Writer and political aide, Gimba Kakanda, has weighed in on the controversy surrounding Paystack co-founder, Ezra Olubi, arguing that Olubi’s eccentric public persona was a deliberate performance shaped by foreign pop-culture influences.
Kakanda, a columnist and aide to Vice President Kashim Shettima, stated in a Facebook post that Olubi’s mannerisms reflected a growing trend in which unconventional behaviour is mistaken for brilliance.
According to him, “People like this Paystack co-founder, Ezra Olubi, are inventions of a pop-culture socialisation that suggests you cannot be a genius unless you are unconventional or deviate from established patterns of behaviour. This Hollywood-inspired mythologising of talent has shaped an unfortunate image of those who rise above the ordinary.”
He added that society often wrongly “fetishises” those perceived to be highly intelligent, creating space for harmful behaviour to be excused or romanticised.
“One can be a genius and still dress conventionally, subscribe to mainstream beliefs, uphold common values, remain mentally stable, maintain the grooming and hygiene of an everyday person,” he wrote, criticising what he described as a “performative distortion” that elevates oddity over substance.
Kakanda warned that this culture has encouraged “all manner of misfits, from paedophiles to zoophiles, to parade their behavioural flaws as evidence of exceptional intelligence.”
He further argued that this trend explains why Olubi allegedly projected himself as a “god,” attracting admirers who reinforced the image. “But then again, what sort of god rushes to deactivate his social media accounts for fear of outrage and accountability?” he added.
Ezra Olubi, co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer of Paystack, was suspended earlier this week following allegations of sexual misconduct. Several of his old posts on X (formerly Twitter) resurfaced, sparking public outrage over their graphic nature, including content perceived as sexualising minors and animals.
