The following are the views expressed by Olufemi Oguntokun in the July 1, 2026 episode of the On the Lord’s Side Podcast — Christian perspectives on news and current events.
ON THE OLODO UPRISING
Good morning to you once again. It is Wednesday, the first of July 2026.
I want to begin this morning with a discourse that has been engaging many people in Nigeria on X — the “Olodo Uprising.” You have to understand Yoruba to grasp what that cultural term is saying. “Olodo” is the Yoruba word for the dull, the unintelligent, the academically poor, the clueless person — essentially a fool or an underperformer in school or in intellect. It is primarily Yoruba, but it now functions almost as Nigerian pidgin. If someone in Nigeria calls you olodo, they are saying you are dull, unintelligent, academically poor, or clueless about a particular thing. It is an insult, whichever way you look at it — don’t hit back at the person, but know that much.
So this “Olodo Uprising” has become a viral Nigerian social-media discourse, primarily on X. The expression gained massive traction in June 2026 after the rapper Ycee used it on a podcast, referencing one of the most popular TikTokers in Nigeria, Peller — reflecting on Peller’s popularity and the wealth he gained from being one of the best-known TikTokers from Nigeria. Ycee said Peller is emblematic of the “Olodo Uprising” culture, and that got many people reflecting. I am not going to enter the cultural war among the celebrities and influencers over whether Peller should be classified as part of the Olodo Uprising or not — leave the personalities aside. Even intellectuals are now taking a second look at the phenomenon itself.
I spoke about “olodo”; let me address the “uprising.” The uprising means the olodos are on the ascendancy in the culture — that the culture now rewards, with fame, money and influence, especially on social media, people who fit that description. That is a cultural shift: such figures are not just tolerated but massively rewarded. There was a time when the clueless, unintelligent, academically poor person was not only sidelined but ridiculed. “Olodo” was used to say: who will employ this olodo? Who will have anything to do with this olodo? Who will marry this olodo? Who will vote for this olodo? But the discourse on X now points to a cultural shift: that is no longer the case. The dull, the academically poor, the clueless person could well be the one the culture rewards with fame, money, influence, perhaps even political office. And in Nigeria, I doubt many would deny that even in our polity we reward people who are not known for intelligence, perception or depth.
Many say it is social media — that the algorithms of these platforms reward people who do all sorts of things. Recently I came across a video of a lady, well put together, clearly having put effort into looking good; the video came on, and she said, in that comical, attention-grabbing way, “Hey, I want to tell you something — have you noticed that men who are bald tend to be this and that?” — and then it ended. And I reflected: if you look at the number of people who liked and shared that video, it is basically empty nonsense. But that is the kind of thing that goes viral, because of the algorithm. The algorithm is how the platforms are configured — the rules the creators designed to promote or de-promote content. I have always said on this podcast that we must understand that it is a capitalist world, and the owners of these platforms are in business. They are not there merely to help us connect. That may well be a value society gains, but their business case is compelling only as long as people keep using the platforms — and people keep using them only as long as they are engaged. And what is more engaging than mere entertainment, even entertainment that does not appeal to the intellect, or that, as some argue, tends to reduce one’s intellectual capacity?
So people say social media is configured such that those who can create sensational, low-barrier content will thrive. And it is so true. Try starting a series that discusses intellectually deep matters and see how far you get in building an audience; some have, but compare their numbers with those who built substantial audiences churning out low-barrier, sensational content. Others point to a shift in our aspirations. People used to aspire to scholarship, to real careers; but because society stopped rewarding those, fewer aspire to them. It used to be the “Yahoo” culture — the culture in which many youths were only interested in scamming people online, for which Nigeria got a very bad name; among law-enforcement agencies in the US and Europe, Nigerians became noted as “Yahoo boys.” So people say it is no longer the Yahoo culture but the Olodo Uprising culture, where people found you could make fantastic money on social media, and the platforms themselves promote low-barrier, sensational content. Some say this is rooted in corruption and policy failures in Nigeria, and other such rationalisations.
