How a little known Yoruba actor has become the most famous face on Twitter

shakirudeen taiwo

October 5, 2017 11:42 AM

The actor is the king of memes in Nigeria.

It is an indisputable fact that the Nollywood actor, Odunlade Adekola, is the king of memes in Nigeria.

There are many of his humorous freeze-frame expressions floating on Twitter. They are used by young Nigerians to buttress a humorous event, moment or observation.

This year has been golden for Odunlade Adekola with regards to pop culture relevancy. Before Odunlade's facial expressions started trending he was one of the biggest if not the biggest Yoruba actor in Nollywood.

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For close to a decade, the tall, well-dressed actor had been making millions of fans of Yoruba movies laugh and crack their ribs. Thanks to memes and not a blockbuster movie, Odunlade's fame transcended just Yoruba movies. He became a pop culture fixture.

It must be said that the ‘meme-fixation’ of Odunlade has coincided with his appearance in English speaking Nollywood movies. It has led to an acceptance of the Yoruba actor in the main Nollywood circle.

The non-solicited use of his images for memes by social media users to express their thought to issues show the actor has a wide fan base online. A value which marketing department of many corporate organisations usually seeks. Thus, the race for his signature by various corporate brands for an ambassador.

Through this, the Nigerian actor has made a fortune for himself.

His endorsement deals with Globacom, Goldberg and Conoil were noted to have raked in millions of Naira for the young actor.

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To many Nigerians, Odunlade Adekola's status as a leading celebrity in the Nigerian entertainment industry is partly due to his work, and more to the public exposure gained through memes created on the social media, especially on Twitter.

This is one classical class of how social media can boost the profile of a Nigerian celebrity.

shakirudeen taiwo