Sola Benson

Veteran entertainer and activist, Charly Boy, has disclosed that he played a key role in connecting former President Olusegun Obasanjo with content creator Isbae U for the latter’s popular interview programme, Curiosity Made Me Ask.

Charly Boy made the revelation in a post shared on X on Tuesday while reflecting on Obasanjo’s appearance on the programme and the interaction between the former president and the young comedian and content creator.

According to him, the encounter offered a broader lesson about the importance of older generations creating opportunities for younger people and being willing to engage with them on their own terms.

“Sometimes, the greatest thing you fit give a young person no be money. Na opportunity. Look at wetin happen when Baba entered Bae U’s world,” Charly Boy wrote in Pidgin English.

He said Obasanjo’s participation was significant because the former president, despite his age and extensive experience in public life, was willing to embrace the unconventional format of the programme rather than remain distant or overly formal.

“A man of his age and experience sat down with a young man whose style dey completely different from wetin he is used to. Baba no just sit there looking serious. He matched the energy, played along and showed Nigerians another side of himself,” he said.

Charly Boy subsequently disclosed that he was instrumental in bringing the former president and the young content creator together.

“And who helped make that connection happen? CharlyBoy. Fada believed in the young people behind that show enough to pull Baba into their space,” he said.

Obasanjo’s appearance on Curiosity Made Me Ask attracted considerable attention, particularly because of the former president’s willingness to participate in the programme’s characteristic humour, teasing and informal exchanges.

During the interview, the former president was asked questions touching on contemporary Nigerian popular culture. At one point, Obasanjo said he was unfamiliar with entertainers such as Don Jazzy, Poco Lee and Carter Efe.

Isbae U also maintained the playful tone of the programme by jokingly presenting Obasanjo as his former employee. He claimed that he had paid the former president’s salary, provided his food and covered his rent at Aso Rock between 1999 and 2007.

The interview also provided an opportunity for Obasanjo to speak about Charly Boy, recalling how his perception of the entertainer changed after he witnessed the care Charly Boy showed towards his late father, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa.

For Charly Boy, however, the significance of the interview extended beyond the entertainment value of the exchange. He used the occasion to call on older Nigerians to provide practical support and opportunities for younger people rather than merely encouraging them to succeed.

“To the older generation: don’t only tell young people to succeed. Give them room. Open doors. Recommend them. Trust them with opportunities,” he wrote.

He equally urged young Nigerians to take responsibility for preparing themselves for opportunities when they arise.

“To the younger generation: don’t wait for somebody to hand you a future. Build something worth believing in. When opportunity comes, be ready,” he said.

Charly Boy said meaningful progress requires cooperation between generations, with older people opening doors and younger people demonstrating the readiness to make use of the opportunities available to them.

“Because sometimes, all a young person needs is one person with influence to say: ‘I believe in what you are doing. Go ahead.’

“And sometimes, all an older person needs is the willingness to say: ‘Let me enter your world and see what you are building.’

“When generations support each other, everybody gets to grow. Na so legacy suppose work,” he added.