Who Is Magnus Okeke?
My name is Magnus Okeke Ifeanyi. I grew up across Kogi State, Edo State, Enugu State, Ogun State, and Lagos State. My parents moved often in search of better opportunities, and because of that, movement became normal for me early in life.
My hobbies are fishing and travelling. Over time, those habits turned into a philosophy, then a motto, and eventually a tattoo. “Always Never Home.”
Early Years and Education
2005
I assisted as an apprentice at a pharmacy opposite Mowe Hotel, Ogun State. I left in 2006 to resume JSS 1.
2006
I started JSS 1 at Community High School (CHS), Ibafo. I made new friends, including David, who is now a chef, and Obinna, now the CEO of Zenith Real Estate. We were all just kids then. I completed JSS 3 in 2008.
2007 to 2009
After school, I sometimes hawked vegetables for my mum. It was normal life for us.
2009
I started SS1 at the senior wing of CHS. I made more friends, including Zino, who would later become my assistant and a cybersecurity enthusiast. I left secondary school after writing WAEC in 2012.
Discovering Technology
2010
I attended my first computer training at Okaventse Computer Services, Mowe, Ogun State, where I learned Desktop Publishing II.
2012
I wrote WAEC and NECO and graduated from secondary school. I travelled to Kogi State to visit my father’s elder brother and his children. When I returned, I spent a lot of time visiting my aunt at RCCG Redemption Camp, where she worked as a cook at a large hotel. I assisted occasionally at an internet café run by a man named Sey Paul.
Survival and Reset
January 2013
I worked at a block industry as a block carrier. I lifted bricks repeatedly from point A to point B until evening. The job was physically exhausting, took a toll on my body, and I fell sick several times. By February 2013, I quit.
March 2013
I travelled to Edo State to rewrite NECO, as I had failed the previous exams. I was assigned to a school in my mother’s hometown and wrote the exams around May to June 2013. I returned to Mowe in the first week of July 2013.
While in Edo State, I took lessons at a NECO center near Auchi Polytechnic and lived with my uncle Moses, who was a Computer Science student at the time. I followed him to classes occasionally and met some of his lodge mates, Joshua, Damian, and Emma Songs, who is now deceased.
The Internet Changes Everything
Late 2013
I was unhappy with my life and wanted more. I met Phares on Facebook, and he gave me a gig managing his Facebook page, 9ineGames Entertainment. After a few months, he gifted me a laptop. That laptop changed everything. I also travelled to Delta State with him and met other team members for the first time.
Media, Writing, and Breakthroughs
2014
I worked briefly at another internet café, earning about NGN 8,000 per month. One morning, a thief stole my phone. The incident escalated into police involvement and a court case. My mum insisted we only wanted my phone back. Eventually, the police returned it, and I left the café job. I never found out what happened to the thief.
Later that year, I began spending more time in Lagos, attending church and visiting friends. Bidemi Akinade introduced me to a producer and director named Mr. Victor. He had read my Facebook stories and asked me to write a script.
I downloaded Final Draft, studied movie scripts, and learned scriptwriting within days. Mr. Victor loved the story, shot it, and later contracted me to write a 14-episode TV series. I excitedly accepted NGN 20,000 and went to work. The project was later released on Africa Magic Igbo under the title “The Housekeepers.”
That same year, Bidemi Akinade designed the logo for iammagnus.com, where I began writing motivational content, tech posts, and long Facebook essays.
Also in 2014, Bidemi introduced me to Omotunde Adebowale-David, popularly known as Lolo 1 of Wazobia FM, also called Adaku from Jenifa’s Diary. I lived and worked with her from mid 2014 to late 2015, managing her website, creating radio show topics, and occasionally co-presenting on radio. During this time, I met many top Nigerian artists. Korede Bello’s “Godwin” was trending then.
In November 2014, I wrote a tutorial on how to run the OkadaBooks Android app on BlackBerry 10. I sent it to the CEO of OkadaBooks, who hired me to write more tutorials.
Growth, School, and Recognition
2015
I posted a review of Step Up 5: All In on Comicments.com, run by my friend Ifediri. The review was featured on Summit Entertainment’s website and used to promote the movie.
