges women earn in a patriarchal societ</em>y.” Some of these accounts, which Faniyi argued might be run by men, are in tangent with the rise of the caricature skit.</p>

<p>“<em>On Nigerian Twitter, we see men doing what I call digital catfishing, driven by both misogyny and desperation about male privilege slipping away. They create fake profiles, posing and creating personas of ‘pick-me’ women, or false scenarios of ‘fear women’ that validate their own biases. And just like the skit caricatures, it has become a pandemic of its own,</em>” she said.</p>

<p>For the women's website editor, it all ties into the ancient myth that femininity itself is the oldest joke, an afterthought. “<em>You have a man tie gele, and pretend to be all these sorts of women at events and at work and that is the joke. What women say, what women do is the joke</em>,” she said.</p>

The actor, Chinedu Ikedieze [Instagram/chineduikedieze]

As TikTok has become the de facto public town square for the Gen-Zers, there has been an explosion of male skit makers cosplaying as women.

Why are Nigerian male skit makers obsessed with dressing up as women for comedy?

<h2>In a bold move, disgraced R&amp;B singer R. Kelly has taken his fight for freedom to the highest court in the United States.</h2>

<p>On July 31, 2024, Kelly's legal team filed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to overturn his convictions on multiple sex crime charges.</p>

<p>The controversial artist, known for hits like,<strong> <em>I Believe I Can Fly</em></strong>, was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2022 after being found guilty of sexual exploitation of minors, forced labour, and racketeering. Kelly's lawyers argue that his trial was marred by several legal errors and that these mistakes violated his constitutional rights.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ: </strong><a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/celebrities/r-kelly-gets-extra-20-year-jail-term-for-child-porn-crimes/ffmlt69#:~:text=R.,child%20porn%20crimes%20%7C%20Pulse%20Nigeria"><strong>R. Kelly ge</strong></a><a data-link-role-code="open_new_tab" href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/celebrities/r-kelly-gets-extra-20-year-jail-term-for-child-porn-crimes/ffmlt69#:~:text=R.,child%20porn%20crimes%20%7C%20Pulse%20Nigeria"><strong>ts extra 20-year jail term for child porn crimes</strong></a></p>

R. Kelly, left, stands in court before Judge Lawrence Flood at Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on June 6, 2019.E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

<h3><strong>Key points of the appeal:</strong></h3>

<ol><li><strong>Unfair jury selection:</strong> Kelly's defence claims that the jury selection process was flawed, potentially leading to a biased panel that was predisposed against him.</li><li><strong>Questionable evidence:</strong> The appeal challenges the admission of certain pieces of evidence that the defence believes should have been excluded from the trial. They argue that this evidence unduly influenced the jury's decision.</li><li><strong>Witness credibility:</strong> The legal team questions the reliability of the testimonies from key witnesses, suggesting that their accounts may not have been trustworthy.</li></ol>

<p>R. Kelly's lawyers are pushing for either a complete reversal of the convictions or a new trial, insisting that the original trial was far from fair. The Supreme Court's decision on whether to hear the case could be a turning point in Kelly's long-standing legal battles.</p>

<p>The U.S. Supreme Court only hears a small percentage of cases each year, so it's uncertain whether they will take up Kelly's appeal. However, if they do, it could potentially lead to a new trial or even a release from his current sentence. For now, the world waits to see if the once-celebrated artist will get another chance to clear his name.</p>

<p>As the drama unfolds, many are left wondering whether justice will prevail or if this is just another chapter in the saga of a fallen star.</p>

Singer R. Kelly sentenced to 30 years in prison

The controversial artist was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2022 after being found guilty of sexual exploitation of minors, forced labor, and racketeering.

