Content Creator Nwanyi Nnewi Talks About Her Journey and Challenges

Digital creator, Pamela Mbaefo, known as Nwanyi Nnewi, has 170,000 followers on Instagram and 190,300 followers on TikTok. She shares her content creation journey and challenges with Naomi Chima.

Pamela is from Anambra State. She graduated from Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, studying Food Science and Technology. She comes from a family of nine children and is the seventh child.

Her story began during the COVID-19 pandemic when everyone was at home. The first video she made was with a friend's phone. She didn't start with her current name; she began with something else. She was just trying to be funny and play around with her surroundings.

Pamela tried to mimic Lasisi but used a different filter called Coon instead of the big-mouth effect on Snapchat. After the pandemic, when she went back to school, she began creating content about African mothers. She experimented with different names before settling on her current one. It was not easy, but she kept trying. Her goal was not to grow her page; she only wanted to make people laugh.

She had a friend who was creating content before her. She asked him for advice, and he offered to let her join his team, but she needed to pay. Without the money, she couldn't stay consistent. She often followed friends to shoot content.

One day, she waited for hours for them, but the shoot didn't happen. Frustrated, she decided to take a break from content creation.

In 2022, she returned to it, this time more seriously. A mentor advised her, "Don’t wait for people. Create something you can do by yourself." That was when she began creating monologue content. This new style pushed her to where she is now.

One major challenge was not having a good phone. She borrowed her cousin's phone for a while. After her friend's phone was no longer available, she relied on her cousin's phone until he asked her to stop borrowing it. That was the last time she went to borrow a phone.

At that time, she was in her 300 to 400 level in school. Later, she started using her father's phone until she stopped using Snapchat and focused fully on school. Things changed for her after that.

Most of the content she creates is not based on what she saw from her mother or grandparents. Sometimes, she sits down and thinks. She also observes things happening around her and turns them into content. Occasionally, she reads something and decides to act it out.

She imagines situations and brings them to life. Surprisingly, people connect with her content.

One day, she was just doing her thing, and suddenly people began recognizing her. They pointed at her, offered to pay her transport fare, and gave her special treatment.

Her first viral video on TikTok showed her coming out of church angry, carrying two yams. When the cameraman asked what was wrong, she said she had taken the yams for Thanksgiving, but the holy water did not touch her, so she was taking them back home angrily.

What began as a hobby became a career. Now, it's truly a career for her. She doesn't have another job. This is what she does every day, thinking about new ideas.

She doesn’t have a team working for her, but she collaborates with people who share her mindset. They all want to grow, work hard, and stay consistent.

Pamela's real life is different from the character she plays online. What she puts out is not exactly who she is. She acts as a strict, angry character. When it’s time to shoot, she brings out that character and performs.

She hasn’t reached her ultimate goal, and she doesn’t plan to do this forever. She has other dreams, including starting a media school.

For now, she protects her brand by being consistent. She posts several pieces of content daily because she wants to go far, even beyond Igboland and Nigeria.

Nnewi, where she lives, is in Igboland. Speaking only English there didn’t feel right to her.

No! Last year, she translated her content. This year, she chose to be herself. If someone visits her page and doesn’t understand, they are free to leave.

But she plans to mix in more English in the future while keeping some Igbo.

She believes people follow her for different reasons. Some like her Igbo language, some enjoy her body language and acting, and others appreciate her boldness online.

She believes that even if some people leave, new followers will come.

Pamela has always believed that pride comes before a fall. Popularity without money can be risky. She doesn’t let fame pressure her.

If she wants to visit a local market or a simple salon, she does. She doesn’t want early fame to change her. She sees herself as a regular person creating content and making money from it.

She started with the Conehead filter, then moved to talking to herself, and eventually to full monologues.

Her content has always focused on African mothers. She doesn’t think that has changed much.

Last November, she did a series about aunties returning from the UK. Sometimes, she just wants to try something different.

At one point, she also created content about lecturers. She believes she can be anything. She won’t limit herself to just being an African mother. Tomorrow, she could act as an Uber driver who doesn’t take nonsense. The goal is to be relatable.

