Less than a day after the suspension of his second Twitter account, Social Media personality and marketing strategist Adegoke Pamilerin Emmanuel, known commonly as Pamilerin or OmoIyaOlogi, has been able to garner up to twenty-four thousand followers. A testament to the staying presence of the influencer market in a world racing towards a more diverse engagement landscape.

While a number of people remain skeptical of how the Influencer business works, of the very reality of it; for reasons that span its spontaneity, fickleness and its potential to drive clout-chasers into creating toxic and unhealthy content in a bid to gain some (or a lot of) following, the reality remains that it is now an admittedly viable craft.

With social media spaces like Twitter and Instagram continuing to open up spaces for young Nigerian creatives, advocates, important social and political voices and well.. clowns, putting in the work and exploring the opportunities available, the idea of influencing people’s commercial and moral choices shouldn’t really come as a surprise at this point.

However, what Pamilerin’s recent suspension and speedy comeback can tell us about our perception of the celebrity status today, amongst many things, is that our definitions of what or who fills a celebrity vacuum is changing rapidly and this really boils down not just to talent or some tactile uniqueness but to the level of engagement those possessions can provide. While the reason behind his suspension has remained fuzzy, if is worthy to note is the necessity of staying true to one’s brand as suspensions are often popular with influencers.

For instance, while Pamilerin worked to rebuild his page, an impersonator was able to rip people off while claiming to be him, a lot of trouble to go to if there weren’t some merit in there, and a problem our conventional celebrities are known to be faced with when they go into indeterminable hibernation.

The scope and possibilities of societal relevance is growing with the invention of new platforms and the maximization of existing ones and while it is impressive to see it grow and afford people more opportunities, we hope many stay true to the idea of producing and standing by qualitatively healthy content.

Nelson C.J

Nelson C.J is a culture writer with works in The New York Times, Xtra Magazine, OkayAfrica, Black Youth Project, AfroPunk, and a few other spaces. You can find him saving dog pictures on Twitter.