Singer R Kelly appeals sex crime convictions to US Supreme Court

<h2>Bimbo Oloyede still has a lot of fight in her. In 2015, after over five decades as a broadcast journalist, she retired from the anchor chair hosting The News at 10 on Channels TV.</h2>

<p>As one of the foremost Nigerian female broadcasters, she had seen it all, reporting at the peak of military rule from the ‘70s to the late ‘90s when Nigeria transitioned back to democracy.</p>

<p>She has taken to writing in retirement, birthing three books including the <strong><em>Strictly Speaking</em></strong> series, <strong><em>Strictly Speaking: An Oral Guide for Schools and Colleges </em></strong><em>and </em><strong><em>Strictly Speaking: Pronunciation Made Easy</em></strong> (with a TV show spinoff and a speech training academy), and her latest, <strong><em>Command Your Stage</em></strong>. She has also landed some acting gigs, playing Dame Wellington Stone in the Africa Magic original series <strong><em>Covenant</em></strong>. This year, she announced a ₦100 million fund for cancer research.</p>

<p>As an astute observer of the media, Oloyede had a lot to say on the path forward for Nigerian journalism in an exclusive interview with Pulse Nigeria.</p>

<p><strong><em>This interview has been edited for clarity and length.</em></strong></p>

<h3><strong>How did you get your start in broadcasting and journalism?&nbsp;</strong></h3>

<p>I began as an assistant producer in the then NBC/TV and then was transferred to presentation when the Network News was launched. I had been instructed by my controller of programmes to report to the newsroom and that’s how my journey as a newscaster began.</p>

<p>I initially presented other TV programmes before I finally landed in the newsroom, as a member of the news department, working as a sub-editor with the news production team. Even as far back as 1976, we were expected to be either reporters or members of the editorial desk, in addition to our duties as newscasters.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ: </strong><a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/movies/genevieve-nnaji-says-hollywood-made-her-feel-like-a-commodity/qenx6f9"><strong>Genevieve Nnaji says Hollywood made her feel like a 'commodity' after 'Lionheart'</strong></a></p>

<h3><strong>What did it mean to be a journalist then and how has that changed today?</strong></h3>

<p>It meant a great deal because we were in the eye of whatever storm there was. We were under military rule and there was a great deal of sensitivity about the information being relayed to the public. We often had to explain the source of our news and in the end, our director of news decided to take the heat of the faces they saw on TV by reporting personally to the powers that be, to supply any information that might have troubled them from the previous day’s bulletin.</p>

<p>NTA had the monopoly then, so all eyes were on our station and all the heat landed at our doorsteps.</p>

<p>Today, there is another angle to the story because there are numerous stations to monitor and there is also a government-appointed monitor – the NBC.</p>

<p>They watch, regulate, penalise and sometimes make it difficult for good journalism to prevail. That may also be why there is some degree of self-censorship by individuals, editors and stations because they don’t want to fall foul of the regulators.</p>

<p>However, we do see some mavericks being prepared to damn the consequences. These are the presenters and reporters who go for broke, ready to defend their stances and opinions. Maybe that might be the biggest difference in today’s journalism – opinions.</p>

<h3><strong>In terms of the political climate, many say it's a dangerous time to be a journalist; what are your observations on the role of the media in Nigeria today?</strong></h3>

<p>The media has a very important role to play, over and beyond its expected role because of the nature of our polity and the underdevelopment that is prevalent in this nation.&nbsp;We have many leaders who clearly have different agendas, and followers who clearly have little information. With neither of them unwilling to take responsibility most of the time, someone must be able to speak truth to power.</p>

<p>Someone must be an advocate for the voiceless and someone must try to inform and educate the public. Most leaders are not doing it, despite having a battalion of information, officers and media aides, and the followers are not asking questions, so, the media must provide the answers.</p>

<p>Being a journalist can never be for the fun of it or because a take-home pay is required. There has never been a more critical time to be a journalist than now. These times require the media to use its power to make Nigeria, even if others are trying to break Nigeria.</p>

Veteran broadcaster, Bimbo Oloyede [Instagram/speakwithbimbo]

<h3><strong>It still looks like there is a long way for us in Nigerian news media to go. What can we do to accelerate that growth aside, of course, more money?</strong></h3>

<p>Money is the name of the game but it depends on who is spending it and how and why it is being spent! Growth is sometimes accidental but when it happens that way, it is usually at a high cost. However, that cost is bearable when it is properly planned and intentionally initiated. It will cost money, there is no doubt about that but all the contributors to media growth need to decide on a joint vision so that everyone makes the sacrifice.</p>

