A Nigerian X user, Yẹmí-Ìdàmú Ànọ́bí, has written an open letter to Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), urging him to suspend the monetisation program for Nigerian accounts. The appeal, posted on July 5, 2026, criticises the rise in engagement farming and the posting of disturbing content driven by the pursuit of revenue payouts.
Background of X Monetisation in Nigeria
X officially rolled out its Ads Revenue Sharing program globally on July 28, 2023, allowing verified creators to earn money from ads displayed in their replies. Nigerian accounts began receiving payments around August 2023, shortly after the program launched. Musk acquired the company for $44 billion in October 2022.
Man's Appeal to Elon Musk
Reacting to a verified Nigerian user's tweet containing disturbing images, Yẹmí tagged Musk's account and wrote: 'Good morning, @elonmusk. I know a lot of Nigerians will come for me over this, but please consider suspending monetization for Nigerian accounts. Too many people are farming engagement and posting nonsense just to chase revenue payouts.'
Reactions from Nigerians
The appeal sparked a wave of criticism and backlash from other Nigerians on X. User @mr__prolific commented: 'It’s really disgusting the kind of daft things Nigerian youths post for engagement. They act with so much low IQ on X.' Another user, @mamoh24, argued: 'So u won do am like Adam abi? Bcus of am na why we dey here, so bcus of 1 pesin make all suffer? Omo u no fit be leader oo. Cus if one state offend u, the whole country go fill am? chai.'
@okereke_victor5 defended the practice: 'U know say job no dey Nigeria. Whatever they are using to make money on Twitter leave them na No be say them dey thief Abi u wan dey feed them.' @greyham_17 advised: 'OG in as much as I hate some of this stuff, please let them be it takes courage to and a whole lot to do something like dis. I bet you can’t. Also, direct this energy to the Nigeria government. In doing so, a lot of this will change and u won’t have to appeal for tins like dis.'
Criticism of the Appeal
@Shyle555 pointed out: 'Mr., maybe you need to read how monetization works. You will understand that the post behind the reason for you asking for suspension of monetization of Nigerian accounts won't even make meaningful revenue from being dumb! X understands the game!' @atomthegreat_ accused Yẹmí of also farming engagement: 'You sef dey Farm with this post. So regardless everybody dey farm engagement.'
Impact of X Pay on Content Quality
Legit.ng previously reported that the pressure to go viral has driven some Nigerian content creators to invent stories and spread misinformation to chase Musk's X pay. One notable perpetrator involved a false story about Nigerian billionaire Tony Elumelu, which did not go unpunished.
