INTERVIEW WITH SIR KENAYO OF KENAYO.COM

HELLUR beautiful people, happy new mid month*winks* and welcome to another awesome interview session with one of the fast rising bloggers in Nigeria. We all know him as Sir Kenayo of Kenayo.com but is that all there is to him? Learn more,know more and if you have had a wrong view about him in the past,now is the time to CHANGE IT because this dude here is one amazing personality. YOU READY?????????????????

Suliat: Good afternoon Mister Popular,how are you doing today?

Kenayo: Good afternoon to you too,I’m fine,thank you.

Suliat: Great we have heard so much about you.Your name has become a household name especially in the University of Ibadan. So tell us,who is Sir Kenayo?

Kenayo: Well Kenayo is Kehinde Ayodeji, so “ken” is coined from Kehinde and “ayo” is gotten from my surname,Ayodedji. I am a University of Ibadan student,300 level,Sociology.

Suliat: How and when did the idea of a blog occur to you?

Kenayo: I think I like to write,initially that was what propelled me to start blogging,I had a passion for writing and so I would write in a jotter and sketch certain stuff. Later someone told me that there is something called wordpress,so I opened an account and started writing and blogging from there. The only reason I was serious with blogging then was the fact that I was always bored and I also had access to the internet from a very young age and so I took advantage of that.

Suliat: Nice. So what do you think makes your blog so different from other blogs?

Kenayo: Errr initially when I started blogging,my blog was basically about humor . In 2011,my blog got nominated in Nigeria Blog Award as Humor Blog of the year. What makes the blog distinct is our presentation,we try to make our news not too serious and so we present it in a cheerful,casual way everyone can relate with. If you check out the blog,you will see that there is a way we make out titles catchy. The blog is one of the few blogs in Nigeria that does music,videos,movies,series download,it has basically everything. We basically just make life easy,we know people love Empirer and some other interesting series,so what do we do? Instead of making them go through the stress of downloading on other sites and having to pay more,we just bring it to them.

Suliat: How do you plan on keeping the blog up after graduation?

Kenayo: Thank God for the blog,it is not really for students,it's for everyone,student or not. When I’m done with school,Wizkid would not tell me to stop posting,likewise Dbanj. So there really isn’t going to be any problem blogging after school.

Suliat: How do you combine blogging with school work?

Kenayo: It is very easy actually,just plan your time. Though the business suffers atimes,I could be very slow or late with my news but then I have extra hands. You can just make life easier for yourself and employ extra hands and plan your time well. Let’s say you have a class from 10 to 11,before then,put up something your blog,when you are done with class,put up something on your blog.

Suliat: What makes a successful blogger?

Kenayo: Being able to break news,being able to give people what they want. Most people just do copy and paste on their blogs,if you keep doing that,you would make no difference. So to me,being successful comes from your ability to stay in line and in tune with what goes on in your society. If D’banj drops a song today,as a good blogger,you are supposed to put it up within the next 5 minutes,that’s the way we run the blog here but if you are posting it 48hours later,you will be seen as being unserious because by then almost everyone would have downloaded it. So you have to keep track of things that are happening around you and then remain updated and connected to the internet.

Suliat: So what are the challenges you face as a blogger?

Kenayo: In the time past when I started blogging,I had the problem of web hosting. It was so expensive at the beginning,I didn’t really know much about web hosting and so I was exploited by the guy hosting for me. There is something called bandwith and domain name and so he would call me to tell me my bandwith had expired. Then I could pay for the same thing twice in a month and so I fell for their scam continuously. I also didn’t know how to gauge my traffic and so I couldn’t decipher how much traffic I was supposed to have and so I could pay for 10,000 viewers in a month when infact I had 20,000 and then at the middle of the month,my site would go offline. So I was just running at a loss at that period and then the internet was also a problem,the broadband was very pathetic and we still face that challenge even now. There is also this problem that comes with having people on your team,dispute arise over different views and then threat of pulling out surfaces,leaving you to face all the problems by yourself. Another problem is getting people to know about your blog and read it.

Suliat: Yeah right,so true. So tell us,what do you think of President Buhari and his idea of change as regards probing senators and his war against corruption?

