Speaking Igbo Doesn't Limit My Audience

Digital creator, Pamela Mbaefo popularly known as nwanyi Nnewi, has 170, 000 followers on Instagram, and 190, 300 followers on Tiktok. She tells Naomi Chima about her style of content creation and other issues Tell us about yourself and your family background. I am from Anambra State. I graduated from Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, where I studied Food Science and Technology. I come from a family of nine children, and I am the seventh child. How did your content creation journey begin? The whole story started during the COVID-19 pandemic when everybody was at home. The first video I made was with my brother’s friend’s phone. I didn’t really start with my current name; I started with something else. I was just talking, trying to be funny and playing around with things happening around me. I was trying to mimic Lasisi, but instead of using the big-mouth effect he used on Snapchat, I was using another filter called Coon. When COVID-19 was over and I went back to school, I started figuring out how to create African mother content. I answered different names before settling on my current name. It wasn’t really easy, but I have been navigating. My aim was not to grow a page; I just wanted to make people laugh. Then, I had a friend who started creating content before me. I reached out to him and told him I wanted to start. He offered to have me on his team, but I was required to pay, and I didn’t have the money. So, I wasn’t consistent. I was always following friends who wanted to shoot content. One day, I waited for them for several hours, but the shoot didn’t hold. I became frustrated and decided to take a break from content creation. In 2022, I picked it up again, this time more seriously. A mentor told me, “Don’t wait for people. Create something you can do by yourself.” That was when I started creating monologue content, talking to myself. That style of content is what really pushed me to where I am today. What were your biggest challenges at the beginning? One of my biggest challenges was not having a good phone. I used my cousin’s phone for a while. After my brother’s friend left, I kept borrowing my cousin’s phone whenever I wanted to shoot. One day, he got upset and told me that I should stop coming to use it. That was the last time I went there to borrow a phone. I was between 300 and 400 level at the time. Later, I started using my father’s phone until I stopped using Snapchat and returned fully to school. Things changed after that. What inspires the African mother-style content you create? Most of the things I portray are not necessarily things I saw from my mother or grandparents. Sometimes, I sit down and think. Sometimes, I see things happen on the road and turn them into content. At other times, I read something someone has written and decide to act it out. I simply imagine situations and act them out. Surprisingly, people relate to them. When did you realise you were becoming popular on social media? I don’t even know; I was just doing my thing. Then, suddenly, people started recognising me, pointing at me, offering to pay my transport fare and giving me special treatment. Which video made you go viral? My first viral video on TikTok was the one where I came out of church angry and carrying two yams. The cameraman asked me what was wrong, and I said I had taken my yams to church for Thanksgiving, but the holy water did not touch me, so I angrily carried the yams back home. Is content creation a hobby or a career for you now? It started as a hobby, then became a career. Right now, it is truly a career. I don’t have another job. This is what I do every day, and I go to sleep thinking about how to move forward and come up with new ideas. Do you have a team? I don’t have a team working for me, but I have a team I work with. They are people with the same mindset who want to grow, work hard and stay consistent. How do you balance authenticity and originality? My real life is different from the character I portray. What I put out is not exactly Pamela. I portray a disciplinarian, an angry-bird kind of character. When I want to shoot, I simply bring out that character and perform it. I haven’t got to where I truly want to get to, and I don’t intend to do this forever. I have other plans, including owning a media school. For now, I protect the brand by showing up consistently. I post several pieces of content daily because I want to go very far, even beyond Igboland and Nigeria. Why did you choose to create content in Igbo? Nnewi, where I am based, is Igboland, and speaking only English in that setting did not feel natural to me. Do you think speaking Igbo limits your audience? No! Last year, I used to translate my content. This year, I decided to just be myself. If someone comes to my page and doesn’t understand, they are free to leave. However, I plan to start adding more English in the future while still keeping some Igbo. Will adding more English not affect your brand? I don’t think so. People follow me for different reasons. Some follow me because of the Igbo language, some because of the body language and acting, and some because of the boldness I show online. I believe that even if some people leave, new people will come. What has been the most difficult part of being a public figure? I have always believed that pride comes before a fall, and that popularity without money can be dangerous. I don’t allow fame to pressure me. If I want to go to a local market or a simple salon, I go there. I don’t want early-stage fame to enter my head. I still see myself as a normal person creating content and making money from it. Can you tell us how your content has evolved over time? I started with the Conehead filter, then moved to talking to myself and eventually to proper monologues. My content has always been about African mothers. I don’t think it has changed completely. Last November, I did a series about aunties coming back from the United Kingdom. Sometimes, I just want to do something different. At some point, I also did lecturer content. I believe that I can be anything. I’m not going to bottle myself up in the African mother category. Tomorrow, I could be an Uber driver, but the type that doesn’t take nonsense. The end point is being relatable. How do you handle criticism and hate comments? I see hate comments sometimes, but I rarely reply. My fans usually defend me. I already understand that not everybody will agree with me. The only major criticism I faced was when people accused me of copying another creator. That was why