From Uber Driver Who Couldn't Drive to 2M+ Subscribers

There’s a kind of work you do in the dark that no applause prepares you for. The kind of struggle where you’re grinding just to stay afloat, while the dream you’re chasing feels like it’s running faster than you.

That was Tayo in 2017, not the global creator with millions of subscribers—but a tired Uber driver learning to drive on the job in Lagos traffic.

People see the final video—the drones over European coastlines, the seamless color grading, the voiceovers that feel like memory.

What they don’t see is the month-long edit behind it. Or the two years he spent driving strangers across Lagos just to make ₦20,000 a week—money that was usually spent on food because the grind was that draining.

PS: This conversation is part of the energy we’re taking into Afropolitan Live on the 21st of December.

A live podcast recording. A surprise guest. Premium catering + open bar. At Miliki Private Club, Lagos.

If you’ve been waiting to meet the tribe in the room where it happens, this is your moment.

The Uber Driver Who Became a Storyteller

In 2017, YouTube wasn’t a thing in Nigeria. Creators weren’t “creators.” And the last place you’d expect a career to begin was behind the steering wheel of an Uber.

Tayo didn’t even know how to drive. Three partners collected their cars back. The fourth guy assumed he knew what he was doing and handed over his car like a blessing. That was the beginning.

Driving around Lagos became his film school. Lekki homes, restaurants, backroads, night streets. The city showed him stories people weren’t telling.

He realized New Yorkers had videos documenting their cities, Londoners had their narratives…but Lagos? No one was archiving its beauty.

So, he started. With a phone. With no money. With no guarantee anyone would care.

The Breakthrough That Paid ₦0

Every creator has that one “maybe this can work” moment. For Tayo, it was the J. Cole concert in 2018.

He offered to film the concert for free just for a ticket. Ran home. Edited the video in under 48 hours. One million views.

And yet, not a single naira was earned. The video was demonetized because of the music. But something shifted. That was the first time he saw how fast the world could find him if he dared to show up differently.

Success didn’t come from money. It came from momentum and belief.

$16,000 He Couldn’t Touch

Between 2017 and 2020, Tayo made content and couldn’t access his YouTube earnings. Why?

Because the verification PIN never arrived. Three failed attempts. A broken postal service. A dream sitting in Google’s backend, inaccessible.

He watched $16,000 accumulate in his dashboard. Years of work. Years of faith. Years of “one day.” And he couldn’t touch a single dollar.

When he finally unlocked it, that money wasn’t just payment. It was proof.

But the financial struggle was only one part.

There were the airport humiliations. The Ethiopian strip search. The South African visa denial that held his passport for four months.

The moment he missed speaking on a Dubai stage because his visa got denied twice. That was when he bought the Saint Kitts passport. Not out of luxury. Out of necessity.

Being an African creator is not just creativity. It’s immigration. It’s geopolitics. It’s luck. It’s strength. It’s pain.

The Economics No One Wants to Admit

Tayo was working harder than creators in the U.S—more travel, more risk, more edits, more grit—but making 13 times less for the same content.

Nigeria: $1 CPM.
U.S.: $13 CPM.

Not because platforms hate Africans. But because economies are different. This is why creators must think globally. Not for vanity, but for survival.

_{This episode is brought to you in partnership with Vban, the borderless banking app built for Africa’s digital workforce. Use the code AFROPOLITAN to sign up: https://vban.com so they know you came from us}

What You’ll Gain From This Episode:

• Why your lowest season might be your most defining one

• The difference between validation and remuneration

• The immigration realities that shape African creativity more than any algorithm

• Why African creators earn 13x less and the mindset shift required to compete

• How missing a Dubai speaking opportunity led to a second passport

LISTENT TO OUR CONVERSATION WITH TAYO ON SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCASTS 

Scaling Beyond Views

Today, Tayo is teaching what he learned the hard way. His YouTube Creator Academy has trained 3,000 creators. And he’s urging African creators to stop thinking like YouTubers—and start thinking like entrepreneurs.

MrBeast didn’t build his empire from YouTube ads. He used YouTube as a marketing engine. African creators can too.

Sell the product. Partner. Build a company. Make YouTube the base, not the whole tree.

“Most people don’t know how hard it is. They see it as like, oh, this guy’s just traveling, living life. It’s not like that.” —Tayo Aina

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Get 1:1 time with African founders and entrepreneurs who’ve been where you’re trying to go.

This episode will change how you think about creativity, opportunity and the cost of dreaming as an African.

What’s the hardest part about building as an African creator? Reply and tell me.

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Warmly,
Chika & Eche
Co-Hosts, Afropolitan Podcast