My starting blogging was something I never imagined. In 2011, I saved some money from my school transport fare by trekking to school instead of taking an Okada (commercial motorcycle). I used the money to purchase internet time from Oyi’s Cyber Cafe in Nkpor. That was my first time accessing the internet from a computer instead of a Java phone, which we only used for downloading games from wapktrick.com and other Java game blogs.
I entered google.com, which I had always used whenever I wanted to download games, and searched “how to make money online.” The first websites that came up were 2createawebsite.com by Lisa Irby, Shoutmeloud.com by Harsh Agrawal, and blogtyrant.com. That led me to study blogging from these three websites for one year. Mind you, I knew absolutely nothing about tech or the internet except downloading games and playing on my Java phone.
After studying blogging for a year in 2012, I needed money to start, but I had none. My family wouldn’t give me any money to put into an internet business when I was supposed to be in school and paying attention to my studies. So, I sought blogging communities on Facebook. That was how I encountered the Wapka website-building and PBNL PHP framework. I ran the Wapka blog for the rest of 2012.
In 2013, I needed to get serious, so I joined my friends to hawk Dr Iguedo’s Goko Cleanser, a herbal medicine that was popular in Onitsha Metropolis. I worked with them for one year and earned enough commissions to buy a new laptop, hosting, and a domain name for blogging. I opened my first blog, then (howtokreate.com), to teach people my research and tips for blogging. I made my first money with it from my website design advert. I was designing blogs for clients and charging a fee.
In 2015, I pivoted to entertainment and music blogging because that’s where the money and traffic were, too. I opened a few blogs at that time, including the popular anavibes.com, and also contributed to okhype.com. That pivot gained me relevance among Southeast entertainment and beyond. That was when my life changed, until 2018, when I moved into history blogging.
Why and how I shifted to historical writing
I shifted to history blogging because I loved reading history, listening to oral stories, and watching documentaries. This has always been my passion, but I never paid it much attention until that year, 2018. I had already established myself by saving enough and acquiring a few assets. I did all that so I could follow my passion without running out of funds.
I moved my then blog, crumour.com, from entertainment to entertainment history. In 2020, I also relocated my online shop in Nigeria, nzeora.com, to focus on history, as I was leaving the country for an extended period and did not trust the management to be honest and transparent with the business while I was away. This caused me to stop the production of my branded gadgets from China.
Later, I started Ozikoro in 2024, a blog dedicated to exploring Igbo and African histories and cultures. Through Ozikoro, I channelled my passion for uncovering indigenous knowledge, traditional systems, and forgotten narratives, expanding my work beyond entertainment into the preservation and study of African heritage.
Moving away from entertainment and marketing to history blogging was difficult, but I needed to pursue something I was passionate about, instead of just chasing the money.
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