By Pauline Odhiambo
Ghanaian YouTuber Berthold Kobina Winkler Ackon, aka Wode Maya, travels the continent and sometimes beyond, making videos that aim to dispel "a distorted image of Africa around the world".
It is a mission that carries in its sweep more than just the sights, sounds and pleasant surprises that seem to spring up everywhere Maya goes.
If the 1.65 million subscribers of his YouTube channel are a yardstick of this enterprising 34-year-old man's popularity, having a street in Nigeria's erstwhile capital, Lagos, named after him is a tribute to the reach and impact of the message in his medium.
A video posted on the channel on January 31 — "I found a street named after me in Nigeria" — shows a bemused Maya looking on as a civic worker unveils the street signage bearing his name.
"What a great honour to have my name on a street in Lagos, Nigeria," he wrote on Facebook, posting a picture of him next to the red-and-white signage after its inauguration on January 27.
Fellow YouTuber Steven Ndukwu, who is from Nigeria, was also at the event. He later shared a picture of him with Maya on Instagram.
"Great to accompany my friend Wode Maya as he unveils 'his' new street in Lagos, even though he is Ghanaian," Ndukwu remarked tongue-in-cheek, to which Maya responded, "I am now a Nigerian, bro!"
Positive narratives
Each episode of Maya's travels and insightful chats – his channel content includes over 1,500 videos that have garnered 204-odd million views – carries a description encapsulating what it stands for.
"We are changing the narrative via YouTube videos, one country at a time. Until the history of Africa is told by Africans, the story of greatness will always glorify the imperialists!" he writes in a recent video about a teacher in Lesotho who runs a goat farm.
The decision to honour Maya with a street named after him outside his native country has invited widespread endorsement, with many congratulating him for his contributions to African media and culture.
"He is proof that anyone can achieve anything they set their mind on," says Agnes Wangeci, one of Maya's fans in Kenya.
Tamuel Sol, a follower in Nigeria, believes Maya's appeal transcends boundaries, making him an ambassador of the continent rather than just a part of it. "Maya deserves a street named after him in every African country. I am proud of my fellow Nigerians for doing this (starting the trend," Sol tells TRT Afrika.
Meteoric rise to fame
Africa, regarded as a cradle of talent spanning every field of human endeavour, has scores of online creators churning out content that strikes a chord with audiences worldwide.
Maya is counted among the most influential, rising to fame in 2017 while studying aeronautical engineering in China and vlogging about his experiences. He would go on to quit his regular job to focus on content creation.
The renowned YouTuber has since won several awards, including Online Creator of the Year at Ghana's 2022 Entertainment Achievement Awards.
He was one of six prominent YouTubers from around the world invited to cover the annual conference of the World Economic Forum in 2023. He was also at the Munich Security Conference in Germany the same year.
➤Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel for more stories.