<p>Individuals will invest in themselves to develop their skills. Media owners will fund and create time and opportunities for in-house and external training. Correspondents will specialise individually and collectively, irrespective of which station or organisation they represent, so that the bar is raised across the board in the reportage of their specific beats for the benefit of consumers. So, let us not deceive ourselves...money must be spent.</p>

<h3><strong>I know you have a voracious media diet so let's talk about the news media. Who excites you these days in media and journalism?</strong></h3>

<p>I am excited when I see the young journalists who I have mentored or trained moving into senior positions and taking responsibility. I am always interested in seeing what new perspectives they bring to their work. Seeing women getting more involved in investigative journalism is also a pleasing development, especially when you realise that the majority of our underdevelopment issues have a more devastating effect on women and children.</p>

<p>I also like the idea that individuals are identifying existing gaps, establishing new channels and creating niches of exploration. I cannot ignore the role that AI is playing now and that if it is sensibly used, it can enrich journalistic content and simplify research. However, the operative word is ‘sensibly.’</p>

<h3><strong>Let’s talk about your new book. Why did you write it and what do you want people to take out of it?&nbsp;</strong></h3>

<p>It was a natural follow-up to the two books I had already written about pronunciation and speech. Speaking well starts with paying attention to pronunciation and word choices, so a book about presentation and public speaking was always going to be the next project.</p>

<p>Having said that, <em>Command Your Stage</em> should encourage beginners to get their feet wet and should also inspire the converted, to improve on their performance and step up their game. I want readers to see that anyone can learn these skills and that they are critical to one's personal and professional progress.</p>

<h3><strong>Would you ever start a podcast or newsletter?</strong></h3>

<p>I started my professional life as an assistant producer, so for me, creating programmes and coming up with different ideas is really not a problem. The issue is sustaining it. There are quite a lot of subjects that interest me and I know that those who follow me on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/speakwithbimbo/?hl=en">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://ng.linkedin.com/in/bimbo-oloyede">LinkedIn</a> often react positively to my posts, keying into my point of view.</p>

<p>However, as a journalist, I like to verify the information I share and that takes time. So, if I had the right kind of assistance in terms of research, brainstorming, a production team, a podcast or a newsletter is not far-fetched.</p>

<p>I think the podcast is easier than the newsletter, however.</p>

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<h3><strong>What are you grateful for these days?&nbsp;</strong></h3>

<p>I am grateful to God for enabling me to have reached the age of 70 in good health and I look forward to many more years on planet earth. I am grateful to the parents I had, who taught me the values I hold dear. I am grateful for my children and grandchildren who give me joy and who keep me on my toes. I am also grateful for the gifts that God has given me which keep my mind active and enable me to be continuously creative and productive.</p>

<p>I think I must also add that I am now wise enough to know that several self-inflicted pressures that seemed critical at one time or another were unnecessary and that life can be very simple when you have a better understanding of it. I am really grateful for that realisation. I am grateful for peace of mind.</p>

<h3><strong>What should we expect from you next?&nbsp;</strong></h3>

<p>When I turned 70, I formally launched a One Hundred Million Naira Cancer Fund to raise money for cancer research and to buy accessories and equipment to ease the discomfort of cancer patients in public hospitals on treatment days. This is going to take some time and effort and I am hoping that the public will help me achieve the target and beyond. It has started quite slowly but we have a fundraising committee and we are putting things in place under the auspices of the Lifeline Advocacy and Development Initiative to move things forward.</p>

As an astute observer of the media, Oloyede had a lot to say on the path forward for Nigerian journalism in an interview with Pulse Nigeria.

What is life like for a retired broadcaster who reported during military era?

