AYOKA IS AN ARDENT BELIEVER OF "MEN ARE SCUM"

 By Olaoye Oluwapelumi Peace

An Interview with Abiola Oyindamola Ayoka — Final Year English Student and Content Creator.

Ayoka, a unique being with dual personality opens up about her journey balancing academics and content creation.

NCB: Can you introduce yourself. Who is Ayoka?

AYOKA: Ayoka is a lot of things, but I like to describe her as a creative by choice and a student by force. While it is one of my names, Ayoka hasn’t always been in existence. But the idea of content creation came into play, and the rest is history. That’s why I always say Ayoka is different from Oyindamola; they’re two different personalities.

NCB: Who then is Oyindamola?

AYOKA: Oyindamola is almost the complete opposite of Ayoka. She’s more introverted, very antisocial, and lives by rules and routines. Ayoka, on the other hand, is loud, happy, and turns everything to content because, really, everything is content. While Ayoka is deeply interested in filmmaking, entertainment, content creation, and building a career as a creative, Oyindamola just wants to sleep and wake up every day without necessarily doing anything. Haters will say that’s just being lazy.

NCB: Does Oyindamola and Ayoka at any point influence each other?

AYOKA: Yes, definitely. More times than I can count, Oyindamola has been more productive than normal because of Ayoka’s influence. Ayoka has also picked sleep over work multiple times because if Oyindamola does it, why can’t Ayoka?

NCB: From your explanation, I see that they complement each other, but has there been any conflict between Ayoka and Oyindamola?

AYOKA: I don’t think so. Unless you take time Ayoka missed deadlines because of Oyindamola’s influence as conflict. I do my best to set both personalities aside as much as possible.

NCB: Do you feel more in control when one personality takes over?

AYOKA: Well, Ayoka is the one people get to experience about 70% of the time, so TBH, it’s not that hard to control or switch between both personalities. My formula is: Ayoka in public, Oyindamola in private.I have to say, though, that I prefer being Oyindamola to being Ayoka. The expectations with Oyindamola are little compared to the ones associated with Ayoka.

NCB: I think I met with Oyindamola first, and Oyindamola is cool. Now, let's focus on Ayoka. What influenced the birth of Ayoka?

AYOKA: I love telling this story. It may be long sha.

I’ve been interested in entertainment (filmmaking, to be precise) for as long as I can remember. In fact, I remember telling everyone in my family as a child that I would create my own movies one day. That’s the one thing/idea I know has been very constant in my life. Fast forward to secondary school, I wrote a lot of plays. To date, the many notebooks I used in writing them sit pretty in my house. I even had this big idea in SSS3 to turn one of them into a YouTube series, and I told most of my friends about it, but that was all it was an idea. I had no tools, financial support big enough for a show, and many other essentials. Then, I got into Uni. I used my roommate’s phone one time to create a very cringe video. It was just me posing and hyping myself up. I posted it on TikTok, and it got a thousand views. I was over the roof. A very good friend of mine came across the video, complimented my voice, and asked if I was making money with “this sweet voice.” From there, I created my first vlog and went into voiceover artistry, and that was it. In the beginning, my voiceovers were mostly Yoruba, so my username on socials was “yorubavlogger”; then it changed to “ayokathevlogger.” Over time, I created other videos that were not vlogs, and I changed it to “ayokathecreator.” That’s my success story.

NCB: It's safe to say that your recent playlet 'The Last ' has always been in existence but recently came into the limelight.

AYOKA: Not always. I got the idea towards the end of my 300 level. I wanted to do something this final year, and when that title came to mind, I decided to make it a series.

NCB: Oh wow, that's cool. Still on Ayoka. Some creators discuss the cringe-worthy moments that come with posting their content. How do you deal with such moments, or do you succumb to those moments?

