Flutterwave co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, has criticised Nigeria’s younger generation, describing them as “a generation of influencers” more interested in appearances than building lasting institutions.
Aboyeji made the remarks during an interview on the Afropolitan Podcast conducted last week, with clips from the conversation gaining widespread attention on social media on Tuesday.
“The generation of people who built Nigeria has passed away. What you have now are influencers. We’re a generation of influencers,” he said.
According to the tech entrepreneur, many young Nigerians have been conditioned to seek visibility rather than create enduring value.
“So people are trained to perform, not to build. And you see it seeping into companies, where people want to perform, building a company, perform entrepreneurship,” he said.
“People don’t understand value. People don’t understand building. They don’t have the wisdom to build. They don’t know things take time.”
Aboyeji urged his generation to abandon what he described as performative success and focus instead on creating institutions that would outlive them.
“It just takes a few people to just say, ‘Guys, I’m tired of performing,'” he said, adding that he had stepped away from X, formerly Twitter, because “it’s just a waste of my time.”
He clarified that public conversations remained important but questioned whether his generation had produced leaders capable of governing the country.
“Today, is there anybody under the age of 50 who would be comfortable being your president?” he asked.
Drawing comparisons with older political figures, Aboyeji said President Bola Tinubu had demonstrated national leadership qualities at a relatively young age.
“Tinubu, by the age of 35, was presidential candidate material. He financed National Democratic Coalition (NADECO),” he said.
He also referenced Nigerian Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi while arguing that his generation had focused more on criticism than institution-building.
“Same thing with Peter Obi, he built a bank… at 35, he owned a bank.
“So all our generation of people that complain about Tinubu are doing, all we’ve done is insulting,” he said.
Questioning the economic achievements of younger Nigerians, Aboyeji asked, “Who in our generation even owns one? Under the age of 50, who owns a bank that is under the age of 50?”
He lamented that many people were chasing online relevance instead of acquiring significant assets.
“We are different versions of Davido and Wizkid… we are just performing artists, all of us,” he said.
Calling for a change in mindset, the entrepreneur added, “Let me go and enter streets. And build. And build something that I can pass on to my children. Is it your Twitter you’re going to give your children?”
Reflecting on his own journey, Aboyeji said he had come to realise that spending time seeking attention online was unproductive.
“I can’t waste my time… while, at 35, my mates were buying banks. What did I buy?” he said.
He concluded with a blunt assessment of his generation’s legacy.
“So we’re a generation of jokers. We just need to tell ourselves the truth first… then we’ll now be able to say, ‘I think playtime is over.'”
𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎: 𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 — 𝐅𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐨-𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫
— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) July 14, 2026
Credit: Youtube | Afropolitan Podcast pic.twitter.com/n36ig7jEFo
