MISSDEMZ: Nigeria is biggest creative empire in Africa

Miss Demz, whose real name is Oluwademilade Abimbola, is a content creator known for her lifestyle and beauty content, which often includes vlogs and product reviews. She is also the owner of the brand MissDemzHair. She moved to Nigeria in late 2022 and has documented her journey through a series of weekly vlogs on YouTube. With a striking resemblance to a songbird, Tiwa Savage and an uncommon interaction with the Okoyo family, MissDemz opens up to Entertainment Editor, GBENGA BADA, in this interview.

Could you lead us into your world in the best possible way?

My actual name is Oluwademilade Abimbola. I am a lifestyle and entertainment content creator, a YouTuber, a creative director, and an entrepreneur who is now based in Lagos. I do relatable content that reflects what life is like in Nigeria.

A lot of content creators were just musing or catching fun but decided to take it as a job when they saw the encouraging reactions. What is your own story?

I knew I was going to come to Nigeria to open a branch of my business because I used to sell hair, do wigs, and make hair for celebrities in London. That was my plan when I came to Nigeria, to become a hairstylist to celebrities and do YouTube on the side, but once I got to Nigeria, I discovered Nigeria was a creative hub. I saw how creative people are and how people work here, even the influencers. And one of my close friends, Enioluwa, I see how he does his content, and then I realized the reason why we can’t do it in London is because you actually need a team to work. So coming over here was just like opening my creativity, and then I felt I could actually push myself and invest my money here. How creative could that be?

People love running to the UK and other places like that, but you relocated back here. What was the attraction?

(Laughs) Honestly, I came to Nigeria for two weeks in April. I was meant to go to Jamaica for my birthday, but one of my friends said I should come to Nigeria, and then I came. In those two weeks, I was out every day, I went to parties back-to-back, and I met people. It was amazing. I was shown the highlights of Nigeria in those two weeks, and I had to extend my stay by an additional week. It left a good taste in my mouth when I got back to London, and I was depressed.

So when I eventually decided to relocate to Nigeria in August, I thought it was meant to be a break where I would spend six months and go back, but six months turned to a year (laughs). And when it got to a year, I just relaxed, and I was like, “I already have my house; I don’t need to pay an agent fee and so on again,” so I just paid my rent, and something just said, “Let me do another year.” Meanwhile, within that one year, I made so many friends and so many connections, and I felt ithat f I went back to London, the momentum I had built here would be lost. In just my one year in Nigeria, I see potential… Nigeria, Lagos in particular, is fast-paced. It makes you increase your hustle and your determination. It makes you more disciplined. The culture can’t be compared to the UK, and I felt I could stay here and build something here because it’s cheaper to hire people, and when you have good intentions for them and they reciprocate, the possibilities are endless.

One would have expected a young lady like you to be fascinated by a corporate environment like an oil or telecommunication firm, but here you are, doing your thing. What do you say to that?

I feel like opportunities like that of the oil company will always come because I meet so many different people every day, so I feel they are still going to come.  I feel I am at that stage of my life where I am pursuing my passion. I want to look back and feel okay, everything I felt I could do, I actually did, and be proud of the decisions that I made. I still have so many years to live, and I have always been a creative person. I don’t see sitting down in the office as my thing; I prefer to be in the creative industry and delegating.

Would it be right to say relocating to Nigeria helped you discover your creativity better?

One hundred per cent one hundred per cent

Some people are of the opinion that nothing is working in Nigeria. Going by your experience, what can you say?

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I think Nigeria is probably the biggest creative empire in Africa.  We are constantly paving the way forward, and I feel the talents that are here are underdiscovered. I believe that it’s going to be a lot better in the future. I am taking the risk of staying here now, so it’s time to reap the fruit of our llabour I would already be here.

There is fun and glamour in what you do. How do you strike a balance so that you don’t get distracted?

(laughs) Gym… For instance, the ym in the morning. If you know you have gymming activities and a personal trainer who is going to swear at you and your forefathers (laughs), you will know that whatever clubbing I am doing, I should balance it well, and I should get up because I know I have something to do in the morning. 

So, what you do is to have a structured routine because it is so easy to get lost. In my own case, I have learned my body; if I do three days of partying back-to-back, I will catch a cold, so my system doesn’t allow me, so I need to come home, and I need to focus. And Instagram as well, I see many of my peers dropping content every day or every other day… Like, the competition of making it here in Nigeria is a lot, so you just want to keep going. The competition is enough to keep you on your toes because it’s so easy to be left behind.

Your content has elements of humour. Is it a deliberate one, or is it humouring your DNA?

Honestly, it’s definitely something that is in me. It’s in my DNA; I have always been like this. I grew up like a tomboy, so it’s always the boys catching banter. And me. That’s all been me; it’s just me.