I stopped creating that particular type of content. Related News I attract guys who can handle strong women — Mummy Wa I don’t have to choose between acting, influencing – Susan Pwajok I don’t care what people say about my display of wealth — Dino Melaye I dislike online banter and unnecessary controversy. I don’t want to trend for the wrong reasons. I value my growth and I’m building myself brick by brick, so I avoid online fights. What is the most rewarding feedback you have received from fans? The most rewarding thing is when people tell me, “Keep it up,” “Continue what you’re doing,” “You remind me of my mother” or “You remind me of my brother.” Those words mean a lot to me. Did your parents support your content creation? My mother didn’t want to see me creating content. My elder sister also wanted to be an actress, but she was denied the opportunity because many African parents believe that once you enter the entertainment industry, you may get lost. So, when I said I also wanted to act, my mother was not happy about it. The only person who told me, “Don’t ever stop creating content,” was my elder brother. He came to my comment section and wrote that, and I held on to those words because they meant a lot to me. How do your parents react to your content now, considering they initially did not support it? My dad calls me Nwanyi Nnewi now. He is so proud of me. My mum is also very proud of me. My dad literally tells everybody about me. He says, “Have you seen my daughter? My daughter is Nwanyi Nnewi.” My family is proud of me. They screenshot people’s WhatsApp statuses when they repost my videos. My siblings and aunties proudly tell people, “That’s my niece.” I think it’s a big flex for them. I think they are proud of me. You once created content about E-Money giving you a car. Was it real? No, that was just content. During that period, he was giving people cars, so I created content around it. He didn’t react, but his wife did. Which creators have you worked with? I have worked with Steve Chuks, Marachi, Tope and Kevin Black. Do you have plans of collaborating with more creators? Yes, but I have a different mindset. Since I’m based in the East, I want to become the kind of content creator that people from Lagos will come to collaborate with, not just the other way around. I already have people I would love to work with in the future. Sometimes, I think about creators to work with, then realise there is nothing to do with them. I love their content and I love what they do, but either my content doesn’t suit theirs or theirs doesn’t suit mine. So, I just leave it. Collaboration is nice and beautiful, but I have the mindset that when they need me, they would call me. How do you unwind after a day’s work? After working, I look at my list, check what I’ve done and tick my boxes. Every day before I leave the house, I make sure I have a list of the content I need to shoot. When I get back home, I rest. I’m not an outdoor or a party person, and I don’t go out. When I go out for content, unless I want to grab something to eat, I just go straight home. What message would you like to share with up-and-coming content creators? I like to share what works for me. I’m not going to say anything I haven’t experienced. There was a time I was putting out content every day and my brother asked, “Why are you posting content every day? You want people to get tired of you?” I said, “Have people got tired of Sabinus?” I don’t believe people have got tired of me because you can’t predict what I’m going to do in my next video. So, I would say consistency. But in that consistency, don’t misbehave. Don’t do too much and don’t do too little. Just be there. Let people come to you. You mentioned spirituality earlier. How much does it influence who you are? There are pieces of content I have filtered out and rejected. There are brands I can’t work with. If you bring content that is not teachable and is only about shaking your body or promoting adult things, I won’t do it. I don’t want to do adult content. It gives me joy when people tell me, “My son watches your videos,” or “My children watch your videos.” I don’t want children to see anything evil on my page. I’ve rejected many brands. I can’t work with alcohol brands and others like that. Do you think playing the role of an African mother affects attraction from the opposite sex? Before now, I used to think so, but right now, I don’t think so. Sometimes, I post my real self on social media. I even have another page where people can see the real Pamela. Most people who come to my page think I’m an old woman in my late fifties or sixties, but when they see my real self, they are shocked. For now, it is no longer blocking attraction. I have a problem with attention. One of the reasons people stop talking to me is because I don’t give them the time they require. Imagine shooting from morning till evening, coming home to rest, and your phone keeps ringing because someone wants to talk. When I wake up, I want to write, read and shoot again. If you don’t understand that lifestyle, it becomes difficult. That’s why I don’t really like talking to people who don’t understand what content creation is about. Once I notice a red flag, I’m out completely. Are you ready for marriage, and what kind of man do you want? Yes, I’m ready for marriage. I need someone with a kind heart and a good mind. I am not a materialistic or flashy person. I just like living a normal life. I also want to contribute to a relationship, not only receive. If I can’t give back, buy gifts or contribute, I don’t think I should be in a relationship. Have you ever felt like giving up content creation? One million times! I have cried, deleted my pages and been depressed many times. I’ve wanted to go off social media completely. But somehow, one video goes viral and I come back. I also receive messages every day saying, “Thank you for taking me out of depression. Your videos help me smile.” Whenever I want to quit, I remember those people. Even if it is only a thousand people who laugh because of my videos every day, that matters to me. I’m no longer showing up only for myself; I’m showing up for my people too. Naomi Chima Naomi Chima is an entertainment and lifestyle correspondent at Punch Newspapers with over three years of experience. She covers Nigerian entertainment, culture, and social events, conducts personality interviews, and contributes to features across desks. Her work demonstrates hands-on newsroom experience, editorial judgment, and a commitment to engaging, accurate, and audience-focused journalism.