But how do we, on the Lord’s side, engage with a culture like this — a culture that is essentially the celebration of ignorance, the elevation of shallow viral content and raw entertainment over substance, discernment and diligent learning? It is a clear manifestation of what Scripture diagnoses as the folly of a fallen world. For us trying to be biblically faithful, we see this not primarily as a Nigerian problem — it is not — but as a universal outworking of the total depravity of man. Social media has merely amplified it. The Bible has spoken much about this. Romans 1:25 says humanity exchanges the truth of God for a lie. So when you come across this discourse, you must see from a biblical perspective that the Olodo Uprising is simply something now given a captivating name; the reality is not new, not merely Nigerian, and the Bible diagnosed it long ago. Unredeemed humanity exchanges the knowledge of God for lies.
Second, Jesus spoke of the broad way and the narrow way. In Matthew 7, He said the narrow gate leads to a narrow, difficult road, and only a few find it; but the broad gate and broad way, which many travel, leads to destruction. It is important to understand from the outset that this is the state of the unregenerate human mind — mankind, unregenerate, wants to follow the crowd. The fallenness in us says: where there are thousands and millions, that is where you should be; but where there are only two or three, that cannot be success. Yet Jesus said the narrow gate leads to life. As Hosea said, “My people are destroyed because they have rejected knowledge.” The Bible has told us these things, and we must apply them to our own Christian lives. How? By being sure that we are not part of the Olodo Uprising culture — the culture that does not want to prioritise knowledge or the acquisition of knowledge, that does not want to study anything as long as it is appealing and entertaining. The Bible says, “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” And we have observed this in the Christian community: many prefer the entertaining part of worship — the praises, singing and worship that, while not meant as entertainment, do excite the senses and make you jump for joy — to the study of Scripture. Many prefer prayer meetings, where they pray for themselves and things dear to them, which engages their attention; but when it comes to the study of the Word of God, so that they are more grounded, only very few devote attention to it.
So when we hear of this Olodo Uprising, it cannot be a diagnosis for us — the diagnosis has already been done in the Bible. We cannot be taken aback by surprise; it has always been the case. The Bible said humanity will always choose lies over the knowledge of God, and that in the last days people will gather to themselves speakers and preachers who will entertain them, having no interest in the truth. The name now given to it in Nigerian culture should simply serve as a reminder — and lead us to reflect on the importance of pursuing godly wisdom diligently, and of discernment in media and culture. If the algorithms and the culture now promote the olodos, should that not remind us to carefully choose whom we follow and whose content we consume, before we become olodos ourselves? For what happens to the person who constantly listens to an olodo? He becomes an olodo too. If the olodos are on the ascendancy and you are a devoted follower of them, do not deceive yourself — you will soon find yourself in the company of the olodos.
We must be humble, though. We are not saying everyone doing well for themselves on social media is an olodo — that is not the point; the point is discernment. There are many offering real value on the internet who are on the ascendancy too. So the most important thing is discernment. This discourse is a reminder to the Christian to be more discerning in what he consumes, and not to forsake the things that matter. Because of the compelling nature of these platforms, not many people have time any longer for diving deep into the study of the Word of God; they may want to, but so many things engage their attention. We have to be disciplined, intentional — to use another culturally popular term — about shutting out the things that distract us; to use the biblical expression from Hebrews 12, the things that so easily beset us. And we must impress this on our children: that substance is found through the in-depth study of the Word of God, and through the study of disciplines as well.
Just before I leave this, I came across a post credited to Elon Musk, reputed to be the richest man in the world, discussing ancient civilisations. He noted that the ancient Egyptians built the amazing pyramids, which to this day challenge modern man — how did they build them without our equipment and technology? People ask the same of ancient Rome and its aqueducts, still standing, though the people around them now carry water and no one remembers how they were built. Musk said: “You look at great civilisations like ancient Egypt, and they were able to make the pyramids, yet they forgot how to do that. And the Romans built this incredible aqueduct, yet they forgot how to do it. No army invaded them. The knowledge just stopped getting used, and the moment it did, it was gone.” And this is exactly the point. As people abandon the diligent study of the Word of God, and of substantive disciplines, in favour of well-entertaining, immediately rewarding pursuits on social media — and as they pass this on to their children — the knowledge will fade from that society. As people content themselves with bits of biblical knowledge here and there — a three-minute clip by this pastor, a three-minute clip by that evangelist, a few WhatsApp-status devotionals — abandoning that deposit of deep study will lead to the erosion of knowledge. A time may come when people simply do not know any more, because they have not been studying. That is one of the most concerning potential consequences of the Olodo Uprising: a society that rewards the olodos will not produce people who devote themselves to the study that leads to substantive knowledge and the ability to create new things. We should not be surprised — look at how the civilisations of Egypt and Rome collapsed, how their people eventually could not do what their forefathers did. If we ourselves, even those of us on the Lord’s side, do not intentionally disengage from the Olodo Uprising culture and give ourselves to the study it disdains, we may find ourselves one day not knowing even a quarter of what those before us knew. And that would be a shame.
