Do you remember the Arik Air vs Omojuwa episode in 2012, Occupy Nigeria and Save Meka twitter trends? Those were Nigeria’s own version of the online social media “Arab Spring” as many Nigerians spurred on by messages they saw via @omojuwa were moved to take action that had impact which was felt nationally. Japheth Omojuwa suddenly emerged as a thought leader in Nigeria especially among the youth which in one of the reasons he is one of the most influential Nigerians on Twitter.

While Japheth tries hard to deny being influential or even being a celebrity it’s quite obvious he is as he’s easily a recognizable face. Just as we started interviewing him, a few fans of Japheth stopped by to greet him and take photos with him. It was quite interesting knowing that young educated and internet savvy Nigerians can easily spot Omojuwa in a crowd that’s a privilege only celebrities enjoy.

Although born into a privileged background, Japheth didn’t enjoy the life that young kids born with a silver spoon were known for rather he grew up like most of us encountering the suffering and smiling lifestyle most Nigerians are used to.

Today however the story is different. Why? Because Japheth earns an eye popping income from tweeting and blogging that most people with lucrative jobs can only envy. When we pressed him to declare his earnings Japheth insisted that he’ll only give us a range in which case we’re talking of a six digit tithe payment in March 2013 meaning he must have earned at least N1 million in March alone. Between January 1 and March 21st Omojuwa had disbursed over N400,000 worth of gifts mostly recharge cards to his followers on twitter and travels abroad to speak, consult and share insights with a global audience at least once a month on the strength of his influence on young Educated Nigerians.

Japheth has always been a special person judging by his antecedents which date back to his childhood years. While at King’s college in Lagos Japheth was versatile and academically sound - belonging to a number of societies such as the school’s press club, the JETS club plus being an athlete (the anchor leg) for the King’s college relay team. He was also in the football team. But he was also a very bright student earning himself an academic scholarship at king’s college for most of his secondary school years.

So who is Japheth Omojuwa besides the controversial, influential, social critic and activist? “Some people say I’m controversial, others say I speak my mind, but I’m not an activist, rather just an ordinary Nigerian who’s an active citizen that cares about the future of his country and wants to make a difference”. Interesting our take on this is that Japheth is being prudent and modest. He admits to being a global citizen.

Japheth is a good example of someone who creates his own success by his terms using a rather unusual occupation (blogging) which he uses to “amplify his ideas, portray Nigeria in good light”. All these has enabled him gain a respectable portfolio as a major contributor to many platforms such as the Punch News Paper, Abuja Global Shapers, Heinrich Boll Foundation among others where his ideas and contributions are greatly res.

Although Japheth has a B.sc in Agricultural Economics from the University of Agriculture Abeokuta - now known as Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta - he’s a researcher on oil and gas, a publicist, public speaker and consultant.

On his views about Abuja – incidentally Japheth lives in both Lagos and Abuja as he doesn’t like being in one town or city for long – he describes her as “potentially the best place to live in Africa, a carefully planned city but since the plan isn’t being followed it could be abused. But he admits that he loves “the hills, roads which are wide and beautiful plus the fact that you could easily run into powerful people anytime or anywhere within the main city”. To Japh, Abuja is a great city for a busy person to live in. His favorite hangouts include; River Plate Park, Burger Lounge plus numerous shopping options, beautiful hotels, event places to mention a few.

In his spare time Japheth listens to music (all kinds), reads, loves to hang out with friends, travel and of course tweet. He is on Twitter all day engaging his very passionate and enthusiastic followers and fans.

His last words for Abuja “Commit to the city as much as you want the government to, by not throwing things out of your car and complaining government isn’t doing enough to beautify the city, we have a responsibility to make the city a better place”.

It was a pleasure having Japheth as our spotlight personality for the month of March 2013. We wish him success in all his endeavors.

http://www.abujafood.com/people/spotlight-on/1176-japheth-omojuwa-a-blogger-making-a-difference-in-nigeria.html

Omojuwa of life!such a wonderful man.

the guy is an inspiration to me...

^^^

Yeah indeed we're honored to have interviewed him!