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Digital Vigilantes: The VDM Phenomenon

• Brodda Mike • Season 2 • Episode 6

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Speaker 1:

turn it up. I told you nah, you are worse than me. Hey, welcome to another episode of the butterbox podcast, and I'm your usual host, host Baba K. On today's episode, we're diving deep into something different, but something currently trending and, of course, today's episode definitely we'll be talking about the most polarizing internet personalities in Nigeria right now. Very dark man. Some call him a truth teller, others say he's dangerous. But one thing is clear you can't ignore him. Let's talk about what made VDM a phenomenon and whether this kind of digital vigilante activism is helping us or even hurting us.

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Before all the big social media fights, before the viral call-outs and every other thing that we all know VDM for today, vdm started with raw, unapologetic take on everyday corruption, double standards and fake influences. In a country where silence is often safer, vdm chose violence. I mean the verbal kind. His appeal is. He says what many Nigerians are thinking but are too afraid to say. From exposing fake humanitarian or influencers, or even dragging shady pastors, to confronting and cloud-chasing celebrities, he made himself the man you couldn't cancel. But here's the question Does truth always need to be that loud, or do we only listen to it when it's laced with chaos? Let's be honest VDM thrives on virality. He knows the game, he plays it well. But is it truth for truth's sake, or just content?

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Many critics argue that his truths often lack nuance, that he bullies more than builds, that he points fingers without offering solutions. Others say, so what? The system is broken. Diplomacy doesn't work here. Someone needs to be messy to shake things up. So again, is he a hero because he speaks truth to power, or is he just another person building a brand of public frustration? Remember, power without accountability becomes its own form of corruption.

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Let's look at the global context in this matter. In the US there was a gentleman, the God. He was loud, raw, controversial, but also insightful. In South Africa, we had Nota Baloyi. He comes to mind as a man who always knows what is going on, but constantly starting fires. Even in Kenya we have ringtone Apoko. He sparks debate using controversy as oxygen. They all walk a dangerous line between truth-teller and agent of chaos.

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Vdm fits into this category, but in a country as delicate as Nigeria, where misinformation spreads like white fire and institutions are shaky, does his method cause more harm than good. There have been moments when VDM was right, absolutely right. He exposed scams, he questioned shitty NGOs, he defended everyday Nigerians from elites, but there have also been times when he doxed people, made unfounded claims and dragged women over private matters. Can you be a truth crusader and still violate people's privacy? In a just society, justice is never delivered through violence, even verbal violence. So now we ask can we separate the message from the matter? Here's the most uncomfortable truth.

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Very dark man is not the disease. He's a symptom. His rise says more about us than about him. It says we are hungry for justice. We are tired of fake elites. We want someone or anyone to say what we are thinking. We ourselves made VDM powerful because we are so used to being powerless. But beware when truth becomes entertainment, we stop solving problems and start watching them like Netflix. So I ask you again what kind of Nigeria do we want? One where justice is based on YouTube views or TikTok callouts, or one where we build institutions, protect truth with facts and let activism be measured, intentional and sustainable? Very Dark man is a mirror. You either see a hero or a villain, or yourself. The question is, which one scares you the most? Which one scares you the most? That is a question we need to ask ourselves right now.

Speaker 1:

Now again, a lot of people have been saying things about very dark man, and some even say he's a ticking time bomb. But for today, I just want us to look at this matter. What happens when chaos becomes culture? Let's be honest vdm style is fire, but fire, if unchecked, burns everything, even the good things. So let's ask what happens after he drags someone, after the trending hashtags, the viral videos, instagram lives, when everything is gone, what happens? This is no longer just about VDM. It's about a system that rewards drama and punishes nuance, and if our culture continues to treat outrage as activism, we are all going to have more fire than light. Let's also talk about his audience, his army, or rattlers as they are called.

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Millions of Nigerians follow VDM not just for entertainment but for courtesy. He has become the spiritual outlet for generations that feel scammed, unsaned and silenced. But the danger is, when you give people rage without responsibility, they don't build, they destroy. We have seen people harassed in their DMs, businesses blacklisted because of unverified claims, a justice system replaced by comment section judgments. Is this what we want? A digital court with no judge, no jury, only views and vibes? Let's also address the elephants in the room. Is VDM still doing this for justice or has it become about his ego?

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Fame is a hell of a drug. When you become the center of every story, it is easy to lose the plot. One week it's corruption, another week it's beef with the skid maker. Then, if someone comes out to attack him or say something to you know, judge him. Then he comes out with your bedroom drama.

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The question I ask is where is the consistency, where is the focus, and at what point do we admit? Maybe this isn't activism, maybe it's just a performance? We must also ask who is holding the activist accountable? Yes, who's holding the activist accountable? Let's even step outside Nigeria for a second and rotate roles with masculinity talk and ended up glorifying toxic power. Kanye West broke away from scripted celebrity culture, then spiraled into dangerous territory. Even Joe Rogan himself faced heat for letting conspiracy theorists roam free on his platform. Now here's what these cases teach us Unfiltered voices become dangerous when platforms protect popularity over truth. Vdm's growing influence is similar. If no one checks him and he has no structure or advisors, he becomes a weapon without aim.