Is there anything you miss about where you come from?

MacDonald to thes. I swear I miss McDonald’s die. I missed Big Mac, double cheese, pickles, fries, and Fanta with no ice.  I also missed fast wifi.

As one who is in the public space, what are the highs and lows of it?

I will focus on the positives . After all, if I want to dwell on the negative, I will be ungrateful because a lot of people want to be in my position. I don’t want to be in a position where I will be complaining. I grew up a tomboy, so I never used to bother about anything. In fact, if you see how I sometimes leave home, it will shock you, but to me, I  no send anybody but being in public space changed that. I care more now.

How do you manage attention from the opposite sex?

Well, I find my way out of every situation. If you make advances at me, I turn it into a joke, and if you ask me to get serious, I will tell you I am being serious (laughs). Nigeria has made me smart …Men will always be men, anyway, but it’s now a question of what you want for yourself. You can’t accommodate all guys, so it won’t be a case of when you want to marry and every Tom, Dick, and Harry will come out and say that girl (laughs)… You understand?

Does your guy feel insured?

He’s feeling insecure o…e dey feel it (laughs). I have promised myself that when it is time for me to marry, I will probably go back to London because, from what I have seen, most of the guys in Nigeria don’t want their women to be out there. They want them to be inside or have a kind of business, but for me, you can’t be inside when you are still trying to build. Sometimes in the course of being out, you might meet somebody who will introduce you to where the real people are. So, sometimes, love can actually be a hindrance to your purpose.

So, what is the exact disposition of your guy to what you are doing?

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I no get oooo… e even broke up with me. E talk say I dey go out too much. And I said, “Don’t worry, you will see me at the top, and you will regret it.

Don’t you sound like you are heartbroken?

You know what? I have reached that stage where I can love you and love you no more. Everything I am doing, I always put God first. I was at Awakening with Pastor Bolaji; I prayed. After Awakening, we broke up; therefore, he was not supposed to be there.

I feel not being in a relationship could make you vulnerable to men. What do you think?

I can understand your view, and I don’t disagree with it, but personally, I think I’m more focused whenever I’m single. When I am single, I don’t send men to do what I need to do. When I wake up, all I think about is me. What I want to do, my plan, where I am going. I am cooking up more with my team. I am coming up with more content ideas; I am focused.

Your video with Okoya’s daughter created so much attraction. Tell us about it?

It’s crazy because I didn’t know the video was going to do that well. I like to stay humble when I do things, and I did it because it was fun for me. I am very grateful because Oyin was the one who said we should do something together. We connected on TikTok, so one day she sent a DM that we should do something together, but she was in London, and I said No problem. Then I started thinking about what to do, and I eventually came up with the idea of “A day in the life of a billionaire’s daughter.” So that was the video that we did, and honestly, it was so good. The family was so nice; everybody was so nice. I had known her brother, Raheem, on an occasion I was in Nigeria. I met him through a friend, Moses (ODN). He’s another YouTuber; he’s from London. So by the time I came to their house to do content with the sister, he numped on the video. So funny, the video was not really planned; everything was kind of spontaneous.

What reaction did you get?

It’s really good. People tell me that they love the video. They said it’s the best Okoya video that they have seen, and people are congratulating me, and I didn’t understand the congratulations at first. I was like, “I have videos like this now,” then I discovered it’s because the Okoya family is very big and prominent; they don’t really let people get close to them, so I feel so appreciative of the fact that, of all the people, you saw something in me and you said you want to work with this girl, and even Aunty being in our video. I am so grateful. Aunty gave me clothes to take home…oh my God. She gave me clothes and Eleganza gift boxes. I took home like twelve packets of soap…oh my God… I was so happy.

Tell us the high and low of your striking resemblance to Tiwa Savage.

(Laughs) The high is that it’s a compliment. She’s very beautiful, so if somebody says that I look like her, that means I am fine.  So, I love that. The low is that men want to use that to come at me. Anytime I see a man asking me if I have been told I look like her, I know they want to come at me. They want to use that to start a conversation, so I keep a straight face or change the topic so I can escape it all.

What was your growing up like?

I grew up in London. I was a proper tomboy. To know the value of money, the pound. Back then, I used to work. My first job was at McDonald’s. Three pounds eighty-five per hour. You develop a hustle, but not like in Nigeria. Over there, they indoctrinate you in 9-to-5 culture. Growing up for me was fun. I wouldn’t change it for anything. My upbringing was mainly school and church; my mom was in the choir and had to go to choir practice. 

Also, I went to Middlesex University, and I studied criminology. And after that, I went into my hair business, then I became a YouTuber, and when I came to Nigeria, I started pushing myself to the boundaries, doing documentaries and all that.