I know that neither you nor I can single-handedly change the culture. But I have a senior friend on my estate who always says, “Femi, just do your own bit.” To look at the culture and ask, “What can we do?” is self-defeating. Do your own bit, and do it right. As the hymn says, “Dare to be a Daniel, dare to stand alone, dare to have a purpose true, dare to make it known.” There is an Olodo Uprising culture in Nigeria, and everywhere in the world; I may not be able to change it, but I am not going to be part of it. I think that is a good start.
ON CLEAN STADIUMS AND PRIVATE LIVES
Next, a fascinating story reported by the BBC on Instagram, with pictures of Japanese fans at the ongoing World Cup in the United States — doing what? Cleaning up the stadium. For years, Japanese football fans have won praise for tidying stadiums at World Cup matches. After the match, the fans go around picking up debris and dirt, leaving the place spotless — something quite strange to many people in the West, and I dare say in Nigeria too. This variant of the beautiful game is shining a light on Japanese culture — and, as it turns out, on gender roles. After Japan’s match against the Netherlands in Dallas, Texas, fans picked up every scrap of litter, leaving the stands spotless — a tradition rooted in deep cultural values. International praise poured in, as it always does; this is not the first World Cup at which Japanese fans have been applauded worldwide, precisely because it is strange to many cultures.
When I was a boy I read a short story that stayed with me — I thank God for the many books I read — titled “Everybody’s Business Is Nobody’s Business.” It was about a town where a huge stone found its way onto the main road, causing great inconvenience to people navigating their carriages. The king observed that, though everyone was inconvenienced, nobody ever stopped to carry the stone away; they simply steered around it. He saw the same on many roads — nobody would do the simple, easy thing of removing the stones. So he made an announcement: it is everybody’s duty; if you find a stone obstructing the way, step down for a minute or two, carry it away, and you will have done so much good for everyone. Yet nobody did. Then one day he called a man and said, “Go and lift that stone.” The man lifted it and found underneath it coins so valuable that everyone in the city began to say, “I wish I had done that.” And the moral is: everybody’s business is nobody’s business.
That is the kind of thinking that defines the culture in the West and in many parts of Africa. “I’m just a fan who attended a match — how can it be my duty to clean the stadium? Was I the one who threw the litter?” In Nigeria or Lagos, if you tried to encourage anyone to do it, the person would say, “Are you okay? Am I the one who put it there? Don’t you know people are paid to do this?” So Japanese fans have always been praised for going around after matches, picking up every scrap of litter, leaving the stands spotless. But here is the shift in the story. These Japanese fans — mostly men — are receiving praise all over the world; people are saying, “Look at the Japanese fans; let us learn to be like them.” And yet one Japanese woman at home engaged with the story and wrote: “Japanese men — pitch in more at home.” Because, according to those who study these things, Japanese men rank very low among highly developed countries in the amount of time they spend on housework. So while Japanese men are celebrated abroad for leaving stands spotless, at home they rank among the lowest in developed nations for time spent on housework — and Japanese women, watching their men celebrated worldwide, are saying, “Thank you for making us proud over there; but pitch in more at home, do more to keep the house clean.” And “pitch in more at home” has itself now gone viral.
The Scripture calls us to an integrated faith. Jesus washed His disciples’ feet — the ultimate act of humble service. He did not say, “I will handle the big public moment, but the daily grind is beneath me.” He did not say, “For public appearances I’ll be out there showing the example, but behind closed doors, Peter, you do the washing; Thomas, you do it — you already know I’m humble, I don’t need to show it here.” No. Colossians 3:23: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord” — not “whatever you do in public.” This should convict all of us. How often do we shine in public — serving at church, volunteering, posting inspirational content — while neglecting the hidden, unglamorous work at home?
