Chude Jideonwo has worked on political campaigns as a job for years. The 2015 Buhari campaign was the one he believed in. "Even me, I drank from my own supply." After the win, one of his dearest friends called and said, "Today, I think we've created a monster." Before the campaigns and the Villa, he was a kid in a Lagos private school, flogged in front of the whole assembly because his parents couldn't pay school fees. By 15 he was working full time. "I shall not be poor. It will never happen." Chude co-founded RED with Adebola Williams, the company behind The Future Awards Africa and YNaija, and his teams ran communications for Buhari in 2015 and Nana Akufo-Addo in Ghana in 2016. He hosts #WithChude, one of Africa's most watched talk shows, and has put $500,000 of his own money into the Fourth Mainland Fund for African creators. In this episode we get into the night Goodluck Jonathan learned the 2011 election was postponed (Chude was in the room), why Peter Obi has done more interviews than every Nigerian president since Babangida combined, why Dangote's survival was never guaranteed, the $1,000 month that put #WithChude behind a paywall, and why "it's the local taste that scales." Become a Member of The Room (Afropolitan Private Membership) Join our private community for deeper insights and exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast EPISODE SPONSORS Zobo Money — Zobo is a money transfer app built for Africans in the diaspora. It lets you send money from the US, UK, and Europe to countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, and more. https://www.zobo.money/afropolitan BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get a $10 bonus when you sign up, complete your KYC, and send $50 or more to Africa. Hisa — Hisa is an all-investments platform that lets you invest in Nigerian stocks, US stocks and ETFs from one app. https://invite.hisa.co/7fkf/AFROPOLITAN BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get your first two trades commission-free. CONVO BY AFROPOLITAN Book 1:1 calls with Africa's boldest thinkers: https://convo.vip/ WHERE TO FIND CHUDE JIDEONWO Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chudeity YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/chude Full #WithChude episodes: https://www.withchude.com Substack: https://withchude.substack.com JOY, INC. AND THE FOURTH MAINLAND FUND Website: https://joyinc.xyz AFROPOLITAN Twitter/X: https://x.com/afropolitan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afropolitanpodcast Newsletter: https://www.afropolitan.io/newsletter Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast TIMESTAMPS 0:00 "I disliked Buhari intensely" 3:18 Reading the media for narratives at 19 5:13 Is anyone in politics telling the truth? 9:26 RED was built for content, PR paid the bills 12:52 Buhari's fourth run "pulls up in a Rolls Royce" 13:50 Free masterclass: Peter Obi's campaign 16:44 More interviews than every president since Babangida 17:24 "Peter Obi is the billboard" 23:44 The Room on Patreon 24:35 Sponsor: Zobo Money 25:20 Sponsor: Hisa 26:27 Why this election feels eerily quiet 29:49 Dangote's IPO and his legacy 32:56 The fight of Dangote's life 35:42 The note he wrote in the Transcorp Hilton penthouse 39:35 In Jonathan's sitting room when 2011 was postponed 40:46 Running the candidate's Twitter in 2015 41:55 "Most of the problems in Nigeria are stupidity" 43:32 What ambition forces you to become in Lagos 44:28 The day his dad lost his job 47:28 Flogged at assembly over school fees 49:34 What hustling since 15 cost him 53:09 Why he got bored of powerful people 57:14 Why Nigeria projected its hopes onto Buhari 1:00:10 "This one, I believed it" 1:01:37 "I think we've created a monster" 1:03:34 "I should have known better" 1:05:18 What Nigeria felt like before 2015 1:10:37 Ghana and the Akufo-Addo campaign 1:15:44 Copy and pasting the Buhari playbook 1:17:38 Why African governments ignore communication 1:20:15 Can Nigerian media survive without politics? 1:24:26 How government patronage entered the media 1:27:38 Whatever happened to Tell Magazine 1:31:33 Should Nigerian creators charge LA prices? 1:37:27 "I thought my show was going to fail" 1:39:38 $1,000 in the first month behind a paywall 1:42:50 Why waiting on brands costs creators power 1:45:43 How the Fourth Mainland Fund started 1:54:41 He pitched Netflix on podcasts years ago 1:57:44 "The spirit of almost there" 2:05:03 "Stop trying to tell African stories to the world" 2:07:40 Every time he followed the data, he failed 2:11:05 "It's the local taste that scales" 2:18:01 "Capital has a point of view" 2:20:50 Study Tunde Ednut and Instablog 2:26:51 Why he won't make another Diezani documentary 2:30:05 The lesson that cost him the most 2:33:35 26 years of partnership with Adebola Williams 2:37:20 Rapid fire, presented by Glenmorangie 2:41:03 What's gotten better with time 2:43:23 What legacy means to him 2:46:13 Who should be in this chair next
