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There was a time when every Nigerian celebrity wanted to be on television. Then came the era when everybody wanted a YouTube channel. After that, social media became the new kingdom, with celebrities fighting for Instagram followers, Twitter trends and viral moments. But now, there is a new fad in town, and everybody seems to want to sit behind a microphone.
From Ebuka Obi-Uchendu to Banky W, Daddy Freeze, Nedu Wazobia, Taymesan, Moses Ida-Michaels, Empress Njamah and several other familiar faces, Nigerian celebrities are increasingly turning to Podcasts and long-form conversation shows. Some are hosting their own shows. Some are joining existing podcast crews. Others are appearing as guests on popular platforms and suddenly revealing sides of themselves that fans never knew existed.
And, of course, the public is loving every minute of it. Because Nigerians have always loved gist. We want to know what really happened. We want to know who dated whom. We want to know who was broke before becoming famous. We want to know which celebrity almost gave up. We want to know why a marriage ended, why an Actor disappeared from the screen, why an artiste stopped speaking to another artiste and what really happened behind that viral controversy.
For years, celebrities depended on journalists, television presenters and entertainment magazines to tell their stories. Today, many of them are looking at the microphone and saying, “If my story must be told, why can’t I tell it myself?”
That is the big reason behind the sudden explosion of celebrity podcasts.
Podcasting has moved from being a niche digital hobby to becoming one of the most important part of Nigeria’s entertainment and media industry. In October 2025, Nigeria hosted its first dedicated podcast and storytelling festival, PodFest Naija, which attracted more than 1,500 creators, storytellers, brands and policymakers. The event, held in Lagos, was a major indication that podcasting had moved beyond a side hustle for a few digital creators and had become a serious part of the country’s creative economy.
And Nigerian celebrities have been watching closely.
One of the biggest names to enter the space is none other than Ebuka Obi-Uchendu.
Ebuka has already conquered television. He has hosted some of the biggest shows in the country and become one of the most recognisable faces in Nigerian entertainment. But in 2025, he took his media career into another dimension with MENtality with Ebuka, a podcast that explores masculinity, emotions, identity and the pressures placed on modern men.
The show also features Banky W as co-host, and the first season brought together names including Seun Kuti, Johnny Drille, Timi Dakolo, Hermes Iyele and Noble Igwe. Suddenly, Ebuka was not just asking celebrities about their latest projects. He was asking men to talk about fear, pressure, vulnerability, relationships, money and the expectations of being a man.
That is the beauty of podcasting.
Television gives you minutes.
A podcast can give you hours.
On television, a celebrity may be asked, “How did you feel about the success of your new movie?” and before the answer is complete, the programme has moved on to the next segment. On a podcast, that same question can open the door to a two-hour conversation about childhood, rejection, family, failure, money and success.
This is why the podcast has become so attractive to celebrities.
For someone like Ebuka, who has spent years asking other people questions, podcasting also provides a chance to create the kind of conversations he wants to have. He is no longer simply appearing on somebody else’s platform. He is building his own.
And this is what many celebrities are beginning to understand.
The real power is not just in being famous.
The real power is in owning the platform.
Look at Taymesan.
With Tea With Tay, the media personality has built a show that has become known for warm, intimate and often revealing conversations with celebrities and creatives. Guests such as Bimbo Ademoye and Uche Montana have appeared on the show, and the format allows them to speak beyond the usual publicity questions about their latest movie or project.
Then there is The Honest Bunch.
For years, Nedu Wazobia was known as a comedian, actor, radio personality and television host. But The Honest Bunch turned him into one of the most talked-about podcast hosts in Nigeria.
The show became popular for its provocative conversations about relationships, sex, money, society and the complicated business of being Nigerian. The conversations were often loud, controversial and deliberately unfiltered. Every episode seemed capable of producing a viral clip.
And in the Nigerian digital space, a viral clip is currency.
The Honest Bunch became so influential that Daddy Freeze later joined the podcast’s hosting crew in 2025. The addition of the veteran broadcaster and media personality brought another layer of experience and controversy to the platform.
This is perhaps another reason celebrities are increasingly attracted to podcasts.
A podcast can create a controversy in the morning, generate thousands of social media conversations in the afternoon and become the subject of entertainment blogs by evening.
One sentence can become a headline.
One opinion can become a trending topic.
One guest can completely change the direction of public conversation.
Even Nollywood actress, Empress Njamah has now entered the conversation-show space with The Diary, a platform built around relationships, family, personal growth, faith, culture, mental well-being and career. The project is another example of an established celebrity using long-form conversation to create a platform that goes beyond the traditional entertainment space.
The message is clear.
Celebrities no longer want to be known only for what they do on screen.
They want to talk about what they think.
They want to discuss what they have experienced.
They want to share what they have learnt.
They want to tell their own stories.
And they want to build audiences around those stories.
There is also the money.
Let us not pretend that celebrities are entering podcasting simply because they love microphones and deep conversations.
There is serious money in attention.
A successful podcast can attract sponsorships, brand partnerships, product placements, YouTube revenue, live recordings, ticketed events and exclusive media deals. It can also create opportunities for the host to promote personal businesses, products and other ventures.
A celebrity who already has a large following can bring an audience to a podcast from day one.
That is a major advantage.
Imagine a musician with five million followers launching a weekly podcast. Even if only a fraction of those followers watch every episode, the show can immediately become attractive to brands.
Now imagine that the podcast is not simply about the celebrity’s personal life but about something with commercial value.
A fashion podcast can attract clothing brands.
A business podcast can attract banks and fintech companies.
A relationship podcast can attract lifestyle brands.
