Besides Deborah Olaki, also known on X as Mumzee, Gbenga Oloniniran writes on other Nigerians who experienced life turnaround after going viral online
The story of Deborah Olaki, also known on X as Mumzee, who went viral after her post on X stating how she woke up as early as 4:50 am to prepare her husband’s lunch, has continued to amaze many people in Nigeria and beyond.
Lucky Mumzee has been gifted land by well-meaning Nigerians. She has received furniture, electronics, and a lot of cash gifts since her post went viral.
Mumzee’s tweet that went viral in early January had read, “I’ve always been too lazy to wake up and get his lunch ready. But the day he told me a colleague brought two spoons so he would eat with her was the day I set my alarm for 4.50am.”
Some social media users who criticised Olaki called her ‘insecure’ for feeling that waking up that early to cook for a man would keep him.
Mumzee, who posted her account number at 1.39pm on Friday, has received several donations and still counting. As of the time of filing this report, she was, on her X handle, still acknowledging gifts offered to her.
For many on social media, Nigerians are good people who would always rally around themselves in doing good.
Meanwhile, Mumzee is not the first to experience a life turnaround after gaining online attraction.
Happy boys
In 2022, two content creators popularly known as Happy Boys who worked as security guards were reportedly sacked at their workplace for dancing during working hours.
The story of the duo went viral on social media and they gained sympathy.
The General Overseer of Omega Power Ministries, Chibuzor Chinyere, offered scholarships to the security guards while reacting to a Facebook post claiming that the workers were sacked.
In the video, the security guards were seen dancing to the ‘You Want Bam Bam’ song which equally trended.
When the video surfaced online, many Nigerians condemned the rumoured sacking of the workers.
Also, Ossai Success, Special Assistant to the then-Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, offered jobs to the security guards.
Captioning the post, Okowa’s aide in a Instagram post said, “I have a job for them at Delta First Media.
“I heard they were sacked by Chicken Republic fast food because they were dancing on duty.
“They succeeded in bringing more customers to the Chicken Republic with their dancing video but with the sacking, Chicken Republic fast food just succeeded in losing more customers,” part of the post read.
Meanwhile, Chicken Republic, where the duo worked, denied sacking them in a statement.
The statement obtained by The PUNCH partly said, “As a company, Chicken Republic encourages all staff to have fun at work, and this is evident in the multiple songs, dances, and “Nice, Nice!” chants that you will often hear in our stores, whilst you are patronising them.
“When the management of the private security company saw the two security guards dancing in the video, they had concerns that the security officers, whilst dancing, were not necessarily conducting their duties responsibly and as such, were probably not fully focused on their core responsibility, which is, your safety and your security.
“There are always multiple sides to every story, and as a company, we have taken your feedback very seriously. We have followed up with the security company, and they have assured us that the security guards have not been fired, have been paid their dues, and have been offered some retraining.”
Lagos hawker gets a scholarship
In January 2022, a hawker, Ekuma Jeremiah, who sold bottled water in the Ajah area of Lagos, went viral online after he gave out money to some inmates stuck in traffic.
In the viral video, Jeremiah could be seen giving money to some inmates inside a van of the Nigerian Correctional Service as he carried a crate of bottled water on his head.
Following this, businessman and socialite, Obi Iyiegbu, popularly known as Obi Cubana, who saw the video promised to sponsor Jeremiah’s education.
Obi Cubana, who chairs the Cubana Group, in an interview with media personality, Ifedayo Olarinde, popularly known as Daddy Freeze, made known his intention to sponsor the young boy’s tertiary education in any institution of his choice.
Keeping to his promise, Obi Cubana later shared pictures of the young lad who received his letter of scholarship from the Cubana Group.
Taking to his Instagram page, he revealed that the duo of Mr and Mrs Afuah, based in Canada, placed Ekuma on a N100,000 monthly salary till he finished his education.
