I always leave Nigerian TikTok with a dizzying feeling. It is organised chaos from my fellow countrymen that I absolutely hate to admit I love. The haphazard transitions, ridiculous storylines, and above all, the freedom to express an unchecked level of tomfoolery — inject it, please.
I’m not the only one with this guilty pleasure, as suggested by a recent tweet on Elon Musk’s X. So I’ve taken the guilty pleasure of compiling 25 of the most ridiculous videos you’ll find on Nigerian TikTok right now.
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A staggering number of young Nigerians spend time on TikTok and if you’re one of them, here’s your ultimate guide to how you can make money on TikTok in Nigeria.
What is TikTok?
TikTok is another video-based platform that has grown to become one of the most popular social media network with over a billion monthly active users.
A lot of young Nigerians have fallen in love with the platform, particularly because it’s easy to grow a large following if you consistently share content that users find interesting. But do you know that you can monetize the content you create on TikTok? In 2022, American media personality and TikTok creator, Charli D’Amelio earned an estimated $17.5m on the platform.
Read this guide to make money online in Nigeria as a TikTok creator.
Create an active account
It goes without saying that your first step to earning an income on TikTok is to sign up. Follow these steps to create an account; it takes five minutes.
Sell products on TikTok
If you’re a business owner and have a large following on TikTok, this is your easiest bet to becoming a top-paid TikTok creator. Create content around your product and watch your revenue increase. For example, if you create recipe videos and highlight the products you use, Maggi can pay you to use their product in your videos if you know what you’re doing.
Live giveaways
Are you even Nigerian if giveaways don’t excite you? TikTok allows users to participate in live giveaways, and you can earn an average of $1–3 per giveaway.
To make money online in Nigeria this way, you need to have at least a thousand subscribers, which grants you access to the stream feature. TikTok allows followers to appreciate you by sending virtual gifts. The virtual gifts are icons that represent a different dollar amount. You can proceed to trade your virtual icons for virtual diamonds. The virtual diamonds are what you need to collect real money via platforms like PayPal.
Some tips to note:
Spend some time on your live sessions: The longer you stay, the higher the chances of more people joining and giving you that schmoney.
Do it at the right time: Study your audience and know when they’re most active., Figure out if they’re nightcrawlers or morning people. This means you’re either going live first thing in the morning or late at night when the normal people are asleep.
Affiliate marketing
Don’t sleep on affiliate marketing if you want to make money on TikTok in Nigeria. If you don’t have a sizable following (1k-5k), it might be best to wait it out while you work on increasing your organic traffic.
With affiliate marketing, you’re advertising products/services online via links, and it’s a win-win situation if you’re able to convert your followers to customers.
Depending on the terms, you can be compensated with as much as $5 for every sale you close. Now, let’s imagine a scenario where you get $5 each from a thousand paying followers. Do the maths dear.
Offer advertising services
With a huge following on TikTok, you are sitting on a potential money-minting machine. First, gather your analytics as this will help you charge your actual worth from brands.
Once you have the numbers at hand, seek out businesses looking to sell their market and offer advertising services. Since it’s a paid ad, you’ll be using your video to promote their products and services.
P.S: You have to put on your negotiating cap to make a killing here.
TikTok creator fund
Source: TikTok
The Creators Fund is TikTok’s way of telling creators on the platform: we see you and we appreciate you. The catch? It’s appreciation that comes with funds.
This method of earning money on TikTok is handy for users who create instructional material or live streaming. The creator also has the option of going with either of two monthly programmes: “Informative Content” and “Live Broadcasts.”
To earn money this way, it’s important for content creators to apply and meet up with requirements within a month.
Some key requirements:
Be at least 18 years old,
Post original content that adheres to the site’s guidelines,
Publish at least three videos in the past month, and
Get an average of 10,000 views per video.
P.S: The TikTok Creator Fund is not available for creators in Nigeria.
TikTok Creator Marketplace
Source: TikTok
Think of the creator marketplace as where creators close big deals. So, you definitely want to be here if you’d like to make money on TikTok in Nigeria.
