Nigeria’s economic crisis is fueling a stunt philanthropy boom

One warm morning in May, Akinyemi Omotayo, 26, strolled into a market in a low-income neighborhood of Lagos, approached two women selling red peppers, and bought their entire stock.

Even before the women recovered from the joy of their stall selling out, Omotayo invited them to come shopping with him. He gave them a ride in his luxury car, and took them to various stores to buy clothes, shoes, bags, groceries, and a freezer each. The shopping spree was followed by a visit to the spa, and the day ended with Omotayo giving away cash to the two women as they danced to upbeat music, dressed in new clothes and accessories.

For Omotayo, this is philanthropy . But he also makes money through it.

Omotayo is a popular Nigerian content creator who goes by the name Asherkine on the internet. Often called “Nigeria’s MrBeast,” he is among a growing crop of stunt philanthropists — a genre where acts of kindness are turned into spectacles to garner views and ad revenue.

Omotayo has a following of over 1 million each on TikTok and Instagram. His video with the pepper vendors was posted on May 24 and has been viewed over 3.4 million times on TikTok and more than 3 million times on X. The video also has over 435,000 likes on Instagram .

While his followers love him, digital technology experts say Omotayo’s genre of content is ethically ambiguous and is the opposite of what philanthropy should be. Some believe stunt philanthropy has gained popularity in Nigeria due to the country’s ongoing economic crisis.

“What creators like Omotayo are doing looks good on the surface, [but] it is ethically wrong because the aim of such content is to generate more engagement and followers, which in turn result in wider fame and sponsorship deals for the creator,” Suraj Olunifesi, an associate professor and social media researcher at the University of Lagos, told Rest of World . “These creators should rather be called business people and not philanthropists.”

Olunifesi compared stunt philanthropy creators to Big Tech companies: They “may allow their platforms to be used for free, but they, in turn, exploit users’ data for profit.”

Apart from Omotayo, comedian Adesokan Emmanuel (known as Shankcomics), tech reviewer and YouTuber Fisayo Fosudo, and skit maker Abdullahi Adisa (known as Trinity Guy) have used their platforms to support acts aimed at helping the underprivileged in recent months.

The rising popularity of such content coincides with the country’s worsening economic crisis, Johnson Chukwu, economic analyst and CEO of Lagos-based investment firm Cowryasset, told Rest of World .

“Statistics may not be available about the number of creators in the stunt philanthropy genre in Nigeria, but their number seems to be increasing in recent years,” Chukwu said. “Interestingly, it looks like there is a growing consumption demand … [and the] worsening Nigerian economic situation may be linked to this.”

Nigeria’s poverty rate has risen by about 6% in the last two years, and an estimated 87 million people live below the poverty line. The inflation rate in the country has stayed above 25% since the turn of the year , while the unemployment rate stands at 5%.

According to Olunifesi, the dire economic situation means many people would probably not mind if a social media influencer walked up to them at a mall or a park and gave them cash or gifts in exchange for featuring them in a video.

American YouTuber MrBeast pioneered stunt philanthropy, and the genre has since traveled to many parts of the world. In India, for instance, YouTuber Harsha Sai is famous for videos where he shows how he opened a gas station to his fans for free for a day or helped a poor milkman turn his business around by giving him thousands of buffalos.

Some Nigerian philanthropy creators have partnered with big brands to sponsor their videos.

The charity work that YouTuber Fosudo posts on his channel is sponsored by electronics maker LG and its Nigerian distributor Fouani, the creator told Rest of World. He said he does not earn anything from the content, and makes a living from tech review videos on his channel. He works with a team of five, which helps film and edit his videos, and manages his business operations.

Fosudo has over 1.4 million followers across multiple platforms, and runs a video series called the Changing Lives Project. He has completed five projects so far — including a home makeover for a poor family in a Lagos slum, a school renovation , and the construction of a new home for a family in Ibadan, a city north of Lagos.

“These projects took a great deal of effort, and the impact was that more people could live better, more children could study better, and someone had a proper roof over their head and a secured living condition,” Fosudo said.

Even if Fosudo and his sponsors don’t earn direct profits from the causes they support, they still earn goodwill and the videos about their charity acts are a form of marketing, according to Olunifesi. “While these acts are not harmful, they are still more about personal branding for the creator and digital marketing for the companies,” he said.

Fosudo said he understands where Olunifesi is coming from, “however, doing good is good.” He added that all his philanthropic videos have led to “helpful changes.”

Ibietan Omoniyi, head of media relations at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the national regulator for the telecom industry and the internet, believes there is nothing wrong with what the creators are doing because they are helping people get out of unpleasant situations.

“They are investing in philanthropy to earn goodwill and help themselves in the process,” Omoniyi told Rest of World . “They use the content to generate more followers and make more income.” He described the creators’ intentions with Italian philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli’s words: The end justifies the means.

“The creators do achieve their purpose — by way of getting more followers, engagement, fame, and landing sponsorship deals,” Omoniyi said. ▰

Jesusegun Alagbe is a freelance journalist based in Lagos.