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We are not just saying shut VDM up. No, we are saying can we build a system around voices like his, a system around voices like his digital ombudsman to fact-check viral claims, or community platforms that blend truth-telling with mediation, training activists in ethics, conflict resolution and responsibility. It is not enough to shout. We need less heat and more healing, because the next very dark man will come, and if we don't figure out how to handle this one, we'll keep spinning in outrage circles. So today, the question again is Nigeria creating heroes or digital gods? If someone like VDM is the only voice cutting through the noise, what does that say about the rest of us? Where are the honest politicians? Where are the brave journalists? Where are the community leaders with both truth and facts? Very Dark man didn't create his chaos. We did, yes, we did, by ignoring the quiet voices and rewarding the loud ones. But maybe, just maybe, it's not too late to change that. It's not too late.

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And if we really want to go into his roles with the EFCC, of course, everybody remembers what happened when he was arrested at a very popular bank I mean the Guaranteed Trust Bank, gtb as we know it where some officers from the EFCC came and they arrested him because he went to GT to complain about certain things he saw happening with his mother's bank account. He saw happening with his mother's bank account. Someone was withdrawing money and he needed to find out what was going on. And eventually he was picked up at the GT Bank branch, you know, somewhere in Abuja. Now we must also ask the man who built a digital persona around exposing others suddenly finds himself on the other side of the table, detained allegedly for cyberbullying and defamation. No live video, no phone in hand, just him in custody.

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Now, this is not about whether VDM is guilty or innocent. The court will sort that out. Trust me, the court knows their job. But it's a full circle moment, because when you play judge, jury and executioner online long enough, eventually the system you mocked may come knocking and it won't come with likes or retweets, it comes with curves. Now, he once dragged celebrities for not being accountable. He called out the police, the politicians, the fraudsters. Now he's the headline. He called out the police, the politicians, the fraudsters. Now he's the headline. He's the example, he's the one people are tweeting about.

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Some are cheering, some are saying no, he needs to be released. Some are even saying the truth or the truthster is being silenced. But the truth, the truth is truth. Inevitable, inevitable. That's the question I need to ask, because when you break every rule in the name of justice. Eventually, justice turns around and knocks. Now we wait. Will this humble him? Will it even radicalizing the more? Or will Nigeria once again turn to its moment into a pure spectacle? Now forget the bigger lesson and wait for the next trending fall from grace.

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Either way, vdm's arrest is a wake-up call To him. Not just to him, to influencers, to us all. That's the audience. Freedom of speech, yes, but freedom from consequences. No one can guarantee you that. That's one thing for sure. So, to all the very dark men and women rising in our digital age, be bold, be truthful, but also remember to be wise, Because being wise can save you from a lot of problem, because when your voice becomes power, the system will watch you, and when the backlash comes, it won't be trending hashtags, it will just be handcuffs and silence.

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So, for me, this issue of very dark man is something I don't think is going to end anytime soon, because we all know that Very Dark man, if he gets out of you know detention today, he's definitely going to, you know, set up his ring light again, put his phone camera in front of him and he's going to say things and, just like he has always done, it'll just keep repeating itself over and over again and the rattlers will come out and say they support very dark man, and those who are not in part of him will come out and always criticize everything he does. But the question is is he really doing this for justice? Is he really a voice for the people, or was that what it was meant to be? But right now the whole idea has changed, because sometimes people think this is more about his ego and not more about making lives better for people. But this is the country we live in today. Everyone wants to be heard, but how many people really wants to create or make an impact? And when I say impact, I mean positive impact.

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Now, there's no denying that there have been times where a very dark man spoke the heart of the people, where he called out people for really doing things wrong, but at times I feel like he gets way overboard and he allows it get to his head and I'm pretty much sure, as I'm saying this right now, a lot of rattlers those his fans who are listening to my broadcast will totally disagree with me. They might even come after me and, you know, drop some terrible comments to criticize whatever I'm saying right now, but it doesn't change the fact that he gets overboard at times. But then we must need to watch this carefully, because this angel we think he is today might become a monster tomorrow. And by the time he becomes a monster, don't forget that that same monster you are training may come back to haunt you and then you become the prey. Hunt you and then you become the prey.

Speaker 1:

So, to everyone out there you know, hoping to be like very dark man, this is my word to you think twice, do things without being judgmental, but as much as you want to be a voice for the people, you must also understand that whatever you say must be fact-checked, you must have proof, but you must not necessarily come out to attack everyone who criticizes you for the things you say or for the actions that you take, because he, the judges, should also remember that one day he would also be judged. And this is where I call it an end for today's episode on the Butterbox Podcast. Don't forget to follow us on all our platforms, from Instagram to X to Facebook, tiktok and also on YouTube, and you can also stream every episode on all the streaming platforms. And until I call me away next time, like I always say the matter does not matter until it begins to matter. Adios, I'm signing out. Butter butter, butter butter, butter Box.