Somebody wrote: “What if our churches and homes became like those Japanese stadiums — spotless, not out of legalism, but out of love for one another? Imagine neighbourhoods and workplaces transformed by believers who clean up after themselves and serve joyfully in private spaces.” So the takeaway for those of us on the Lord’s side is a question: what is one area where you excel publicly but could grow privately? The Japanese men are doing what is right, and rightly applauded — it is not even their duty, yet they do it, a testament to the Japanese culture of cleanliness, which we should all copy. But even so, the women of Japan remind us to tell these men, when they get home, to help their wives keep the house clean, because among developed nations Japanese men rank among the lowest in time spent on housework. For us on the Lord’s side, we must know there is no compartmentalisation in the Christian life. The public life must not differ from the private life; if they do not agree, that is the classic definition of hypocrisy. So — what is one area where you excel publicly but could grow privately? I am glad this Japanese story has led us to something so deep and challenging.
ON NANCY ISIME AND HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
Next, a statement credited to one of Nigeria’s popular actresses, Nancy Isime, reported by Instablog9ja. The Nollywood actress and media personality shared her thoughts on parenthood, saying that despite her love for children she is not convinced that bringing them into the world is always the best decision. Speaking on the “Thanks for Coming” podcast, she argued that life comes with so many challenges that truly loving children could mean choosing not to have them. In her words: “The craziest thing about loving children — I feel like, if you really love children, you will not want to bring them into the world.”
I alluded to something like this yesterday, discussing the environmentalists. There are many who look at the world — the ozone layer, the heat wave, this and that — attribute it all to human action, and conclude that we need to depopulate the world; so they say, “I’m not going to bring more children into this world.” Others look at the wickedness in the world — and there is wickedness — and say, “I’m not bringing children into a world with so much wickedness.” Others look at the future and see no hope. Look at the way Nigerians talk about Nigeria: the polity, the church, the academic institutions — everywhere you look, rot and decay — and people say, “I can’t see a bright future for this country.” And likewise the world, with its wars, horrible leaders and corruption everywhere: “I can’t see a bright future for the world.”
We have to be careful in understanding the issues here. On the one hand, a Christian should not be so optimistic about this world that he forgets heaven. The person who thinks so optimistically of the world’s future that he imagines the possibility of perfection here is the person who is not thinking of heaven, because he says, “There is hope for the world, the future is bright, things can only get better, and ultimately all will be well even in this world.” On the other hand, the person who is thinking of heaven knows that things may not be perfect here, but that after this world there is the next, where everything will be perfect — where we have been promised no more tears, no more sorrow, no sickness, no death. But the Christian worldview is not “there is no hope for this world, it’s all gloom and doom, so we are only looking to heaven.” The Christian worldview is that this world is fallen, so there will always be occasions for sadness, sickness, death, inconvenience and sorrow — Jesus said we would have trouble in this world, reminding us that things will never become perfect here, but that we have hope in heaven. Yet that is not to become gloomy about the world. The Lord who put us here is the one shepherding our days, and for as long as He has put us here, it is our duty to carry out His mandate — to procreate, to have dominion, to occupy and fill the world.
So what Nancy Isime is quoted as saying — “if you love children, don’t bring them into the world” — is an idea gaining ground among many young people who say, “The world is going bad, the environment and climate will get worse, so don’t bring children into the world.” When you hear worldviews like this, you have to drill down to what underpins them, and at the root is someone who has convinced himself there is no sovereign God ruling over the affairs of men. Once you do not believe that, the future looks dark, gloomy and hopeless, and you ask, “Why bring children into this world?” But if you know there is a sovereign God who rules over the affairs of men, you will say, notwithstanding all this — even though the fig tree does not bud — “I will yet see the glory of the Lord.”
