Nigerian wave-making content creator, Ayinla Sodiq Ayobami, popularly known as Kopa.respect, has said the need to earn a living pushed him into content creation.

Kopa.respect, who is a graduate of political science from the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, disclosed that he once enrolled for a master’s at the University of Osun State, but couldn’t complete the programme due to some financial challenges at the time.

Speaking with Peoples Gazette, the content creator whose contents border on a corps member probing human stoicism, selflessness and compassion by making purchases and offering a “corper” ticket for unsuspecting targets to append their signatures in exchange for payment, added that he initially wanted to be a lecturer.

He said, “In all honesty, the need to earn a living prompted me into content creation, I have always wanted to be a lecturer, which is why I applied for master’s in political science, but after dropping out, I chose content creation although, I love making people laugh and starting conversations that bring people together. Then content creation became a natural path for me because I wanted to combine humor with creativity while highlighting everyday realities in a unique way.’’

On whether the National Youth Service Corps management ever invited him for using the corps’ brand as his content signature, Kopa.respect said there was nothing of such because “I always make sure to respect the NYSC image and promote it positively.’’

He stated, “The NYSC uniform is iconic and relatable. It represents service, unity, and youthfulness — values that I love to play with in my storytelling. It also helps me connect easily with Nigerians because almost everyone has an NYSC story or knows someone who does.’’

He also said that his content promotes good values beyond offering entertainment.

Kopa.respect added, “At first, I just wanted to entertain. But as my audience grew, I saw how my content could influence people positively. That’s when I became more intentional about adding value, promoting good character, and encouraging laughter that teaches. With God and my lovely supporters both home and abroad, the platform has changed lives. One of the goals of the brand is to promote unity, encourage tolerance and humanity. People who passed such tests are usually rewarded. The platform has rewarded a woman in Benin City, Edo State, with N2 million to support her business, gave scholarship to a girl throughout her nursing school and sponsored a young champ seen hawking broom from secondary school to university among several other cash gifts.’’

On his most embarrassing moment in content creation, Kopa.respect stated, ‘‘As a prankster, every shooting seems to be embarrassing as my choice of unique style sometimes tends to be social experiment and most of the time, the people I am pranking usually abuse and even curse me sometimes. One of my most embarrassing moments was when a particular man refused to agree that what I was doing was a prank — he kept chasing me down the street with a stick until my security team caught up with him.’’

Reliving his feedback with his fans, he noted, “I am a kind of person that values feedback. In fact, the idea of NYSC style of content was not my first style of prank, but when I got feedback (comments and DMs) saying that the previous style will make people panic, I had to sit back until I discovered this one, I am doing. As such, I cherish it when fans tell me my content helped them through a bad day. I have had people say my videos cheered them up when they were sick or sad, that really means a lot to me.

According to him, what keeps him going is his passion for creativity and the reactions from his fans.

He said, “The desire to show that content can be both funny, helpful and meaningful keeps me going every day. What makes me happiest is seeing genuine laughter and surprise from people after every prank — that’s priceless. And no, I have not changed the cooler I carry about for my content since I started using it in 2019, though I have changed the handle when it broke while shooting.’’