It’s the official platform for brands and creators to partner on projects. Here, brands are able to choose from a pool of creators that align with their campaign needs.
The marketplace can be likened to an influencer agency where brands can easily choose who they want to collaborate with.
No specific requirements by TikTok but you want to keep the following in mind:
You are over the age of 18
You have an account with more than 10 thousand subscribers;
You’ve released at least three videos and got one hundred thousand likes in the preceding 28 days.
Join hashtag challenge
TikTok is the gift that keeps giving because what other social network lets you make money from using hashtags? Hashtag challenges are organised by the network itself or sponsors, and it gives users an opportunity to earn extra money.
Popular vloggers are contracted to promote the hashtag and they get paid for their services. It’s important to note that TikTok’s advertising department is the only entity authorised to organise an official hashtag challenge and the budget runs into several millions of dollars.
However, brands can also approach creators on the platform to promote a hashtag at a fee.
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Snapchat
“At least, we’re not OnlyFans”
“You can now cheat in peace”
“Watch your sins disappear”
Twitter
“Leave your happiness at the door”
“We’re all human, but sometimes, we turn some people to Tiger gen”
Facebook
“Where all your parents’ Whatsapp BCs come from”
“We have all your embarrassing throwback pictures”
Outside of resurrecting songs we’ve all forgotten about and starting dance challenges that would stress Kaffy of all people, TikTok is also famous for its many hacks. From kitchen to fashion, people on that clock app come up with new shit to hack every day.
So as a 30+ TikToker, I decided to try out and rank some of the app’s most popular hacks. Here’s what I found out.
Putting toasted bread in your mouth to avoid crying when cutting onions
This hack is as stupid as it sounds. Why toasted bread? Why not regular bread? Either way, just like me, you’ll still end up crying hot tears because onions don’t send your daddy.
I’m ready to fight the woman who started this trend, but most importantly, I’m ready to fight myself. After seeing several videos where this hack didn’t work, I still used my hard-earned money to buy ingredients and attempt this disaster. Anyway, because we don’t waste food where I’m from, I ate it like that. You won’t get pancakes, but you’ll sha get something.
This “too good to be true” hack for washing oily containers
Like TLC once said, “Stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to.” There’s a reason why we use kitchen sponges and foams to wash plates. Maybe the oil in the overseas is different because this hack didn’t work at all.
Separating the yolk from egg whites with your hands
I’ve tried this three times and failed every time. So unless your name is “Harry Potter” or “The Boy Who Lived”, I suggest you ignore this kitchen hack and keep it moving.
So this woman gave seven hacks and only putting your shoe in the freezer worked. But when you think about it, is it healthy? Why should anyone put their shoes in the freezer? Instead, I suggest you do what Nigerian mothers taught us: buy shoes that are four times your size, so you can wear them until the day of rapture.
Making overnight oats with my fridge has become a part of my everyday life now, and I love it. Don’t be surprised if these oats taste different. It doesn’t mean they don’t slap, because they do.
Packing a ton of clothes in your box without ripping the zipper
Retinol is one of the greatest skincare ingredients ever. But they’re as dangerous as they’re effective. As someone whose skin turned to a peeling iron sponge during my first month of using retinol, this sandwich method makes sure my skin still looks moisturised and healthy while the retinol does it work. TikTok skincare influencers snapped with this one for real.
As a young Nigerian, this hack is a life saver. I’ve been stopped a lot of times and forced to make transfers to police officers for just breathing, but now, I can hide my bank apps, so they can’t make me open it to see how much money I have. Love it.
Dating an upcoming musician is hell, but you can live with it if they use a stage name. But an upcoming tiktoker? Their face is their brand, so how will you hide your shame? Imagine thinking you’re dating a human being then mid argument, they start dancing and whining their waist? Here are signs to look out for to avoid stories that touch.
They start saying “POV” before sentences
You can ask, “What do you want to do this weekend?” and they’d say, “POV: We go to the club”. Block that person, please. You’re single now.
