An investigative analysis of digital earnings from Nigeria’s most-watched social media feud
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In this investigative piece, a renowned Private Investigator, Cyber Security Analyst and Journalist Wale Onifade analyses with empirical facts on how a public confrontation between activist content creator VeryDarkMan, socialite King Mitchy, and Seyi Tinubu, son of Nigeria’s president, has done more than generate headlines. Within days of escalating online, it produced a measurable revenue event for VeryDarkMan, one that exposes how thoroughly Nigeria’s attention economy has matured, and how few creators are positioned to actually capture it.
VeryDarkMan’s Instagram Reels accumulated over 32 million views within approximately one week, driven almost entirely by clips connected to the feud and his running commentary. His Facebook page registered comparable engagement. What separated this from the typical viral Nigerian story was infrastructure: VeryDarkMan operates under Meta’s Partner Monetization Program on Facebook and is enrolled in Instagram’s Reels monetization scheme. That eligibility, which most Nigerian creators have not secured, meant every qualifying view generated direct ad revenue, not just cultural influence.
Metadoes not pay a flat per-view rate. Instagram compensates enrolled creators through RPM, revenue per 1,000 monetized views, a figure that fluctuates based on audience geography, advertiser demand, content category, and engagement signals. Political commentary and governance-adjacent content, precisely the category VeryDarkMan occupies, commands higher CPM from advertisers, making his content eligible for premium ad rates by platform standards.
Facebook pays through a combination of in-stream video ads, overlay ads, and Reels performance bonuses, with payout rates generally more consistent than Instagram across sub-Saharan African creator profiles.
READ MORE: School Renovation Sparks Firestorm as King Mitchy, VeryDarkMan Clash Online
No third-party platform or Meta disclosure has confirmed VeryDarkMan’s actual earnings from this period. What follows are estimates derived from published industry RPM benchmarks for high-engagement African political commentary content. They are projections, not confirmed figures.
| Platform | Estimated Views | Revenue Range (USD) | Revenue Range (NGN) |
|—|—|—|—|
| Instagram | ~32 million | $12,800 to $80,000 | ~N20.5m to N128m |
| Facebook | ~10 to 18 million | $3,000 to $27,000 | ~N4.8m to N43m |
| **Combined** | | **$15,800 to $107,000** | **~N25.3m to N171m** |
Theconservative end assumes low monetizable view percentages, suppressed RPM from non-Tier 1 audiences, and minimal bonus payouts. The optimistic ceiling assumes peak RPM benchmarks, full monetization eligibility across content, and platform bonus activation. Neither endpoint has been verified.
Theonly figure that is confirmed is the 32 million-plus Instagram view count, which VeryDarkMan’s public page reflects. Facebook view figures in the 10 to 18 million range are inferred from his page activity during the same period but have not been independently audited.
Giventhose view volumes and published RPM norms for this content category and region, the mid-range estimate of $40,000 to $60,000 combined (approximately N65m to N96m at prevailing exchange rates) is the most defensible projection. It assumes a monetized view rate of 40 to 60 percent of total views and an effective RPM of $1.50 to $2.50 for Instagram and $1.00 to $1.75 for Facebook, figures consistent with high-engagement African political content.
VeryDarkMan almost certainly generated significant direct Meta earnings during this period. Based on confirmed view data and industry-calibrated RPM benchmarks, a realistic estimate places his combined Instagram and Facebook revenue between $40,000 and $60,000 (N65m to N96m) for the period in question. This is an estimate derived from a methodology, not a verified payout. The actual figure could be higher or lower depending on the share of views Meta classified as monetizable and the RPM rates applied to his specific audience profile, neither of which is publicly disclosed.
Whatis not speculative is the structural point: VeryDarkMan was one of the only Nigerian creators positioned to convert this level of engagement into direct platform revenue. That is the story the numbers tell regardless of where the final payout lands.
Theepisode confirms three shifts in Nigeria’s digital media economy that will outlast the feud itself. First, platform monetization infrastructure now determines whether viral reach has economic value; reach without enrollment produces nothing. Second, content tied to political figures and national power structures attracts premium advertiser categories, meaning political commentary is, paradoxically, among the most commercially valuable content a Nigerian creator can produce. Third, the feud itself was not a crisis for VeryDarkMan. It was an accelerant. The controversy drove the algorithm, the algorithm drove the views, and the views drove the revenue.
The lesson for the creator economy is structural, not accidental.