Part of the post read, “And God has remembered Jerry!! jerryluck_ God used Rocky rockyemmyphotography to make that video! And God used daddyfreeze to connect me and Jerry!
“He has collected his letter of scholarship from Cubana Group! Thank God for His uncommon Grace! Mr & Mrs Afuah iam_hymans who are based in Canada, we ran into ourselves last night at Cubana Lagos, and he introduced himself and said he wanted to reach out to Jerry.
“We all met this afternoon here in Lagos. He has promised Jerry (and started paying immediately) a salary of 100k monthly from today till he is done with school!”
Bread seller turns model
A former bread seller, Olajumoke Orisaguna, became a model after receiving public attention when, while hawking bread on the streets of Lagos, stumbled onto a photo shoot session of rapper Tinie Tempah in 2016.
Jumoke’s shots were taken by Nigerian photographer TY Bello and after posting the pictures online, many people were interested in her.
According to a CNN report, Bello said Jumoke was a little confused during the incident.
“Some people were asking her to walk past really quickly, others were asking her to stay, she was just in limbo. I said ‘Is it ok to take your photograph?’ And she nodded ok.”
“I didn’t think I made a great image,” Bello told CNN, but once she posted the shots on social media, interest in Jumoke exploded.
“When the photographs landed for the first time on social media, everyone immediately thought she was a model,” Bello explained.
The report said the mum of two was given the scholarship to complete her education and a bank offered to pay for schooling for her two children until university age.
Photos of the bread-seller-turned-model in South Africa also later emerged online as she began living a new life.
‘Mummy calm down’ boy meets Sanwo-Olu
In 2020, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State met with Oreofeoluwa Lawal-Babalola, a little boy who inspired the viral “mummy calm down” video.
The governor met with the four-year-old boy alongside his family at his office.
Oreofeoluwa became a social media sensation after a video went viral showing him in tears while his mum scolded him. He was heard telling his mum to “calm down” and give him a “last chance”.
The video attracted the governor who requested to meet the little boy.
“The exchange was indeed funny, but it depicts the efforts parents put in moulding children into responsible adults. I want to assume that his mum indeed calmed down because the appeal was moving enough to make anyone change their mind,” the governor’s tweet partly read.
Amputee water hawker
In 2021, Mary Daniel, a 27-year-old amputee hawker, received over N25m in donations from kind-hearted individuals from within and outside Nigeria.
The single mother, who used to hawk bottled water in traffic in the Oshodi area of Lagos, experienced a turnaround including plans to establish her business.
Daniel’s status took a dramatic turnaround after her moving story was reported by Saturday PUNCH.
For fear that she might fall prey to fraudsters due to huge donations pouring into her bank account, the Lagos State Government, then, took over her welfare and put her in protective custody.
The then-Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Civic Engagement, Aderemi Adebowale, handed her over to a committee, including Irede Foundation and Onu (King) of Igala in Lagos, Mr Sanni Yakubu, to assist her in setting up a business.
Many Nigerians have lauded the gestures of well-meaning citizens who offered gifts or other assistance after hearing some people’s touching stories.
A human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, said on January 6 that Nigerians had a strong capacity to do good for their fellow citizens when they are united.
Posting via his X handle, InibeheEffiong, the lawyer wrote, “Nigerians have a strong capacity to do good for their fellow citizens when they are united by a common purpose.
This country would’ve been the envy of the world if not for cancerous, rotten, and unpatriotic leadership. We urgently need to fix our leadership recruitment process. If we overcome the divisive forces of ethnicity, tribalism, and religious bigotry, we can be great.”
Effiong also later offered Mummy Zee and her family free legal services for a year. “How about pro bono retainership for you and your husband from January to December 2024? If you need legal representation or services, please feel free to reach out. Family values are essential,” he said in a tweet.
Responding, Mumzee via her handle, _Debbie_OA, appreciated the lawyer on Sunday, writing, “Our own lawyer, thank you so much. I’ll be in your DM.”