Kenayo: Alright,right from the start,I didn’t like the President. I thought he was coming to seek revenge and so I voted for GEJ.You know now during Jonathan’s time,dollar was very high*winks*,it was 240 and it was good for me,now it’s 225. I get paid in dollars,so the higher it is,the higher my profit is. Believe me,let’s put sentiments aside,if you are earning in dollar,you won’t really be worried about the rate exchange. But then,back to Buhari,I thought he was going to be a dictator because he once was. But then the idea of him probing people is very ni ce. Our leaders need this. I mean imagine this Deziani woman,the amount of money she stole is so outrageous. We all know it is inevitable,they all keep money for theselves,they steal with brain but when it starts getting so noticeable,then are overdoing it and they should be punished.Light is better now infact if you check my fridge,you are not going to see a drop of water,everything there is iced. So I agree and think Buhari is good for us,he is working. Probing is going to curtail their greed. EFCC,ICPC can’t do much and so with this new method,the politicians will always have it in mind that once they steal or embezzle money,they will be probed. By the way Diezani stole billion of dollars that can feed generations,if I want to steal,I will settle for just 700 million naira,at least that’s like a drop compared to the ocean she stole..lol..just joking oh. Anyway,once they know that there is someone watching them,they would be able to steal with sense and then give back to us.

Suliat: *laughs out loud* Okay oooo. So do you think we should expect more from Buhari or do you rather think he might stop at a point in time,seeing that some people think he is going too fast or better still,this could be an act,so he makes second term.

Kenayo: Forget second term oh,baba don old. I’m not saying he is going to die sha but you know certain things come with old age,dementia and some other things. I mean there was a time he was with Obama and he wanted to say APC,he mentioned the name of his former party,there were lot of discrepancies in what he was saying. However,I believe he is strong,he is going to keep fighting hard for what he believes in and I believe if a better person step into his shoes when he is gone,by the time I am 30 years of age,Nigeria should be where we want her to be,let’s just pray I'm not over 30 by then. Anyhow,by then we would be chilling and balling.*chuckles*

Suliat: *laughs*,let us talk about your award,how many awards have you won?

Kenayo: I don’t know,can’t remember,and don’t get me wrong oh,I am not saying it’s uncountable but then I don’t keep count. There were some I didn’t go for and reason is majorly because I don’t really like to be seen. How many times have you seen me even here in school? I am shy,but people don’t understand that and they take that for pride. They really cant differentiate between a proud dude and one that just likes keeping to himself.

Suliat: Are you an introvert?

Kenayo: I won’t call myself that because I relate well with people once we are acquainted. I have noticed people tend to watch me a lot,they do that to find something to say,so the best way to give them nothing to say is by keeping to myself but that is also so impossible cos when you try that,they even say worse. If I greet too much,it is called “famzing”,if I don’t,it is pride,if I’m driving and I greet,they say I am just trying to show off my new car,if I’m driving and I don’t greet,I am just arrogant that was even the main reason I had to go and tint my car windows,so I won’t have to greet anybody. At least if they don’t see my face,they won’t know it is me.

Suliat: *laughs*people would always talk. So tell us ,what keeps you going, what makes you tick, what brings the inspiration?

Kenayo: MONEY!...*laughs* don’t let me lie. Jesus gives me inspiration *chuckles* initially it was the passion , I mean I didn’t even know there was money in blogging, I never knew till when a girl pinged me one day to ask that I post her song on my blog. After that, she asked for my account number and I was like “for what” and then she was like to “pay you for your work now”. I was like "Oh,Wow! So they pay people for this?" So after the “passionate part’’ of me took a seat , money became the drive and so everything I do now, I ask myself, “what am I going to gain from this?” Be it song posting or advertisement , what do I get from it either in cash or exchange of services. Passion won’t build you a house or buy you a car,it won’t do lot of things for you after a while. I blogged for fun for like two years till someone noticed me and thought me cool. Blogging is actually fun for me though, there was a time my folks used to beg me to leave the house cos I was always on my laptop. I just found it cool ,being in a corner ,talking to millions of people across the world. However ,my drive was making people happy, relaxed through my less serious, informal blog and that brought about my 1st blog. Also my readers drive me to do more. For instance, there was this day I was walking on campus and a guy suddenly approached me and was like, ”guy ,you haven’t posted in two weeks ,what’s up?” and I was like “Oh, Wow! so you guys actually anticipate”. So things like that actually makes you not want to mess up.

