Nominee: Dammypep (Damilola Abisola)
Category: Creative Storyteller of the Year
Country: Nigeria
Edition: West African Citizens Awards 2026
The Power of a Story That Makes People Feel
A good story does more than communicate an experience. It invites people into another person’s world, makes familiar situations feel new and sometimes leaves readers thinking about its message long after they have finished reading.
For some storytellers, this ability comes naturally. For others, it develops through years of observation, reading, experimentation and a commitment to understanding human experiences.
For Dammypep, storytelling has become a creative identity built around relatable characters, emotional connections, humour and unexpected turns.
Known professionally as Dammypep, Damilola Abisola is a Nigerian creative writer, digital storyteller, pharmacist and entrepreneur. She has developed a distinctive presence through fictional narratives that explore relationships, love, everyday experiences and the different ways people interact with one another.
Her stories have found an audience across social media, where written narratives compete for attention in an environment often dominated by short videos, photographs and other fast-moving content.
Rather than abandoning the written word, Dammypep has continued to demonstrate how compelling storytelling can hold an audience’s attention, encourage conversations and build a community around shared experiences.
Her nomination for Creative Storyteller of the Year at the West African Citizens Awards 2026 recognises her contribution to contemporary digital storytelling and the creative possibilities of written content.
The Beginning: A Creative Interest That Found Its Direction at University
Dammypep’s journey into professional storytelling did not begin with an elaborate publishing plan or a major media platform. It developed through opportunities that allowed her to discover and exercise her writing ability.
Growing up in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, she was surrounded by books and storytelling. In an interview with PiggyVest, she recalled that her parents were teachers and that her father encouraged reading and regularly told stories.
This early exposure to books and storytelling formed part of the environment in which her creative interests developed.
However, an important turning point came during her university years at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU).
While studying pharmacy, she became involved in Christian student activities, including the National Fellowship of Christian Pharmacy Students (NFCPS) and the Redeemed Christian Fellowship (RCF).
Her responsibilities within these fellowships included drama coordination, which required her to write scripts for dramatic presentations and annual programmes.
What began as a responsibility eventually became an opportunity to develop a skill.
In her conversation with Selar, she explained that she initially felt hesitant about sharing her writing because she did not want people to criticise work she was still developing. Nevertheless, the demands of writing scripts encouraged her to practise, experiment and improve.
One particular script-writing experience became a defining moment. After working through the night to rewrite a script, she submitted another version that was well received by the NFCPS executives.
The production of the script helped introduce her writing ability to a wider circle of people within the university community.
It was also during this period that the name Dammypep became increasingly associated with her creative identity.
From Drama Scripts to Digital Storytelling
The transition from writing scripts for stage performances to publishing stories online was a significant development in Dammypep’s journey.
She began experimenting with social media as a place to share her writing and reach readers beyond her immediate environment.
Twitter became an important platform in this process. Because Instagram was not particularly convenient for publishing long written narratives at the time, she used Twitter to share her stories before repurposing them as screenshots for Instagram.
Her early efforts gradually attracted attention.
A story about a married couple became one of the posts that helped her realise the potential of digital storytelling. What initially appeared to be a small response from friends and followers encouraged her to continue publishing.
As she became more consistent, her writing began reaching people who were interested in the characters, situations and emotional experiences she created.
The process was not simply about gaining followers. It was also about discovering the kinds of stories that connected with readers and understanding how to present written content in a format suitable for social media.
This experience helped her develop a creative approach that combined traditional storytelling with the possibilities of digital publishing.
A Signature Style: Relatable Characters, Romance and Unexpected Endings
One of the defining characteristics of Dammypep’s storytelling is her interest in fictional characters and situations that audiences can recognise.
Her stories often draw from the everyday experiences of relationships, friendships, family interactions and romantic situations.
Rather than relying entirely on distant or extraordinary fictional worlds, she builds narratives around emotions and circumstances that readers can easily relate to.
