Nigerian singer Tekno has defended the appeal of comedian and streamer Carter Efe, saying entertainment does not always have to be intellectual to attract an audience.

Tekno made the comment during a recent interview on YANGA FM while discussing the ongoing debate around the “Olodo Uprising” and the popularity of unconventional content creators in Nigeria.

The singer said he could watch Carter Efe for hours simply because the comedian’s goofy behaviour makes him laugh. He questioned the emphasis on intellectual content in entertainment, saying there are times when audiences simply want something that entertains them.

Tekno also compared Carter Efe’s style with the comedy of Nollywood characters such as Osuofia, played by Nkem Owoh, and Mr Ibu, played by the late John Okafor.

According to him, Nigerian audiences had enjoyed characters known for their exaggerated and seemingly foolish behaviour long before the rise of social media. He said the difference today is that creators can produce similar content from their homes and earn money from it.

The singer’s comments come amid the “Olodo Uprising” debate that began gaining attention in June after rapper Ycee criticised what he described as a growing preference for internet virality over academic and intellectual achievement.

During an appearance on the Afropolitan Podcast, Ycee said Nigerian society was increasingly accommodating ignorance and had moved from what he called “Yahoo culture” to “Peller culture”, referring to TikTok streamer Habeeb Hamzat, popularly known as Peller.

The remarks led to a public exchange between Ycee and Peller and developed into a broader discussion about education, unemployment, social media fame and the growing creator economy in Nigeria.

Ycee later explained that his criticism was not about formal educational qualifications alone. In an interview with The Guardian, he said the issue was the wider values being promoted in society and the growing influence of content he described as “brain rot”.

He also acknowledged that he consumes such content himself, but argued that entertainment becomes a problem when it becomes the country’s main form of engagement.

Tekno’s comments take a different position within the same conversation. Rather than focusing on the educational value of online content, the singer pointed to the entertainment value of creators such as Carter Efe and compared their popularity with the success of comic characters from earlier generations.