There is a quote famously attributed to Martin Luther — its attribution is debated, but it is worth citing: “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” That is the Christian approach. Even if told the world would end tomorrow, I would still plant my apple tree; I would still live as one who hopes in the sovereign God — because whatever you see around you is not the last word. The last word belongs to the sovereign God Almighty. That is why, in Habakkuk 3:17–18, the prophet said: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls” — you look around and it is all dark and gloomy — “yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.” Because what you see now does not necessarily mean the future will translate into it; the darkness you see now does not necessarily mean that is what the future will look like — because there is a hand that controls the affairs of men.
One of the most practical illustrations: in earlier decades there were academic studies projecting that the world would face mass famine, because the researchers looked at the rate of population growth and the food that could be cultivated at the time and concluded, “At this rate, population will outstrip food, and there will be famine.” Those projections did not come true. Why? Because at the time they were made, farming had not yet become mechanised and transformed by technology, which later made it possible for even limited farmland to produce many times more. The point is not that we should sit on our oars and be complacent — no, we must prepare for the future, as we see in the account of Joseph in Egypt. The Lord always wants us to prepare for the future — but not to suppose that the future lies with us. It is when we imagine that we are the architects of the future that we become gloomy, because if the future were left to us — look at the world, look at our political leaders — of course it would be dark. But the future is not in the hands of our political leaders, nor in mine, nor in yours. It is in the hands of the Lord God Almighty. That is why the prophet could say, even if the fig tree does not bud, “yet I will be joyful in the Lord.”
That was why, when the prophet Elisha spoke to the kings in Israel, he said — this is from 2 Kings 3 — “Thus says the Lord: you will not see wind or rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, so that you and your cattle and your other animals may drink.” Ordinarily, for a valley to fill with water, rain must come from above; yet the Lord said they would see neither wind nor rain, and still the valley would be filled. That is what happens when God is in the picture. That is the hope that comes from a Christian worldview, from acknowledging God as sovereign — the kind of hope that makes a person whose present conditions are awful continue to be joyful, to look forward to marriage, to look forward to having children. As that hymn, “All Will Be Well,” puts it — words by Mary Bowley Peters — “We expect a bright tomorrow, all will be well; faith can sing through days of sorrow, all is well. On our Father’s love relying, Jesus every need supplying, in living or in dying, all must be well.”
So now that we are raising a generation told to rely only on themselves, on their own work and policies, and to think through life from that lens alone — “the future will just be according to what we put in” — that is a huge mistake. And that is why many young people in the West are saying, “I’m not going to marry, I’m not going to have children, because this is a dark and gloomy world with no hope,” and why actresses like Nancy Isime say, “If you love children, don’t bring them into this world.” To be blunt, that is one of the ideas promoted by the devil himself — “don’t bring them into the world” — whereas God has said, bring them into the world, because God’s delight is in His people, the people made in His own image. I am not saying we should not plan for the future — we must. But the person with a God-centred worldview knows that even if things are the worst they can be today, they can change tomorrow, because we walk by faith and not by sight. And so we can sing with the hymn writer, “We expect a bright tomorrow, all will be well.”
If for you today the fig tree is not budding; if there are no grapes on the vine, the olive crop has failed, your fields produce no food, there are no sheep in your pen and no cattle in your stalls — please be like Habakkuk, be like all the saints who have a God-centred worldview, who know there is a God who superintends over the affairs of men. Say, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be joyful in the God of my salvation.” Do not rob yourself of your joy by simply concluding, “It’s all dark and gloomy, so I will not walk into the future with hope.” We are the children of God, and our lives must be marked by hope. Paul wrote, “Now abide faith, hope and love — but the greatest of these is love.” The greatest is love, indeed — yet hope must be part of the journey. Once you remove God from the equation, hope is gone, and then you get worldviews like this: “I love children, but I’m not going to bring them into the world; the world is going to pieces.” Well, the world will never be perfect — but as long as God is the shepherd of His people, they will never be in want.
I want to thank you so very much for spending this morning with me on On the Lord’s Side — Christian perspectives on news and current events. I hope to be with you again tomorrow by the grace of God. Whatever you do today, please remain firm on the Lord’s side. God bless you. You are listening to GospelBellsRadio.com, the Christian internet radio with a mission to engage the culture with the mind of Christ. God bless you. Engaging the culture with the mind of Christ.