I gained admission to study Computer Science at Yaba College of Technology. I moved out of Victoria Island to Ilaje, Bariga, sharing an apartment with my classmate Richie.
In April 2015, I was announced as the winner of the March Edition of the African Storytellers Competition.
OkadaBooks and Tech Life
2016
I continued working with OkadaBooks. The CEO, Okechukwu Ofili, asked me to handle customer support. The team included Jude Nwoko (CTO) and myself as Customer Support Lead. I earned the nickname “The Mechanic” because I fixed issues relentlessly.
After my first year, I considered dropping out due to poor teaching standards. Bidemi Akinade encouraged me to complete my National Diploma. Friends like Kunle Neye and Dayo Oguntoyibo supported me academically. Dayo taught me trigonometry. He passed away in March 2017, during our final exams. It was devastating.
My SIWES internship came up, and the OkadaBooks CEO paid for me to intern at CcHub Yaba, where I learned to code and met tech enthusiasts.
Building, Loss, and Resilience
2017
I began working at OkadaBooks full-time. The CEO provided accommodation, and we used the living room as our office. I worked there until January 2020, building personal projects on the side. One being 4ward.ng
I co-founded 4ward.ng, a platform for purchasing WAEC and NECO result checkers. We were featured on TechpointNG by March 2017 in March 2017, but later shut down due to operational challenges.
By April/May 2017, I had left school after 2 years in Yabatech. The entire Nigerian school experience wasn’t so great for me and the lecturers’ unprofessionalism didn’t make it easier for me. I arranged a meeting with my parents and told them I would look into attending another school in the future.
I briefly modelled for my friend Adeolu Osibodu, shooting around Redemption Camp. He later worked internationally with artists like Idris Elba.
In August 2017, I built bookclubs.com.ng to help Nigerians find book clubs and bookstores. The platform was shut down in 2025 due to low traffic.
Industry Exposure
2018
I attended many tech and literary events through OkadaBooks and wrote reviews on BellaNaija. I later built kaboom.ng and whygoseeit.com with Saminu Eedris, but we eventually abandoned both to focus on income.
That year, I served as a judge for Seyi Tinubu’s STEP initiative, evaluating 40 startups. Ten were selected for the grand finale.
You can read about the event here:
https://businesspost.ng/technology/tinubu-offers-n5m-to-young-tech-entrepreneurs/
Working for Seyi Tinubu was a surprise for me. I got a call from my friend Jennifer Ifeatu who had seen my tech posts online and thought I would be a good fit. She recommended me through the company she worked at at the time.
Police Brutality and Survival
2019
During my final year at OkadaBooks, I was arrested during a random police sweep and falsely accused of cultism. I was detained at Gbagada Police Station, threatened, and extorted. My bail was set at NGN 100,000.
One of the officers involved later received life imprisonment for killing Kolade Johnson at a viewing center. You can read about it here.
Between June and December 2019, I was applying to 2 companies daily – mostly foreign companies. I didn’t land an Interview till later in November 13th 2019. The company was 5CA and my recruiter was Dimitrios Banos and I ended up getting the Job before 2019 ended.
Reinvention
January 2020
I joined 5CA, a Netherlands-based company, as a Support Agent. Through 5CA, I worked with Warner Bros for over a year before being promoted to Junior Recruiter. Today, I am a full-fledged Recruiter.
Around June 2020, I discovered stock investing using Bamboo. I bought Tesla and Disney. The rest is history.
2020 to 2021
I stayed indoors due to COVID. Afterward, I bought a skateboard, travelled more, organized beach gatherings, and got tattoos. #AlwaysNeverHome was born.
2022
I moved into a larger apartment, invested in recording equipment, and enrolled at Nexford University to study Human Resource Management, completing the program in three months.
2023 to 2024
I travelled extensively within and outside Nigeria and recorded over 200 tech videos.
Today
I am an Investor, Recruiter, and Tech Content Creator with over 12 years of experience across Media, Gaming, Film, Education, and Technology. I have worked as a screenwriter, blogger, and contributor to multiple production companies.
I am deeply interested in solving problems and making life better for the people around me.
