The British-Nigerian Millennials Making an Impact and Changing Perceptions

It’s no news that the scope of social media has changed dramatically since its inception. What was initially used mainly for the purpose of maintaining relationships between friends on Facebook, or showing creativity on Instagram, is now a powerful marketing tool used to both influence people on a large scale and change perceptions of what life is like in different corners of the globe.

Millennials, the generation of people born between 1980 to 1994, are infamously regarded as an instant gratification-seeking and spontaneous generation – though there are a number who are turning the conversation around and showing that when used for good, social media is more than superficial statuses or self-indulgent self-portraits.

There are a booming number of millennials who’ve grown their platforms to staggering heights, gaining an attentive audience in the process who support their views or connect with them because of their similarities or understanding of life. However, the millennials listed below all have one thing in common. As well as all being British-Nigerian, they’ve all wielded their social influence in changing perceptions on their varying subject matter, and have recently written books to this regard.

The Slumflower

23-year-old British-Nigerian Chidera Eggerue, better known by her social media username, The Slumflower, is an award-winning blogger, presenter and author of What A Time To Be Alone: The Slumflower’s Guide To Why You Are Already Enough. This self-help book, which includes original illustrations from Chidera and Igbo proverbs from her mother, is now available on Amazon to be released on 26 July, 2018 by Quadrille Publishing Ltd.

Deemed as the “millennial mastermind” in 2018 by Elle, Chidera – who started out as a fashion blogger some years ago – realised that by being able to connect with other people online, she could lend her voice to female empowerment and social issues which she uses to promote self-love and encourage women to realise their worth.

She describes her mother as being a positive influence in her life, revealing that from an early age, she was taught to never believe that other people were better than her. However, she does lament that being a feminist and having to help change the attitude of her mother in regards to parts of Nigerian culture that are flawed can be tough.

In a 2017 interview, she notes that “I feel like if I had the clarity I have now then, my life would have made sense earlier. But everything happens the way it’s meant to. I want to be the voice I wish I had, for someone else.”

Last year, her body positivity movement #Saggyboobsmatter went viral, and she continues to use her expanding platform and reach to champion causes that are both inclusive and dismantling of structures that are harmful to women and black people in society.

When she isn’t writing, calling out self-destructive behaviours on social media or giving motivational speeches at TEDx talks, she can be found working as the Creative Director of Innclusive, a vacation rental company that allows people of colour to be themselves wherever they go.

Chidera Eggerue has created a personal brand all by herself that is loud, purpose driven, fun and infectious which has earned her awards and features from numerous publications like Okayafrica, Metro, Glamour, Teen Vogue, Harpers bazaar and Dazed who have said “the Peckham native is this generation’s agony aunt.”

Simply Oloni

Dami Olonisakin, popularly known as Oloni, is an award-winning sex and relationship blogger and the creator of Simply Oloni, a women’s platform for sex and relationship discussions created in 2008. In addition to this, she acts as a relationship coach to thousands of women all over the world, with whom she schedules sessions via phone calls, emails and her popular “Ask Oloni” page where her readers can ask for relationship advice anonymously.

Oloni was inspired to launch her blog at the age of 18 after watching many episodes of Sex and the City. What was initially started to discuss other topics including fashion, lifestyle and beauty, now focuses more on its central subject matter – sex and relationships. She uses her platform to demystify the taboos surrounding sex, especially in African households.

In addition to her blog, she hosts a sex-positive live show titled Laid Bare, for outspoken women to have their say on topics surrounding sexuality.

In 2015, she was voted the Best Sex and Relationships Blogger by Cosmopolitan UK Magazine, and her blog was voted one of UK’s top dating blogs in 2017.

In early 2018, her famous #DateChallenge thread on Twitter where she encourages women to ask men they are interested in on dates went viral and earned her features on publications such as The Sun, The Daily Mail and Cosmopolitan, among others. During this period, she also announced that her self-guide book titled The Big O will be forthcoming and available for pre-order at Unbound. She revealed that the book will be a sex and relationship bible used to debunk myths and “sexual fake news”. She also adds that “It will be an essential tool for empowering young adults to have fulfilling relationships free of guilt, anxiety and shame” – timely written for a millennial generation branded as the “hookup generation”, even though reports tell a different story when compared to previous generations.

Slay In Your Lane

Listed as BBC’s hotly anticipated debut authors for 2018, Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené are the twenty something year old authors of Slay In Your Lane, a self-help inspirational guide to life for a generation of black British women out on 5 July, 2018. The authors have regarded the book as Britain’s answer to Sandberg’s Lean In and Amoruso’s #GirlBoss.

The subject matter within the book ranges from education to work, dating to health and money to representation. The title combines both authors’ experiences with interviews from Britain’s most successful black women such as Amma Asante, Clara Amfo, Charlene White, Jamelia, Denise Lewis, Malorie Blackman and Dawn Butler MP, to explore how being black and female affects each of these areas.

Slay In Your Lane, which is being praised as the ‘black girl bible’, was bought from Juliet Pickering at Blake Friedmann Agency by 4th Estate in a highly contested auction involving nine publishers.

Yomi Adegoke is an award-winning journalist, founder of Birthday Magazine and senior writer at The Pool. She has been listed as one of the 200 Women Redefining the Creative Industry by The Dots and named as a ‘frontline pioneer’ bringing the fight to ‘a new generation’ by the Evening Standard. Elizabeth Uviebinené is a Marketing Manager at a leading global brand. The best friends were inspired to write the book after they realised that none existed that covers the challenges women, and black women in the UK in particular, face.

These British-Nigerian authors hope to use the book to highlight the stories of some of Britain’s most accomplished women who are often underrepresented; and to help inspire a generation of women who want to follow in their stead.