Perhaps the story should have been how two friends met and became the faces of Diaspora Nollywood
If
you’ve spent 5 minutes on Twitter, TikTok, or in any UK Nigerian WhatsApp group
in the last 10 years, you must have heard
two names-Yinka Mayungbo and Lola Onigbogi.
Yinka and Lola didn’t just get popular. They became
the bridge between Lagos and London.
Yinka grew up in Abeokuta. First child, loud voice,
drama club President. She studied Theatre Arts at UNILAG, then moved to the UK
in 2010 for her Masters. While in England, she paid her bills doing event
hosting and MC work for Owambe parties in South London where she lived. People
said “that girl has mouth and from there,her story began to emerge. She is still writing her
story till this day.
Lola,on
the other hand, grew up in Ibadan. Quiet, book-smart, and tech-obsessed. She
studied Computer Science, then moved to the UK in 2011. She worked in digital
marketing by day and was editing YouTube videos for Churches and small
businesses by night.
City
People gathered that the two reportedly
met in 2013 at a Nigerian Independence Day event in Trafalgar Square.
While Yinka was hosting, Lola was filming for free “to build portfolio.”
Yinka
watched the footage later and called her: “Lola, you made me look like
Genevieve”. We need to work together.And then the break! Nigerians in the UK
loved Nollywood but there was no one
speaking to them about Nollywood in their own accent. UK television stations didn’t cover it.
Nigerian blogs didn’t understand UK narratives so there was a void.
Lola
and Yinka saw this and they started a
YouTube channel from Lola’s kitchen in Peckham called -Gist With Yinka &
Lola.Yinka does the hot takes, movie reviews, ratings, street interviews. She
could turn a 2-minute gist into a 20-minute conversation.
Lola
is more into strategy. She figured out YouTube. Thumbnails, upload times etc. She
also built relationships with Producers in Lagos and got exclusive clips to
show Naija viewers in the UK.
There
are hundreds of Nollywood reviewers in the UK but Yinka and Lola hit different
because they spoke Naija language and are exceptional in their delivery.
They
weren’t in Lagos, and they weren’t fully British in their delivery...they were
in-between,which sat well with the viewers. And 2 million people in the UK felt
it. That is the depth of their popularity.Those who have followed their path
say they have been consistent and clean,with no scandals. No dragging people
for clout. While other channels chased gossip, they chased issues,actor
interviews, Producer breakdowns, how this film was made etc.
Brands
noticed, and by 2019, DSTV UK, Gino, and
Indomie were sponsoring their shows.
Yinka
and Lola built a large following within Nigerians in the
UK.Every December they host “Gistmas” — a live show plus movie screening in
London where 3,000 plus people would show up, mainly Nigerians.
During
COVID, they did daily Instagram Lives: “Lockdown Gist.” People tuned in just to
feel less alone in their homes.
It
was in 2020, Lola and Yinka’s popularity turned into big business when they launched the ‘Gist With
Y&L Podcast and it hit Number 1 on Apple Podcasts Nigeria and in UK for 8
weeks. In 2022,they signed a deal to host the UK Red carpet for AMVCA and
Toronto Nollywood Film Festival.In 2024, they produced their first
documentary-London to Lagos. It trended on Netflix Nigeria for 3 weeks.
In
2025,they hit 4.1M YouTube subscribers, 1.8M on Instagram plus 500M plus in
total views.
Today,
if a Nollywood movie wants to trend in the UK, the film first goes to Yinka and Lola and you can
rest, assured. People love their dynamics because they are real. The popularity
of Yinka and Lola is way out of belief to many.Together, they continue to make
Nigerians in UK and diaspora feel like home.
Wole Alakija
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