They take screenshots of “cute” texts between you guys
Do they care that some apps announce screenshots? Absolutely not. Next thing you know, your ex who said you’d never find love is using the screenshot of your current partner telling you, “You sometimes look like the inside of a calabash, but they love you” to do, “This you?”
They’re always trying to teach you a new dance
Do they care that you’re 23 with the bones of a 72-year-old who jumped buses for 50 years? Nope, all they want from you is the validation of those 30 likes, 45 views and one comment.
Or dancing in the middle of an argument
If you had to think about this twice, it’s too late for you.
They do the randomest things to get your reaction
You too deep it. She bought you a post-Valentine’s Day gift? And you think you’re safe?
They share their password with you
No, they don’t trust you. They just don’t have time to cheat. All they want is for you to easily unlock the phone and record their little dancey dance on the main road at a moment’s notice.
Their phone is always charged
Have you ever met a Tiktoker with low phone battery? Exactly. If your partner is always charging their phone, or walking around with those giant power banks, it’s because they’re secretly recording TikTok content. Break up now before it’s too late.
They have two phones
How can anybody afford two phones in this economy? It’s because they need it to record all those “I just woke up” videos. Next thing you know, they’re waking you up every morning by six a.m. to film them.
You’re always getting pranked
At first, it was small things like recording you looking for your follow-come charger. Next thing, it’s you reacting to them cutting the 2k you you paid 500 to withdraw. Then, this upcoming tiktoker is “jokingly” using your certificate to wrap akara.
You don’t remember what hot food tastes like
Why? Because by the time they’ve finished recording videos of the food from all angles, like a poorly made Indian movie, all it tastes like is the money plus 17% tax you spent on it.
They buy a big ring light
Not those cute ones they can just attach to the phone and use at owambes. No, those gigantic ones photographers use to take pictures. If you don’t run, you’ll be the one carrying it around town last last.
They unbox things you know are not new
Before God and man, you know that hair product they just unboxed is empty and has been so for two months. Why would you want to date a liar, aka an upcoming tiktoker on purpose?
Content creators from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa dominated the inaugural TikTok Top Content Creators Awards 2022.
by Bird Story Agency
Former rugby player turned food vlogger, Dennis Ombachi AKA @theroamingchef, emerged victorious at the inaugural TikTok Top Creator 2022 Awards. The Kenyan content creator, known for his culinary exploits, took home the Africa Winner award with Nigerian comedian, Charity Ekezie (@charityekezie), as the runner-up.
The TikTok Top Content Creators Awards took place in Nairobi and saw winners walk away with #TopCreator2022 trophies across various categories. The ceremony followed a highly competitive, eight-day-long public voting process on the popular social app. According to a statement by TikTok Africa, the inaugural award “recognises and awards content creators across Sub-Saharan Africa for the immense talent and creativity they brought to the platform in the past year.”
Boniswa Sidwaba, Head of Content Programming for TikTok in Sub-Saharan Africa, explained that the award aims to recognise and reward content creators for their positive impact on the platform’s users. “With these inaugural awards, TikTok aims to give creators in Sub-Saharan Africa the recognition they deserve and to encourage them to tell the African story while spreading joy at all times”.
Dancing queen, Ifeoma Efiokwu, @e4ma on TikTok, won for the West Africa region, with Maduakor Faustina Chisom (@berby_picxy) as her runner-up. South Africa dominated the southern Africa region, with @Pilot_onthegram, an aviation and lifestyle content creator and the first South African pilot to be verified on TikTok. Lindokhule Khoza @.lindokuhle_khoza was her runner-up.
Kenyan beauty enthusiasts, Natasha Gwal @natasha_gwal and @beautyby.nita, were the winner and first runner-up for the East African category. Roy Kanyi, a Kenyan content creator, considers the awards a motivating development for creators like himself. “Many will be more committed to the platform because the award confirms it cares for its creators and pushes for networking among them, which of course, comes with its share of benefits”.