Suliat: Oookaii. So tell us about the most embarrassing moment of your life.

Kenayo: You see ehn, in 100 level, attention wasn’t really on me like that but I was kind of popular. So one day, I woke up, got up from my bed to go take my bath and prepare for CHE 157 but there was no water. So I picked my bucket to go fetch from the tap. I don’t know what happened to my boxers oh ,it sha tore, and my bum was showing. Thank God it was a male hostel, Kuti hall. So I carried my keg oh. One boy now saw me, he did not even call me to a private place to tell me ,he just said “guy, your yansh is showing oh.” I ran back upstairs sha and changed. This things happen jare, there are times that people forget to zip, so everyone has his or her own moment. But people did not really see oh, they didn’t ,I’m very certain.

Suliat:*laughs out loud* so tell us about the worst date of your life, a date gone bad?

Kenayo: Dates? I don’t really go on dates,the dates you see around here is the “ventura kind of date” ,see a movie, grab pop corns. I have never really had an embarrassing date before. I don’t go out with wasteful or uncouth girls,I mean no guy wants a girl that keeps asking for more and can’t control her mouth or appetite but then if such ever happens sef,there ia always an ATM somewhere and a card in hand.

Suliat: Oh,but what if you have set aside a certain amount to spend and don’t intend spending more? What if you don’t even have money in your account but then the girl keeps ordering? Have you met a girl like that?

Kenayo: Yes oh,but I won’t mention her name before they say I’m proud. But then, in such cases, you have no choice but to withdraw,how much stuff does she wanna eat that I cant afford? Jesus has covered that. *chuckles* and about not having money in my account,that is not possible, Jesus has already covered that for me. But then I don’t like to go out with girls that are too materialistic,so I take out girls that are sensible in their dealings.



Suliat: *laughs out loud* Okay o. So how do you think girls regard you?

Kenayo: I think they hate me!

Suliat: Haaa! Why? What makes you think they do?

Kenayo: I don’t know how to answer this question,but I was just kidding earlier when I said that. I don’t think they hate me. I don’t know but I think any young guy that is fairly presentable, fairly ambitious and fairly successful wouldn’t be loathed by girls. I don’t know oh, it’s just what I think. Or better still, does this count? You passing by and you see three girls sitting and tapping themselves,do you think it means they like you or otherwise?

Suliat: of course,it means the babes are tripping but then it could be bad also. But then,knowing your kind of person,do you think they say good things about you?*winks*

Kenayo: Judging from what I have heard,they are good things. Apart from the fact that I have heard I am a player,I think most girls like me. The ones that don’t are those who think I am proud. Okay let me ask you this,do you get turned on by successful and hardworking guys?

Suliat: Yeah,sure.

Kenayo: Right,then you have answered for all girls. Which means they like me and regard me highly. Smart girls though,not the ones that are usually looking for one baba driving G-wagon somewhere.

Suliat: *chuckles*. Okay o. Play boy or Good boy as regards what girls think of guys in University of Ibadan? Because believe me,most girls here are usually like they can never date a guy in UI.

Kenayo: It’s a lie, don’t mind them, those girls that usually say that,we know what’s up oh. See we try,yeah we do but then for someone like me, Yosola(YSL), we are quite popular and so people will assume rather quickly. So let’s say I have a girlfriend and I want to be loyal to her,there is always that girl lurking somewhere and then makes it difficult for you. For me,if a girl likes me,I have to like her back because I don’t like hurting people’s feelings. I mean who will read the blog for you,send bcs for you? See girls are not nice,keep turning the down or chasing them away and they will spoil business for you. Who will do the work for you then? So I think the best thing for you is just to stay single or strike a convenient deal with a girl who is not a talker. Just kidding oh. But sha,I am not a player,I am just a cool person, a good boy. Okay, let’s just say I am in between. I have so many female friends,that doesn’t mean I am a player,but in UI,they like to assume too much. Lift a girl,drop her in front of her hall and before you knowing it,people start saying something must have gone down. These are some of the things you have to cope with in UI,but at least I will soon be done.

