From viral skits to Meta spotlight: Rodney Umeh joins Creators of Tomorrow

Rodney Umeh, also known as Wisdom Man, understands the power of short skits. In his signature red robe that has become familiar to his 977k followers, he created a less than 30-second Reel video titled “I asked my Mother for my Birth Certificate,” generating over 4.3 million views on Instagram.

In the video, he is seen to play the character of a mother who flips the bed upside down and searches through suitcases and a ton of tiny bags before splashing the said birth certificate in front of the camera.

This form of humorous and relatable content has kept Rodney afloat as a content creator for years. It’s no surprise that Meta, the parent company of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, has recognised his talent and is spotlighting him as one of the creators of its Creators of Tomorrow campaign.

From viral skits to Meta’s spotlight: Rodney Umeh joins Creators of Tomorrow Pulse Nigeria

“It's a huge opportunity for me and I really, really appreciate it,” he told Pulse Nigeria recently about being selected by Meta.

Rodney was one of the skit makers who started making regular skits and dance videos with friends. But over the years, he has moved to more standard content that evokes nostalgia among his followers. To do this he had to scale up and invest more in scripting for content whose creation demanded higher intellectual work.

He noted, “It hasn't been an easy journey because it required more scriptwriting and shooting time than usual.”

This, he said, would not have been possible without Meta. “Meta has made it easier for me by giving me a platform I can use to reach a larger audience,” he said. “The kind of content I create touches all parts of comedy, you know; relatable content, dark humour, advanced humour, you name it. That's why they call me ‘the Wisdom Man.’”

However, he particularly likes Instagram Reels because it keeps him updated on the latest trends on the app. “Instagram is one of my primary entertainment sources. So you're going to see me scrolling on the app almost every time.” he said.

From viral skits to Meta’s spotlight: Rodney Umeh joins Creators of Tomorrow Pulse Nigeria

Rodney has also leveraged the platform to build relationships with other creators for collaborative posts.

“Meta has helped me make a lot of friends with my fellow content creators, especially those in my field. And I'm in talks with them regarding collaboration,” he said.

In a recent video titled “If Betting Became Illegal,” which has drawn almost a million views, he collaborated with multiple creators including Victor Kolawole Ayodele and Ibezim Emeka Claver. Making the content, he said, “turned out nice.”

“It was a great experience. The audience loved it and everybody loved it. There are a lot of projects coming out and I recently collaborated with another content creator,” Rodney added.

Though life has been good for him working as a creator full-time, being a famous influencer in Nigeria hasn't always been easy — it has had both positive and negative effects.

From viral skits to Meta’s spotlight: Rodney Umeh joins Creators of Tomorrow Pulse Nigeria

“On the positive side, I have a huge platform that I can use to reach many people and inspire them with my content. It has opened a lot of doors for me, you know, created a lot of opportunities for me,” he said.

“However, one challenge that comes with being famous, which I'm going to put on the negative side, is that privacy becomes a major issue. Every move you make becomes criticised by the public and it becomes difficult to maintain a sense of normalcy.”

But he said he has, over the years, learned to balance between his public persona and personal life.

His advice for young people looking to become creators is to “find your niche, stay consistent, engage with your fans, research, and most importantly, stay original. Your content must be authentic.”

From viral skits to Meta’s spotlight: Rodney Umeh joins Creators of Tomorrow Pulse Nigeria

Rodney is focused on building his community and expanding his network in the creator space. “I want to engage more with my followers, network more with my fellow content creators, and create authentic and original content,” he said. “I want to put a smile on the faces of my audience.”

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