Nigerian content creator Asherkine has pushed back against widespread accusations that his now-viral video in which he flew a young canteen worker from Ogun State to South Africa was staged and not a genuine encounter.
The video features the influencer approaching 21-year-old Chiamaka Clare while she was working at a local canteen. After chatting briefly, he invited her to Lagos for a belated Valentine’s outing, following her revelation that she had spent the holiday at work. Clare was filmed calling her mother for permission before agreeing to go.
What followed was documented across multiple clips: a shopping spree through several Lagos stores, a dinner outing, surprise gifts — and eventually, a flight to South Africa, where the pair went clubbing and took a helicopter ride.
The content quickly spread online, but so did the skepticism. Many viewers questioned whether the meet-cute was real, pointing to Clare’s social media presence as evidence that she was not, in fact, a struggling canteen worker. Critics alleged she works as a model and interior designer and had previously travelled outside Nigeria.
Asherkine addressed the backlash directly on X, dismissing what he called an inability by some people to accept that a young woman could be working a canteen job in Ogun State simply because she “looks too good” for it. He also noted that she had family ties in Lagos and that the video, contrary to what some assumed, was not filmed within 48 hours but unfolded over the course of a week following their first meeting.
The 27-year-old, who built his following by surprising everyday Nigerians street vendors, students, transport workers with gifts, shopping trips, and school fee payments, said the backlash would not change the kind of content he creates. He reflected on his early days filming entertainers around Lagos as a teenager, and credits that hustle with eventually landing him work documenting artists including Olamide and Asake.
With millions of followers across TikTok and Instagram and regular brand partnerships funding his giveaways, Asherkine remains one of Nigeria’s most recognisable content creators and, it seems, one of its most controversial.
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