‘TikTok Saved Me After My ‘Okrika’ Business Failed’- Jay Open Up

Media personality Joseph Onaolapo, popularly known as Jay On-air Media personality Joseph Onaolapo, popularly known as Jay On-air

Media personality Joseph Onaolapo, popularly known as Jay On-air, has shared how he turned to selling secondhand clothes, also known as ‘okrika’, to survive after leaving his corporate job.

In a chat with Chude Jideonwo, Jay revealed that he quit his office job due to unpaid wages and the feeling of being undervalued, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I want to roll with the big boys and big girls and all of that. I came to Lagos from Benin. In two seconds, they were employing me. I sent my CV to every radio station. Every radio station. Nothing happened,” he said.

Jay eventually found his way into an online radio station, but things didn’t go as expected. This led him into the corporate world, where he worked in roles such as executive assistant and communications executive. Unfortunately, that path didn’t offer the stability he needed.

“…Was owed salaries a lot. I was treated like I was not worth anything. That all just crippled me. And then, eventually, I left the job. And I started a business,” he explained.

Turning to entrepreneurship, Jay began selling okrika, and the business picked up. He became popular as the “shorts guy” because of the demand for the shorts he sold. Things started to look promising until COVID-19 lockdowns disrupted everything.

“And COVID-19 hit. I am like, oh my God. The business just, well, because it’s buying clothes. I was selling Okrika by the way. And it was becoming a thriving business. I was becoming the shorts guy. People would come to me to buy shorts. I tried. This one was actually starting to work. It was starting to work. I remember, I am a big fan of Waje. And I remember she was having a concert at the time. And I could afford it,” he said.

“Right. To use this money. So it was such a big deal to me. And it just hit me because of N10,000. And COVID-19 hit. Yeah. And everything just. Silent. Became silent. I was home. I didn’t have a job. Nothing was working for me. And then people were on TikTok. And I was just like, what is happening here?”

It was during this period that he discovered TikTok and began creating content to lift his spirits. He started live-syncing sounds and found healing through creativity.

“And that is how I, you know, got on TikTok. Live syncing sounds. Just to have fun. And that’s why I love creating so much. Because when I was depressed. When I was sad. I wake up in the morning. I have my bath. I have my shower. I would be on TikTok. How many sounds can I create in one hour? How quickly can I live sync sounds.”