Nigerian actress and media personality Temi Ajibade has openly embraced the label of a “nepo baby,” saying she has no reason to deny the advantages she enjoyed through her family’s influence and background.
Speaking on a recent episode of The How Far Podcast, which she co-hosts with her husband, singer Mr Eazi, Temi said recognising privilege is simply being honest and does not take away from anyone’s accomplishments.
Temi, the daughter of billionaire businessman Femi Otedola, argued that privilege goes beyond having famous parents, explaining that it also includes growing up with financial security, quality education and opportunities that many people do not have.
“You don’t have to be famous to be privileged. Privilege is growing up in a situation where your parents had a certain amount of money, you didn’t have to struggle, and you had access to education, food and a foundation in life that not everybody gets,” she said.
Using a hypothetical example, Temi explained that nepotism comes into play when family connections create opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable.
“If our child wanted to become an artiste, you would introduce them to a producer and pay for their music video. That is an unfair advantage. That is nepotism,” she said.
“You can never catch me, on camera or off camera, saying I’m not a nepo baby. I find it crazy when people don’t admit to the advantage. It would be so unfair to say that,” she said.
Temi, however, stressed that admitting to privilege does not mean a person has not worked hard for their achievements.
“At the end of the day, I was given a leg up and I’ve made the most of it. I don’t know why it’s so hard for people to say that. I think it’s because they feel it discounts what they’ve achieved in life.
“I definitely got lots of privileges as a result of the hard work that came before me,” she added.