<h2>Chinedu* was successful in Nigeria. His business had been doing well. But something was missing. He wanted to be a journalist.</h2>

<p>In Nigeria, he had practised enough of it in university and after he graduated, he was nominated for a prestigious award as a freelancer.</p>

<p>He wanted to do it full-time and learn how to do it better. So he searched online for the top Master in Journalism programmes in Canada and found one in Quebec. Today he lives there and has no intention of returning to Nigeria anytime soon.</p>

<p><strong><em>This interview has been edited for length and clarity.</em></strong></p>

<h3><strong>Why did you decide to leave the country?</strong></h3>

<p>I wasn't like desperate to leave or anything. I was middle class and life was actually good most days. But I had to make a personal decision that will pay off in the long run. For me, it was education that broke the camel’s back. I wanted to learn journalism but in a better environment.</p>

<p>I already studied Mass Communication for my undergraduate programme in Nigeria which gave me the background I needed as a writer. But I knew if I wanted to do journalism in a way that I would be proud of, I needed to better my reporting skills. Studying journalism is just a continuation of what I started back home.</p>

<p>So I wouldn’t have travelled with another route if not the school route.</p>

<h3><strong>How long did the process take?</strong></h3>

<p>The whole process from admission to visa approval took 12 months. Admission feedback and visa approval took the most time. I had to apply a year before and then wait for my admission and then start to apply for the visa.</p>

<p>And it was very expensive. Plus the naira decline didn’t help matters. I opted to study journalism at a school in Canada with a good programme and that cost more than it would have if I had done a postgraduate degree at a less prestigious school.</p>

<p>I spent way above ₦20 million for the whole process. The visa processing can be funny sometimes. I know many people that were denied. But in my case, I read about the process and it went well. I applied myself and didn’t go through any agent.</p>

<h3><strong>Did you use any of those proof of fund providers or how did you get the money?</strong></h3>

<p>I had the money and decided to invest it in myself. I didn't do anything illegal.</p>

<h3><strong>What has your experience in Canada been like?</strong></h3>

<p>My experience in Canada seemed shocking. It’s just a normal country, but with a good government. Nothing too serious. It’s just as described. I got my accommodation settled before leaving Nigeria, so that made things better for me. I had people here and there in Canada also who helped me put things in place before I came.</p>

<p>My first week here was not funny. The weather wasn’t welcoming. I had to learn how to dress for the cold to tackle the winter season.</p>

<p>It took me a long time. Firstly, my focus was on getting myself settled in school before finding a job. Getting jobs as a student here can be funny. Employers don’t really want students because of part-time work hours. They want people without that commitment. But a lot of Nigerian students here work full-time jobs. If you apply and are patient enough you will find.</p>

<p>Eventually, I was referred for a supervisor job at a store and I got it. It has been a huge learning experience for me because of the cultural differences.</p>

This image was generated using the AI model DALL·E

<p><strong>ALSO READ: </strong><a href="https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/god-question-i-think-about-gods-existence-but-i-try-not-to-stress-myself/h9ycnez" searchedstring="false"><strong>The God Question: I think about God's existence but I try not to stress myself</strong></a></p>

<h3><strong>Have you ever faced racism?</strong></h3>

<p>I haven’t faced anything like racism. I’m in a school environment and trust me 90% are immigrants from around the globe. So, who wants to drag who? That aside, unlike some countries, Canada is home to all and her people are lovely and welcoming. They approach with genuine smiles and that settles it. For now, I have no such experience. And people who have been here longer than I have, say they have had similar experiences.</p>

<h3><strong>Do you ever miss Nigeria?</strong></h3>

<p>Miss Nigeria? LOL! I miss my people in Nigeria, not the country. I have all my basic life necessities over here, without having to beg and cry for it. Also, I feel very safe living life.</p>

Chinedu had practice freelance journalism before moving to Quebec.

Japa Story: I'm in Canada for journalism, but I have to be a store supervisor first

<h2>At the turn of the last decade, the systems that had made for centuries, expensive fashion (what we now call quiet luxury), the most coveted signifier of the proverbial one per cent had begun to crumble.</h2>

<p>The editors at fashion publications and influencers on Instagram who decided what the taste was were losing their grip on their audience in an increasingly digitalised media landscape.</p>

<p>Then the pandemic happened in 2020 and the lives of many turned into an endless loop of the TV show, <em>Get Me Out of Here</em>.</p>

<p>On social media, jaded by income inequality, bringing down capitalism was the order for months. There were talks about the colonial apparatus, police brutality and claims that the media establishment had for decades sidelined marginalised people from conversations around fashion and beauty.</p>

<p>So they left Instagram and went to TikTok, where they could see themselves in the content and joined communities of like-minded people.</p>