A fitness podcast can attract sportswear companies.
A celebrity can transform personal influence into a media business.
And this is why podcasting is no longer just content.
It is becoming an asset.
A celebrity’s Instagram page is controlled by Instagram.
A celebrity’s TikTok audience is controlled by TikTok.
But a podcast can become an independent media property.
It can have its own name.
Its own audience.
Its own sponsors.
Its own archives.
Its own brand identity.
And if the celebrity is smart enough, the podcast can eventually become bigger than the celebrity who created it.
That is the dream.
The Nigerian podcast industry is also benefiting from the rise of video.
This is where the Nigerian podcast scene differs significantly from the traditional image of podcasting. In Nigeria, many podcasts are now filmed and distributed as video content. The full conversation goes on YouTube, while shorter clips are distributed across Instagram, TikTok and other platforms.
One conversation can therefore become 30 pieces of content.
Podcasting offers a way to remain constantly present.
Even when there is no new album.
Even when there is no new movie.
Even when there is no major endorsement deal.
The celebrity can still be in the conversation.
This is why some celebrities are now becoming media companies in their own right.
The singer is no longer just a singer.
The actor is no longer just an actor.
The reality star is no longer just a reality star.
They are hosts.
Producers.
Interviewers.
Content creators.
Media entrepreneurs.
And the podcast becomes the centre of the new empire.
There is also the question of legacy.
Nigeria has produced some of the biggest entertainers in Africa, but many of their stories have never been properly documented. There are legendary actors whose early struggles are known only through scattered interviews. There are musicians who built entire careers in an era before social media and whose stories have never been fully preserved.
Podcasts can change that.
Imagine a veteran Nollywood actor sitting down for three hours to tell the complete story of their career.
Imagine an Afrobeat pioneer discussing the early days of the industry.
Imagine a legendary producer explaining how some of Nigeria’s biggest stars were discovered.
Imagine a former reality TV star explaining what fame did to their mental health.
These conversations are not just entertainment.
They are history.
And celebrities are increasingly realising that their stories are valuable.
The audience wants to hear them.
The brands want to be associated with them.
And the platforms want the attention they generate.
This is why the Nigerian podcast industry has continued to expand.
There is now a show for almost every interest.
There are relationship podcasts.
Business podcasts.
Sports podcasts.
Political podcasts.
Faith podcasts.
Pop culture podcasts.
Comedy podcasts.
Mental health podcasts.
Celebrity interview podcasts.
And, of course, podcasts where people simply sit down and argue about everything under the sun.
The audience is there.
The question is whether celebrities can keep them.
Because fame alone is not enough.
A famous person can attract listeners to the first episode.
But only an interesting conversation can bring them back.
That is the biggest challenge facing celebrity podcasts.
There is a temptation to believe that simply putting a famous face behind a microphone will automatically create a successful show.
The audience is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Nigerians can tell when a conversation is completely scripted. They can tell when a guest is only appearing to promote a movie. They can tell when somebody is pretending to be vulnerable because they need publicity.
Authenticity has become one of the most valuable currencies in podcasting.
This is why a celebrity who may appear perfectly polished on Instagram can suddenly become more interesting when talking casually in a podcast studio.
The audience sees the pauses.
The laughter.
The discomfort.
The unexpected answers.
The moments when the celebrity forgets that the camera is there.
And sometimes, those are the moments that become the most popular clips.
This is also why podcasting is changing the relationship between celebrities and their fans.
The fan is no longer just watching the celebrity perform.
The fan is listening to the celebrity think.
That is a much deeper relationship.
It is one thing to watch an actor play a character.
It is another thing to listen to that actor talk about their childhood, fears, ambitions and regrets.
It is one thing to listen to a musician sing about heartbreak.
It is another thing to hear that musician explain the real heartbreak behind the song.
It is one thing to see a celebrity on the red carpet.
It is another thing to sit with them for two hours and listen to their life story.
That intimacy is what makes podcasting so powerful.
And this is why more Nigerian celebrities are entering the space.
The microphone gives them control.
The camera gives them visibility.
The internet gives them distribution.
And their fame gives them an audience.
Together, these four things have created one of the biggest opportunities in the modern entertainment industry.
For some celebrities, podcasting is a business.
For others, it is a publicity tool.
For some, it is a chance to build a second career.
For others, it is a way to speak about subjects they care about.
And for many, it is simply an opportunity to control their own narrative.
Because the truth is, the old media system is changing.
Celebrities no longer have to wait for a journalist to call.
They no longer have to wait for a television producer to give them a slot.
They no longer have to depend entirely on entertainment pages to tell their stories.
They can create their own platforms.
They can ask their own questions.
They can choose their own guests.
They can tell their own stories.
They can own the conversation.
And in a world where everybody is fighting for attention, the person holding the microphone often has the power.
That is why Ebuka is doing MENtality with Ebuka.
That is why Taymesan continues to build Tea With Tay.
That is why Nedu’s The Honest Bunch became such a major part of Nigerian pop culture.
That is why Daddy Freeze joined the conversation.
That is why Moses Ida-Michaels created Touch The Sky.
That is why Empress Njamah launched The Diary.
And that is why more celebrities are looking at the podcast industry and asking themselves one very important question:
“If everybody is talking about me, why shouldn’t I be the one controlling the conversation?”
The answer, increasingly, is simple.
They should.
And they are.
The era of the celebrity waiting for the media has gradually given way to the era of the celebrity becoming the media.
The microphone is no longer just a microphone.
For many Nigerian celebrities, it is the beginning of a new empire.
– By Emmanuel Daniji
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