THE JOKE IS NOT PELLER, THE JOKE IS THE SOCIETY THAT...- BY ISA MARIAM ABIKE

 The joke is not Peller. The joke is the society that made him a king over the same people he now mocks.

Let’s be honest.

A secondary school leaver stood in front of a camera, waved ₦500,000 in the air, and said, “I’m looking for a Master’s degree holder to hold my camera.”

And guess what?

Graduates showed up. In numbers. With their CVs.

But here’s the bitter truth nobody wants to say:

👉🏽 Peller didn’t create this madness. We did.

We followed him. We shared his content. We turned him into a digital celebrity.

Now he has power, influence, and money… enough to offer a job with conditions that insult the very system that failed him… and failed us.

And here’s the most painful part…

He found none of them qualified.

Yes, after all the noise, the crowd, and the degrees, he dismissed them as unfit to do the job.

That wasn’t just a rejection. That was a loud message from a system we empowered.

This isn’t about Peller vs. education.

It’s about a society that worships influence and ridicules intelligence.

We mock intellectuals but crown entertainers.

We give our attention to distractions, then cry when those distractions become the ones hiring our brightest minds for jokes.

Is there shame in a graduate working under a secondary school leaver? No.

But there is shame in how we’ve allowed social media to redefine value and dignity.

The problem is not the job offer. It’s the way it was packaged like a comedy skit, using real people’s desperation as content.

We need to stop blaming the clown and start questioning the audience that filled the circus.

Until we start valuing substance over sensation, this cycle will repeat.

The educated will keep begging for jobs. The loudest, not the wisest, will keep leading.

And society will keep asking, “What went wrong?” while we scroll and laugh.

📌 Let’s rethink what we elevate.

📌 Let’s challenge what we reward.

📌 Let’s stop giving platforms to people who mock our collective pain.

Because you can’t cry about being disrespected in a room you helped decorate.

© ISA MARIAM ABIKE