She sees hate comments sometimes, but she rarely replies. Her fans usually defend her. She understands that not everyone will agree with her.

The main criticism she faced was being accused of copying another creator. That made her stop creating that type of content.

Pamela dislikes online banter and unnecessary drama. She doesn’t want to trend for the wrong reasons. She values her growth and builds herself step by step, avoiding online fights.

The most rewarding part is when people tell her, "Keep it up," or "You remind me of my mother" or "You remind me of my brother." Those words mean a lot.

Her mother wasn’t supportive of her creating content. Her elder sister also wanted to act but was discouraged by their parents. Many African parents believe entering the entertainment world can lead to losing one’s way.

When Pamela said she wanted to act, her mother was not happy. The only person who encouraged her was her elder brother. He commented on her post, saying, "Don’t ever stop creating content," and she held on to those words.

Now, her dad calls her Nwanyi Nnewi and is very proud of her. Her mum is also proud. Her dad tells everyone about her. He says, "Have you seen my daughter? My daughter is Nwanyi Nnewi."

Her family feels proud, too. They take screenshots of WhatsApp statuses when people repost her videos. Her siblings and aunties tell others, "That’s my niece." She sees it as a big flex for them.

No, that was just for content. During that time, he was giving away cars, so she made content about it. He didn’t respond, but his wife did.

She has worked with Steve Chuks, Marachi, Tope, and Kevin Black.

Yes, but her mindset is different. Since she’s based in the East, she wants to be the kind of creator that people from Lagos come to collaborate with, not just the other way around.

She already has people in mind for future collaborations.

Sometimes she thinks about creators to team up with but realizes there’s nothing to do with them. She loves their content but notices that her style doesn’t match theirs, so she steps back.

Collaboration is nice, but she believes that when they need her, they will reach out.

After working, she reviews her list and checks what she has accomplished. Each day before leaving the house, she makes sure to have a list of content to shoot.

When she returns home, she rests. She’s not a party person and prefers to stay home. When she goes out for content, unless it’s to eat, she heads straight home.

Pamela likes sharing what works for her. She won’t talk about anything she hasn’t experienced.

There was a time she posted content daily, and her brother asked, "Why are you posting every day? You want people to get tired of you?"

She replied, "Have people got tired of Sabinus?"

She believes people won’t get tired of her because her next video is unpredictable. She emphasizes consistency. But within that consistency, she believes in maintaining balance. Don’t do too much or too little. Just be there and let people find you.

There are types of content she has filtered out and rejected. There are brands she won’t work with.

If a brand promotes content that’s not educational or is about adult themes, she will not participate. She doesn’t want to make adult content.

It makes her happy when people say, "My son watches your videos" or "My children enjoy your videos."

She doesn’t want children to see anything inappropriate on her page.

Pamela has turned down many brands. She won’t work with alcohol companies or similar brands.

She used to think differently, but now she has changed her mind. Sometimes, she shows her real self on social media. She even has another page for her real personality.

Many visitors to her page think she is an older woman, but when they see her true self, they are surprised. For now, this has not affected her attraction.

She struggles with giving attention. One reason people stop talking to her is that she doesn’t give them the time they want.

Imagine shooting content from morning till evening, coming home, and your phone keeps ringing because someone wants to chat. When she wakes up, she wants to write, read, and shoot again.

If someone doesn’t understand her lifestyle, it becomes tough. That’s why she avoids people who don’t get content creation. Once she notices any red flags, she completely steps away.

Yes, she is ready for marriage. She needs someone kind and understanding.

She is not materialistic or flashy. She prefers a normal life. She wants to contribute to a relationship, not just take. If she can’t give back, buy gifts, or contribute, she feels she shouldn’t be in a relationship.

Many times, she has cried, deleted her pages, and felt depressed. She has considered leaving social media entirely.

But somehow, one video goes viral, and she comes back. She receives daily messages saying, "Thank you for helping me smile."

When she wants to quit, she remembers those people. Even if it's only a thousand people who laugh at her videos every day, that counts.

She no longer shows up just for herself; she shows up for her people too.