Adedapo Adewale, a Lagos-based content creator and pumping machine engineer, has built an unconventional path that combines creativity with technical skills.
Adewale, popularly known online as baba_beji77, began creating content in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown while he was still in secondary school. According to him, friends, classmates and teachers had previously encouraged him to explore content creation because of his ability to entertain people, although he initially viewed it mainly as something he did for fun.
The lockdown period eventually changed his perspective, leading him to take content creation more seriously.
However, his creative journey was interrupted in 2022 after he completed secondary school. With limited funds available for further education, Adewale decided to acquire a practical skill that could help him generate income and eventually support his educational plans.
He went into the repair and servicing of pumping machines, developing his skills as a pumping machine engineer. The work provided him with an independent source of income and eventually enabled him to acquire a phone, which gave him the opportunity to return to content creation.
He subsequently resumed creating content while continuing his technical work.
Adewale currently operates in Lagos and runs EMPIRE FLOW, a business focused on the repair and servicing of pumping machines. At the same time, he is applying for admission into a higher institution.
His experience reflects the increasingly diverse paths young Nigerians are taking as they attempt to combine education, entrepreneurship, technical skills and creative pursuits.
For Adewale, the two areas have developed alongside each other rather than competing for attention. His technical work provides a practical profession, while content creation remains the creative pursuit he has continued to develop since 2020.