The #SaveMayowa campaign which started as a well-meaning effort to raise money for Mayowa Ahmed, a young Nigerian with ovarian cancer, has sadly become the biggest ‘scam’ story of the year, with Nigerians having mixed feelings.
Here are a few things I’ve been able to pick up from the whole episode since it started.
1. Celebs have a lot of influence
Go get you a celeb friend today because the world, as we’re finding out, revolves around them. See how Toyin Aimakhu took it upon herself to put the case out there and look how quickly Nigerians responded.
2. Nigerians are kind-hearted people
(especially when you remind them about how God rewards cheerful givers).
The rate at which Nigerian citizens turned up for the #SaveMayowa campaign was very impressive, especially considering the harsh economic situation of the country right now.
3. Social media is a very powerful tool
No jokes, social media has to be the best thing that has happened to the world since the beginning of time. Anything and everything can become a big deal, as long as you know how to use social media.
4. Toyin Aimakhu is a drama queen
Ha! That woman can cryyyy and shout! Don’t know if she does as much crying in real life, but Instagram has certainly seen her in action more than a handful of times. She never runs out of tears!
First, she cried and begged us to help #SaveMayowa, now she’s crying and informing us that the whole thing was a scam. Whew! I bet I’m not the only one who’s wondering if she even knows what she’s crying about.
5. Nigerians react aggressively to the word ‘scam’
You want to scam us? SCAM??? How dare you try to rip us off of our hard-earned money? Do you know if I gave out my last N500? Do you know how much I suffered to get the money in the first place? In this hard economy? Both of us are gonna die here today! You better return my money back to my account!
6. Do proper research before speaking out on sensitive matters
If Aunty Toyin had done the necessary research and had all her facts right in the first place, there would never have been any sort of confusion to start with. The #SaveMayowa campaign would have either never started at all or might have had a better ending.
7. Money brings discord
It is almost inevitable that whenever there is a lot of money, confusion is bound to arise. Who is the liar here? Who is the scammer and the scammed? Just like every other Nigerian right now, I’m confused about the facts. The only thing that is certain right now is the fact that Mayowa is really down with cancer and needs our support.
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