AYOKA: Thank you. I’m honestly way past that phase. If posting still makes me feel weird after two years of creating content, then something must be wrong. But, during that era, one thing i did before posting was to show at least one person my video before posting. The reviews always set my head straight. yes, there were corrections sometimes, but i mostly got compliments, even when I felt the videos were not good enough. As long as you know your onions, the only thing you need is confidence in yourself and your work, and one thing that can help with that is having people who support your craft in your circle.

NCB: Hmmm. Has Ayoka ever been trolled?

AYOKA: I was once threatened on instagram for using my “influence” to help a friend of mine win something. the threat-maker’s brother was also a contestant, that’s why she took it personally. he didn’t win sha, my friend did. i was also dragged once in my comments section on tiktok for not “facing my book”. these draggers were grown men o. jobless ones, i guess. I'm not sure if those count as trolling sha

NCB: It should count as one. You sef no small

AYOKA: that’s right

NCB: Are your parents in support of Ayoka?

AYOKA: Like mad o. My mother is my biggest fan, in fact. she reposts my links every single time. i think my family is one factor that really keeps me going.

NCB: Bringing it back to academics. Was Obafemi Awolowo University and English your first choice?

AYOKA: The basic answer to this is yes, they were. But if we really want to talk about what i wanted, i never had a first choice. i never even wanted to go to university. at that point, i was just Oyindamola, so the idea of going to school again after secondary school just didn’t sit right with me. the filmmaking passion was still somewhere in there, though, but because ayoka had not been born, i wasn’t really interested in nurturing it. Me not wanting to go to uni earned me the title of the most rebellious child in the house. a long-deserved title, if you ask me. but i lost the argument. i don’t even know what i was expecting anyway when i’m from an african household.

NCB: How's the department and the school treating Ayoka and Oyindamola?

AYOKA: make i just graduate abeg. enough is enough. a girl can only go through a lot.

NCB: Any plans on continuing to your education, or do you want to breathe and explore Ayoka?

AYOKA: Breathing is for people living outside nigeria, jsyk ( just so you know). i’m interested in this education thing now. so, yes, I’ll do that thing called masters, if that’s what you’re asking. I intend to do something along the lines of communication. but I can wake up tomorrow, change my mind, and just follow one chief sha.

NCB: Speaking of following chief, in some of your past videos, you've always talked about being married with three kids and another time you are looking for a man... Can you please clarify your relationship status?

AYOKA: i’m sorry for the confusion. Me saying i’m looking for a man became some sort of trademark, and that’s why i always use it. it also has the interesting side of it because normally, Ayoka is an ardent believer of “men are scum”, so stating that i want a man is just to get people talking. Being married with three kids is just something i want for myself. i always say i want three kids after marriage because my mummy has four kids, and we have really stressed that woman. so, three is enough for me. My relationship status? married with three kids.

NCB: What did men do to make Ayoka believe in the common saying 'men are scum'?

AYOKA: More like what did men do to Ayoka’s friends. Ayoka is a very stubborn person. she hasn’t exactly had too much experience with men to know that they are scum but her friends have, and Ayoka is always a girl’s girl.

NCB: Go girlll!!! Apologies to your friends

AYOKA: Thank youuu

NCB: What's one thing you wish to tell your younger self?

AYOKA: Easy. You’ll meet people who’ll effortlessly make you laugh out loud one day, and this regular frown will slowly disappear.

NCB: Before we conclude. Make a shout-out to those who deserve it

AYOKA: I ’ll just limit this to ‘oau people’ myself, first of all, because I don too try for this life. my big sister, of course, for holding my hand as fresher in 2022 and helping me navigate uni; the seraphines, for making this struggle feel like it’s worth it; Àjíkẹ́ and Moraanugba, for constantly making me feel good about myself and my craft. There are so many other people, but the list would be endless. every single person who has helped me and supported my craft deserves a shout-out. 

NCB: Finally, An advice to young creators combining academics and content creation.

AYOKA: Please, and please, set your priorities right. doing the right thing at the right time is a statement that can not be overemphasized. it’s a good thing to push yourself, but don’t go over the edge. know yourself, your style, what works for you, and your limit. do things at your own pace, and everything will be fine.