<p>There were tons of skits about living below the poverty line. Rather than build followers to whom a false life in which every day was a day for full makeup, tight designer clothes and vacation, these TikTok creators built communities trying desperately to be as working class as possible.</p>

<p>While the fashion influencers on Instagram took a thousand baths at the beaches of Saint Tropez, and sat in front-row seats during fashion week, on TikTok the barriers to fashion influencing, once very high, were beginning to crumble. These influencers didn't need fashion brands to send them exclusive drops. Many of them would not have been caught dead at any fashion week event anyway.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ: </strong><a href="https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/fashion/nigerian-sisters-behind-lenchanteur-are-cfdavogue-fashion-fund-finalists/2x48bc2"><strong>Nigerian designers behind L’Enchanteur shortlisted for CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund</strong></a></p>

<p>But after the pandemic and the exponential rise of fast fashion, they began a new kind of fashion influencing, offering attainable style tips for everyday living. Their videos showed them in everyday looks and not high-end fashion brands. They didn’t post pictures in old European cities. They stormed the streets of Lagos making skits, dance videos and transition videos. And so advertisers naturally choose them.</p>

<p>In May 2022, the footwear brand Crocs announced <strong>Adeoluwa Enioluwa</strong>, who rose to fame by posting commentary and eating humongous meals on Instagram, as its first Nigerian brand ambassador. He now has 2.5 million followers and is one of the country’s biggest lifestyle influencers.</p>

<p>How did the Nigerian fashion establishment go from shopping in empty streets in Paris to get-ready-with-me videos in tiny Lagos BQs?</p>

<p>“<em>Everybody is focused on community development because Meta [Instagram’s parent company] has shifted their own design to be more focused on community</em>,” <strong>Lade Adisa</strong>, the editor of BellaNaija Style told Pulse Nigeria. “<em>So if you're not paying to play, the other way you can grow on these social media platforms is to build a community. And because of that, brands have seen that there is more power in investing in an influencer that has a genuine organic community, than giving a big name that has no touch with their audience</em>.”</p>

<p>The core of this shift is not that the influencers of yore lost their followers per se. Stars of that era of Instagram fashion,<strong> Kehinde Smith, IamDodos </strong>and <strong>Shirley Eniang </strong>remain active online, occasionally making comebacks and then disappearing for months. But their growth has stunted. Among the three aforementioned, Eniang has the most followers with 377,000. <strong>Bukunmi Adeaga-Ilori</strong>, the vivacious fashion influencer popularly known as <strong>Kiekie</strong>, who now hosts red-carpet events and has landed acting gigs, has over 3.5 million followers on Instagram.</p>

<p>As years went on, the reputation that had shrouded these influencers as the perfect definition of class and style began to look more like a facade for a life as mundane as everyone else.</p>

<p>The beauty influencer, <strong>Ronke Raji</strong>,<strong> </strong>for instance, came under heavy criticism for a post she made during Nigeria’s EndSARS protests in 2020. She posted a picture of herself in front of a bicycle, which would have been the typical fashion influencer post. But her caption, which was largely about her love for riding bicycles, ended with the protest.</p>

<p>“<em>Right now in Nigeria SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad) needs to be under investigation because of the brutality to civilians. This has been going on for as long as I lived there. Please be aware and let's band together for a change in this current climate</em>,” she wrote. Critics said she had hijacked the protest to promote herself, living in endless luxury. She has since apologised for the incident.</p>

<p>But even as Raji posted that bicycle photo and many cute couple photos with her husband, <strong>Arthur Adeola, </strong>the life she curated for the public was far from perfect. In 2023, the influencer announced her separation from Adeola, alleging incidents of emotional and physical abuse.</p>

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ronke Raji has lost it <a href="https://t.co/5HIv97uH1e">pic.twitter.com/5HIv97uH1e</a></p>&mdash; blueberriessucks🇦🇷🇪🇸 (@amarachio_) <a href="https://twitter.com/amarachio_/status/1315294764556849153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 11, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<p>Smith and her then-boyfriend, <strong>Marek Zmyslowski</strong>,<strong> </strong>who graced the cover of Genevieve Magazine in a spread called “The Power of Love,” also faced a brutal public breakup. She had also posted photos with Zmyslowski on Instagram, selling the story of the ideal power couple – the woman, a high-flying businesswoman and the man, a young successful entrepreneur.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ: </strong><a href="https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/fashion/5-times-shade-okoya-showed-us-how-to-be-a-rich-aunty/qy6hcgr"><strong>5 times Shade Okoya showed us how to dress like a rich aunty</strong></a></p>