Suliat: Yeah,right. So tell us Kenayo,do you think you are a people’s man or otherwise?

Kenayo: Well,I don’t really know….err…how do I explain this? Thing is you cannot be you for everybody . A set of people will surely like me, some won’t ,others would be indifferent. It is to be expected but then on the average, I would say I’m for the people ,by the people..*laughs* I don’t know sha but judging from my last birthday party,I had over 120 people in attendance cos we made 100 pieces of chicken from Jay,it ran out and some people were still coming to say ,they hadn’t eaten. So judging from that, I don’t know how naïve that might look or sound,I think I am a people’s person. Let’s say half of the people sha,we are still trying to convince the other half that we are not proud. But then I think once you are successful and you have little change,some people just hate you for no reason. Atimes ,you would just ask someone why he or she hates you and the he or she goes like,”err,I don’t know,he didn’t actually do anything but then I just don’t like the boy”. I just feel they just don’t understand me and if you dec ide to prove people wrong and talk to them too much,they start crossing their boundary and they disrespect you. Therein lies the problem because I love to have my respect.

Suliat: That is very true. I guess you should just stick to being yourself. Alright,let’s take this a little personal. Who is the lucky girl?

Kenayo: Lucky girl?girls are always fucking up oh. You think you have found one lucky girl and then days later, you fightand break up. But please i’m single,don’t come and spoil parole for me. My mum is the lucky girl,whrn I find the lucky girl,you people will start seeing her pictures on instagram or on the blog when we announce the wedding date..

Suliat: *laughs out loud* So what is the most awkward rumor you ever heard about yourself?

Kenayo: Yahoo yahoo oooo. After I got my car,weeks later,I heard I was doing yahoo yahoo. UI people though,I’m tired of you guys. EPs is what you guys are. When somebody was hustling that year,nobody saw oh,when I was saving money,they didn’t see me then oh,now that I have a car,I'm doing yahoo yahoo but God dey sha.

Suliat: *chuckles*,sorry about that,quite funny though. So apart from blogging,what do you do?

Kenayo: Apart from blogging,I do PR for artiste , social media analyst for companies,I set trend on twitter, I run online campaign for brands and I was recently certified by Google.

Suliat: Wow! that is great. So Kenayo,just where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

Kenayo: I see myself having a house,a home,would have added marriage but after much thoughts and calculation,that isn’t feasible. In 5 years,I should have an office, step out from the online jobs but before then,I want to go into digital marketing,brand building and start big works generally. By then I should be handling big campaigns in the world.I don’t want to be the male version of Linda Ikeji though,I want to try other things out apart from blogging. I want to try my hands on business. Let’s just see how it goes. Blogging pays a lot though,my car is strictly from blogging money. Lets say my monthly income can be compared to that which a UI doctor gets monthly. I just want to be rich in 5 years time,a billionaire,that’s the dream. I also want to have a snail farm,just want to delve into agriculture,have people work for me.

Suliat: Na you o,jack of all things that drags the dough in. So please,a word of advise to the Nigerian youths.

Kenayo: Stop doing yahoo yahoo. Let people like me be free to drive our cars down the streets of Bodija without being harassed by the police for being too young and cool. There are other things you can do one the internet that are not illegal, try that out or get a job. Let us also learn to create work for ourselves,hustle justly,make clean money and face your books while still in school even if you will hustle.

Suliat: Thank you so much Kehinde Ayodeji, Sir Kenayo. It has really been a pleasure talking to you. Do you have anything to say to TheFACET readers?

Kenayo: Yes,I do. To the readers, stay tuned,always come back to this blog. It is unique. Enjoy it and support them in any way you can,send bcs on their behalf and tell a friend to tell a friend,let the cycle flow. Thank you.

And that would be all on Star column for today. I hope you didn’t blink while reading that? If you did,go back and read again. Till next time,we remain TheFACET,intertwining and connecting people from all walks of life. Muchaha!