With the growth of the social media market, TikTok continues to appeal to audiences from across the continent. According to Dataxis, a digital data hub, TikTok built a 31.9% market share within Nigeria by 2020. The popularity of the platform on the continent has prompted TikTok to invest further in its growing customer base. In December 2022, TikTok Africa collaborated with Ghana to put together one of the biggest Afrobeats music festivals in Black Star Square, Accra.
The platform’s African content creators are also seeing increasing demand for their creative skills. Fintech and marketing agencies are leveraging their experience to create and amplify marketing campaigns. According to Forbes Africa, TikTok has an advertising reach of 28.9 million users in northern Africa and 7.9 million in southern Africa, as of 2021. While the platform has started paying creators through its Creator Fund, most use other means to make money.
“Lately, creators are actively approaching corporate organisations. But only as long as the product and services to be marketed are consistent with the creator’s content”. Nkululeko Dladla, a South African-based social commerce specialist, added that because TikTok is visually driven, it is more appealing when showcasing products and services. “In South Africa, TikTok can be a powerful tool for fintechs to reach a younger, more digitally savvy audience”.
Last year, Nigerian superstar, Tems, told us that “crazy tings are happening. If you need somebody’s craze, you fit chop somebody’s craze”.
Well, a couple of Nigerian TikTokers have sadly experienced some of that craze first hand in the harshest possible way. As you read this, take note because it might be you next.
What did they do?
The two characters in this story are Mubarak Isa Muhammed and Muhammed Bula, Tiktokers from Kano State. According to the BBC, they were arrested last week by state authorities for something quite interesting.
Their offense? Posting a video to Tiktok and Facebook in which they accused the Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, of corruption, sleeping on the job, and land grabbing.
It was more than enough to get the duo grabbed and charged to a magistrate court.
The court eventually found them guilty of defaming Ganduje. The wages of their sins included a fine of ₦10,000 each, an order to sweep the court premises for 30 days and the icing on the cake, 20 lashes each of the whip.
Is this the first time such allegations are coming up?
The simple answer is no.
Ganduje himself has referenced some of these allegations in the past and the nature of this punishment may suggest that a message was being sent. The sleeping allegations for example have dogged him for quite some time.
In 2017, after photos of him sleeping at public functions emerged, he said they were the work of enemies out to get him. He explained that he doesn’t sleep at events but only pretends, and asked his enemies to differentiate between the two.
In recent years, Ganduje has had public gbas gbos with former Kano governor and current presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso who accused him of land grabbing and the destruction of historical monuments in the state.
And the big one — corruption. In 2017, an exclusive footage by The Daily Nigerian went viral, showing Ganduje on camera receiving bribes from a contractor. Not that it mattered anyway as he narrowly won re-election in 2019.
Could you be next?
Well, it depends. The judgment was passed by a Sharia court. 12 out of Nigeria’s 36 states adopt Sharia law, and they’re all in the North.
So if you plan to call out a Nigerian government official on TikTok and get away with it, you know where not to do it. And if you still want to take the chance all the same, we’re obligated to remind you of Tems’ lyrics from earlier.
If you get more than four on this quiz, you’ve been spending too much time on TikTok.
Questions
This is a question
I don’t want to be a mechanic, I want to be a______
I’ll be a fool to go back to my________
This time around, it was_
The mother that mother my mother mother_
The pressure is getting________
Remember the lord is________
Of course I fucked up, who never fuck up_____
Bitches come and go, bruh_______
Thank you my darling_______
Good girl no dey___________
You got #{score}/#{total}
You think you’re mature because you’ve refused to download TikTok.
You got #{score}/#{total}!
We both know you only watch Instagram reels.
You got #{score}/#{total}!
At least now you know why your data finishes fast.
You got #{score}/#{total}!
It’s like you bought shares with TikTok oh.
Legend has it that the fastest way to roll with the big boys in Nigeria is to become an influencer. It’s time to change careers, dear.
Take the quiz and we’ll tell you which Nigerian TikTok influencer you are.
Nigerian babes are known for flirting with insults and telling their partners friends’ secrets. Here’s a list of other things Nigerian babes are known for:
