In the past few years, Layi Wasabi, has risen to become one of the funniest men on Instagram.
His brand of content, sarcastic depictions of con artist – the corrupt alajo, the corrupt lawyer, the corrupt police – has found mass appeal in the age of meme culture.
This year, he is getting his flowers. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is celebrating him as part of its Creators of Tomorrow campaign.
"I’m super grateful and excited to be recognised as one of the Creators of Tomorrow, alongside outstandingly creative minds in my industry," he told Pulse Nigeria recently about his inclusion in the campaign. "This is a privilege I do not take for granted," he added.
Layi has been creating content for many years and on different platforms, but it was on Instagram that he first found fame. "Instagram was a breakthrough for me because it accelerated my growth as a creator," he said. "I quickly found an active and thriving community on the app, which further encouraged me to keep pushing out more content. In turn, it fetched me a larger crowd of users who have now become part of my growing community," he added.
The algorithm has been very useful for the skit maker. His videos average a million views and sometimes climb to five million views. A recent Reel of him playing a manipulative police officer who weaponises the failure of the Super Eagles at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), for instance, garnered more than five million views.
"The algorithm always puts my content in the eyes of the ideal audience, which allows me to create engaging content for those it is meant for," he said.
Making the fan-favourite content type, 'POV' (point of view), has been remarkably easier with new edit features on Facebook and Instagram, especially when inserting text into the video. "I use Facebook and Instagram edit features to place 'POV' texts on my video so that the audience understands the situation I’m building on before getting into the dialogue," he said. Text on a typical Layi video can be anything from "POV: Family land" to "POV: Financial antithesis."
How does Layi maintain a steady flow of content for his almost two million Instagram followers in a fast-paced social media environment with an audience with a very short attention span? He draws inspiration from the type of content he consumes on the internet.
"I’m also a content consumer, and often, the trends I use in my content are the ones I enjoy as a consumer. So my approach comes naturally," he said.
With his rise on social media as a creator and having to create content and interact with his followers around the clock, he has been forced out of his shell as an introvert to become more sociable.
"I’ve had to become more socially interactive than I was previously. I used to be very introverted. But having people recognise me more often, had me put more effort into interacting better with a physical community," he said.
What lessons has Layi picked up along the way from the journey to the top in the Nigerian Instagram space? Consistency with one’s brand and one’s work, he said.
"You can only build a successful brand in the creative world by remaining consistent with your work and consistent with your brand," he said.
He also advised people looking to start their content creation journey to consider finding a niche they can be comfortable creating in.
"Find your niche and own it. That would mean finding what is unique to you as a creator and sets you apart from others. Work towards becoming well-versed and an expert in that space," he said.
What's next for Layi Wasabi—the brand and the personality? "I will remain consistent with creating content, experiment as a creative, and evolve with time," he said. He has also been working with many other creators in the space on content he will share in the future. "I've been able to interact with a lot of creators that inspire me on the app. I have a lot of collaborations with them, and I'll do more with them," he said.
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