<p>Also, she had made comments that sought to diminish the humanity of people who didn’t flaunt expensive luxury items on social media. In one X post years ago, Smith called the customers of an Instagram handle that pretended to be My Extensionz, the beauty brand she started with her sister <strong>Taiwo Smith</strong>, “<em>silly rabbits</em>.”</p>

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Clown selling Fake <a href="https://twitter.com/Myextensionz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@myextensionz</a> &amp; Silly rabbits trying to purchase from &quot;IT&quot;. 😳 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MyExtensionz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MyExtensionz</a> can… <a href="http://t.co/bE531GbyuG">http://t.co/bE531GbyuG</a></p>&mdash; IG: @Kehinde_Smith (@kehinde_smith) <a href="https://twitter.com/kehinde_smith/status/566293996449062912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<p>They were trying to buy what she was selling at a cheaper price.</p>

<p>“<em>Big brands are more interested in investing in somebody that has maybe 10,000 followers but is in touch with those 10,000 followers</em>,” Adisa said. <em>“They trust their opinion. When that person says ‘Ooh I love this,’ maybe 1,000 capable people within the community will go ahead and buy that product. That is why we are seeing more of that influx of genuine connection, and authenticity. People are coming down from their high horse to actually get in touch with their fans</em>.”</p>

<p>But these days, the gatekeepers, who decided who should be allowed into society have mostly shifted their focus to accommodate the new elites or left the party altogether.</p>

<p><em>“Because of all the things that have happened, everybody has come to a place where you cannot deny that inclusivity is important. So every brand, even the brands that sold themselves as not being inclusive, for a particular niche of people, are now seeing that that is to their disadvantage,”</em> Adisa said.</p>

<p><em>“Everybody sees the value in being inclusive and diverse. As a fashion journalist, we know that we have to show we are open to different types of people, beauty standards, and fashion tastes. People want originality. People want authenticity</em>.”</p>

<p>Some of the fashion influencers are adapting, combining nine to five jobs with their content, and posting videos in a more familiar state. Last month, <strong>Asiyami Gold</strong> posted a video of herself in the village, dancing without makeup, in a black T-shirt and a wrapper on her waist. It is how anyone would have looked if they were also in the village. The walls of the house were unpainted and rubbish dotted the compound. That post has over 17,000 likes. Another post she made around the same time, a fashion Reel, has just under 4,000 likes.</p>

<p>For Adisa, content monetisation, which is the point of all of this anyway, is what will decide the future of the space.</p>

<p>“<em>Money moves the world. Money is a game changer. No matter what good these people have done in the past, when money is no longer flowing in that direction, they need to rethink. The shock of everything changing can be really hard, but we need to come to a point of acceptance</em>,” she said.</p>

How being a bougie Instagram fashion influencer went out of style

While the fashion influencers on Instagram took a thousand baths at the beaches of Saint Tropez, and sat in front-row seats during fashion week, on TikTok the barriers to fashion influencing, once very high, were beginning to crumble.

<h2>Olawunmi was doing well for herself. She was an engineer leading a team at a top Nigerian manufacturer. Her family was taken care of. But she wanted more. So in 2018, she began the process of relocating to Canada, with her husband and two children.</h2>

<p>At first, she considered the express entry route, where the Canadian government gives permanent residency visas to skilled workers and their families. It would not be easy.</p>

<p>In this week’s edition of our Japa Story, Olawunmi, now based in Newfoundland and Labrador, an obscure province in Canada, speaks about her move.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ: </strong><a href="https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/japa-story-i-left-privileged-life-in-lagos-to-become-a-gateman-in-canada/chf0v2m"><strong>Japa Story: I left my privileged life in Lagos to become a gateman in Canada</strong></a></p>