Her writing is particularly associated with romance, humour and unexpected endings.
In her interview with Selar, she identified romance as her favourite genre, explaining that readers enjoy stories about love because the subject is familiar and emotionally engaging.
She has also discussed how she combines elements of reality, fantasy and humour to create narratives that hold readers’ attention.
This combination is important to her storytelling identity. A seemingly ordinary situation can become an entertaining narrative through the way she develops its characters, introduces conflict and reveals information.
Her approach also encourages audience participation. Readers do not simply consume the stories; they react to characters, debate decisions, anticipate endings and share their interpretations.
The resulting conversations become part of the experience surrounding her work.
Making Written Stories Work in a Digital World
The growth of digital media has changed how creative writers reach audiences.
Today, a writer can build a following without first publishing a traditional book or securing a place within an established media organisation.
Dammypep’s experience illustrates this shift.
By using social media as a publishing platform, she has been able to distribute fictional narratives directly to readers and develop an identifiable creative brand.
Her presence on Instagram under the handle @dammypep_, alongside her writing activities on other social platforms, has helped establish Dammypep as a recognisable name within Nigeria’s online storytelling space.
A Socialveins creator profile has also listed her among Nigerian digital creators, describing her account as focused on storytelling, creative writing and fictional characters.
However, the substance of her work is not simply its social media distribution. It is the ability to translate written creativity into content that encourages people to pause, read, imagine and engage.
In an era when attention is increasingly divided between multiple forms of entertainment, maintaining an audience for written fiction requires a strong understanding of narrative structure, character development and reader interest.
Dammypep’s continued work in this space demonstrates the relevance of writing as a form of digital entertainment.
From Personal Creativity to Professional Writing
As her audience grew, Dammypep began receiving opportunities to write for other people and creative projects.
Her early professional writing experiences included freelance assignments, where she was commissioned to develop stories and scripts.
In her interview with PiggyVest, she recalled receiving her first Instagram-based scriptwriting commission, which paid ₦120,000.
That experience helped demonstrate that her writing could function beyond personal creative expression and become a professional service.
She subsequently began taking on more writing assignments, including work connected to film and screen production.
In the same interview, she discussed working with established creative professionals and developing her screenwriting experience, while expressing her ambition to contribute to larger Nollywood productions.
Her journey reflects an important distinction between writing for an online audience and writing for screen production.
While both require an understanding of storytelling, screenwriting also involves translating a narrative into scenes, dialogue, character actions and visual sequences that can be interpreted by directors, actors and production teams.
For a writer whose experience began with fictional stories on social media, exploring screenwriting provides another avenue through which her imagination can reach audiences.
Beyond Storytelling: Pharmacy, Entrepreneurship and the Pep Foundation
An interesting dimension of Dammypep’s profile is that her creative career exists alongside a professional background in healthcare.
She studied pharmacy at Olabisi Onabanjo University and became a licensed pharmacist, subsequently working in community pharmacy.
This background provides another perspective on her professional identity. Her work is not limited to entertainment and creative writing; she also has experience in a field that demands technical knowledge, responsibility and public interaction.
She has also identified herself as the founder of the Pep Foundation, a nonprofit initiative focused on educating people about health issues and harmful traditional practices.
In addition, her public creator biography identifies her with New Age Pharmacy.
The combination of healthcare, entrepreneurship and creative writing makes her professional journey particularly multidimensional.
It also demonstrates that creative expression does not always have to exist separately from other professional interests. An individual can develop a creative practice while maintaining responsibilities and ambitions in an entirely different industry.
For Dammypep, these different interests form part of a broader professional identity.
The Entrepreneurial Side of Creative Writing
Dammypep’s experience also offers an example of how independent writers can explore the business opportunities surrounding their craft.
Through commissioned writing, digital content, scripts and e-books, she has explored different ways of turning creative work into professional opportunities.
In her interview with Selar, she discussed the commercial side of writing, including how she approached pricing, managing assignments and deciding how much work to accept at a given time.
