Feyikemi ‘FK’ Abudu rose into the spotlight on Nigerian Twitter as a sharp-witted, wine-loving feminist in 2016. By the beginning of 2020, she had about 100,000 followers who loved to follow her baby girl lifestyle and feministic views. But then, in October 2020, she became more than just a baby girl and a de facto voice of the youths. It’s unlikely she was prepared for this switch. But she took it on, ran with it, and helped thousands of people during the End SARS protests. Right now, she is considered one of the most loved and respected women within Nigeria’s youth demography.
Born in January 1993 in London to lawyer, educator, interior decorator, and all-around businesswoman Ekua Akinsanya (formerly Abudu) and Wale Abudu, a lawyer, FK has always had a good life, surrounded by women with great values. On her mother’s side, she’s the granddaughter of businessman Taiwo Sagoe and Modupe Sagoe, a successful textile material entrepreneur in Lagos. From her dad’s side, her grandfather is the legal luminary and astute businessman from Abeokuta, Chief Ayinla Olatunde Abudu, the Mayegun of Egbaland.
Surrounded by women like Modupe Sagoe, Ekua Akinsanya, Deola Sagoe, and Mo Abudu, FK says in a 2020 Techpoint interview that she gets her ‘audacity’ from them. “All the women in my family are coconut heads. They are accomplished women who don’t answer to anybody. You can imagine all of us sitting at a table. I think that’s where [my audacity] is from. If you come for family lunch, first of all, you’ll hear us from outside. And when you get inside, everybody has a strong opinion about something.”
That audacity would come into play in October 2020 when FK became one of the most prominent foot soldiers of the End SARS protests. Abudu’s part in the demonstrations began from the point of concern for fellow Nigerians lying outside the Lagos state House of Assembly complex in the evening of the first day of 2020’s EndSARS protests. In the early hours of October 9, Abudu tweeted for donations to help prepare food for some protesters who had stayed overnight. Fifteen minutes after putting up the account, she had ₦500,000 that became ₦2 million after an hour, and there was no going back.
She eventually teamed up with the Feminist Coalition led by Damilola Odufuwa and Odunayo Eweniyi to create one of the most impressive protest structures this country has ever seen. Through a Flutterwave account, they gathered money from concerned people and disbursed it to get food, water, drinks, medical supplies, pay legal fees and hospital bills. That is until the Central Bank of Nigeria shut down the link and never restored it.
Before the protests that made her even more popular, FK’s rule was ‘live your best life’, encouraging a life of enjoyment and luxury, especially for women traditionally expected to persevere in hard times. She schooled in the University College of London, between 2011 to 2015, where she studied Chemical Engineering. In 2015, she attended the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where she obtained a certificate in Entrepreneurial Studies.
Determined not to use her engineering degree, she spent four months as the VP of Business Development and Programmes at She Leads Africa, the financial empowerment forum for African women. These days, she is one-half of one of the most popular podcasts in Nigeria, ‘I Said What I Said’, which she hosts with her friend Jola Ayeye. She also runs her consultancy firm, Caya House and shares her often sought-after opinions on Twitter.
Feyikemi Abudu showed that despite having passports to other countries and an escape route from Nigeria, she was willing to fight for the people. She wielded her experience, influence and political network to help thousands of young Nigerian youths in a dark time. For this reason, she is considered one of the most influential young women in the country right now. At only 28 years old, she is NET Honours Class of 2021’s Most Searched Personality and rightfully so.
Written by Mofijesusewa Samuel