<h3><strong>Why did you decide to relocate?</strong></h3>

<p>We wanted a country where there's structure. Where there's organisation. Where the government cares about its citizens. But we are here now, reality has set in. It's not like I'm regretting. If you ask me to come back today, I won't come back. But it doesn't mean everything is so easy here. So it's not really greener on the other side like everybody thinks.</p>

<h3><strong>When did you start to plan to leave the country?</strong></h3>

<p>I'd been on the plan for about four years before it eventually clicked. I started planning to move in 2018 because I wanted the international experience. I wanted a better future for my children. There’s a better future for them here. Everybody was leaving through the express entry route to Canada. I joined the queue. However, the journey didn't sail through as I experienced several challenges. So I started to explore the study route.</p>

<h3><strong>What route eventually worked out?</strong></h3>

<p>I came through the study route in the end. I got my visa in 2021. But I waited until September 2022 before I left. I already had a BSc. I already had a postgraduate degree. But I went through PDG. I wanted to do an MBA but it was too expensive.</p>

<p>Relocating is highly capital-intensive. It's not even for the poor. If you come in as a student and you think you want to come and work to pay your two fees and leave here, you're on a suicide mission. People think they earn $1,000 a month but nobody thinks about how much they spend in a month to live here. An average Canadian here cannot even afford everything he needs. The earning power is not commensurate with the cost of living here, unless you find yourself in high-paying jobs like those working in the IT sector.</p>

<h3><strong>How much did processing your visa cost you?</strong></h3>

<p>Roughly CA$1,000 (around ₦1 million according to latest exchange rates).</p>

<h3><strong>What about rent?</strong></h3>

<p>The cost of renting a bedroom apartment here in St John’s is $1200 (₦1.2 million) per month.</p>

<h3><strong>In total, how much have you spent with children living in Canada since you came?</strong></h3>

<p>I spend like CA$2000 (₦2 million) per month. So talking about transportation, phone bills, internet, energy bills, house rent, groceries, a lot of things come into play, it should be roughly CA$15,000 (₦15 million) for the 18 months that I have been here.</p>

<h3><strong>How did you manage with two children in tow?</strong></h3>

<p>As I said earlier, the initial route I wanted to explore was the economic pathway that gives my entire family permanent residence at once. But COVID happened and age and things changed so I did study visa. I applied for myself alone to increase my chances. You won't give the visa officer the impression that you want to elope. They might use that as a reason to deny your visa application.</p>

<p>I got my visa. I deferred my admission to the next year, hoping to apply for my children while I'm waiting, then we can all go together. But it didn't work out. I was alone here. My husband was with them in Nigeria. So I was here when their visa was approved and I went back to Nigeria in April to bring them.</p>

<h3><strong>What was being alone in Canada like?</strong></h3>

<p>You have to be mentally strong. If you are not mentally strong and financially strong, you might find it very hard and you’ll begin to hear yourself saying things like ‘It's not worth it.’ But the truth is that it's worth it.</p>

<h3><strong>What was finding a job like?</strong></h3>

<p>This is a completely and entirely different environment. They have their way of doing it. The job market is a totally different ball game. Even if you have loads of experience from Nigeria, you might come here and find it difficult to get a job in that same field. A lot of times the employers are kind of biased towards you having Canadian work experience. It's a tough one but people eventually get it. Once they get that breakthrough, are able to enter into one company, and gather the Canada experience, that sets the ball rolling. It also can be a provincial problem. Some provinces don't have enough companies in the industry that you are experienced in. It's a very competitive environment.</p>

<p>I've come to discover that they are very narrow-minded when it comes to job applications. If you want to work as an administrative officer, they believe you must do a course in administrative office. They have all those courses here. If I get a job as an administrative officer, I know I will function well. But they don't believe in that. They believe that the skills you need to function in that role, you must get it through education.</p>

My journey to Canada took 4 years, but it's not greener on the other side [Image generated by DALL·E]

<h3><strong>Where did you eventually find a job?</strong></h3>

<p>Home care. Many people do home care here. Even after having their degrees, they continue to do home care jobs.</p>

Dennis Da-ala Mirilla

Articles written by the author

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