One particularly interesting point from that conversation was her emphasis on managing her workload.
She explained that some writing projects require considerable time and concentration, making it important to avoid taking on too many assignments simultaneously.
This perspective highlights an often-overlooked part of creative entrepreneurship: the ability to manage both the artistic and business responsibilities of a writing career.
For independent storytellers, developing a recognisable voice is important, but so is learning how to manage projects, meet expectations and build sustainable professional relationships.
Her experience illustrates how digital storytelling can evolve from a personal passion into a source of professional opportunity.
A Storyteller Still Interested in What Comes Next
In her public interviews, Dammypep has expressed an interest in expanding her work into filmmaking and contributing more extensively to screen storytelling.
Her Instagram biography has similarly reflected an ambition to make movies in the future.
This ambition connects naturally with her existing experience in fictional writing and script development.
The transition from written fiction to film offers an opportunity to explore storytelling through dialogue, visual direction, performance and production.
It is also a natural progression for a creative writer interested in seeing the characters and situations she develops translated into another medium.
Her journey therefore remains one of creative exploration, with writing providing the foundation for other possibilities within the entertainment industry.
Why Dammypep Deserves Recognition
Creative storytelling is an important part of the cultural and entertainment landscape. It preserves experiences, stimulates imagination, creates conversations and allows audiences to connect with ideas through characters and narratives.
In the digital era, storytellers are also finding new ways to distribute their work, build communities and create professional opportunities without depending entirely on traditional publishing or entertainment structures.
Dammypep’s journey reflects this changing landscape.
From writing drama scripts during her university years to developing fictional narratives for digital audiences, she has built a creative identity around the written word.
Her work demonstrates an understanding of the emotional and entertaining possibilities of storytelling, particularly through romance, humour, relatable situations and fictional characters.
Beyond her creative work, her background in pharmacy, entrepreneurial activities and involvement with the Pep Foundation reveal a professional identity that extends into healthcare and social education.
Her nomination for Creative Storyteller of the Year recognises the contribution of a Nigerian creative who has continued to explore the possibilities of written storytelling in an increasingly digital world.
It also acknowledges the value of writers whose work entertains, connects and encourages audiences to engage with stories in their everyday lives.
A WAFRIC Awards 2026 Nominee
Dammypep is nominated for Creative Storyteller of the Year – Nigeria at the West African Citizens Awards 2026.
Her nomination forms part of WAFRIC Awards’ commitment to recognising the creative individuals contributing to West Africa’s cultural and digital landscape.
Under the 2026 edition theme, “Recognizing the Unseen. Celebrating the Exceptional,” the awards celebrate creativity, dedication and professional contributions across the region.
Through her fictional narratives, creative writing and exploration of different storytelling formats, Dammypep represents a growing generation of African storytellers using digital platforms to connect with audiences and create opportunities through their craft.
Support Dammypep. Celebrate her creativity. Make your vote count.
YOUR VOTE. THEIR IMPACT.
Vote through the official WAFRIC Awards 2026 public voting page:
https://wafricawards.com.ng/official-public-voting/
Read the voting procedures and criteria:
https://wafricawards.com.ng/wafric-awards-2026-voting-procedures-and-criteria/
Voting closes November 15, 2026.
Research and References
- PiggyVest – How Dammypep Makes Money From Viral Storytelling – In-depth interview covering her upbringing, university experience, storytelling journey, professional writing and screenwriting ambitions.
- Selar – How DammyPep Makes Money Writing Relatable Love Stories – Interview covering her introduction to scriptwriting, social media storytelling, writing process, romance and creative business.
- Exquisite Magazine – Damilola Abisola: The Creative Storyteller – Interview discussing her professional background, pharmacy career, creative writing and Pep Foundation.
- Sincerefidelis – Storytelling with Dammypep – Interview exploring her writing style, creative influences and approach to fictional storytelling.
- Dammypep on Instagram – Official creative account and storytelling portfolio.