How Mojolaoluwa, third-year FUNAAB student, is transforming Nigerian youths through nutrition advocacy

By David Olatunji 

In an interview with The Lagos Voice, the founder of The Nutri Effect, Mojolaoluwa Dosunmu, a student nutritionist presently in her third year said her journey began with a childhood ambition to study Medicine and Surgery, before a realization in Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta shifted her focus entirely.

However, through nutrition education and content creation, Dosunmu is building her personal brand around making people “feel good” and helping them find clarity in their health choices. EXCERPT

The Lagos Voice: What first sparked your passion for nutrition and wellness, and how has that moment shaped your work?

Mojolaoluwa Dosunmu: It was the realization that nutrition has so much in relationship to Medicine because whatever we eat has an effect on the body. In essence, Nutrition has an effect on an individual’s health. However, my academic activities made me grow more interested in the course. With that, I started making moves, researching better about a career path in this field, and here I am today.

The Lagos Voice: Beyond the title “Founder of The Nutri Effect,” who is Mojolaoluwa Dosunmu, and what personal experiences led you here?

Mojolaoluwa Dosunmu: Apart from being the Founder of The Nutri Effect, I am just someone who’s learning and growing at my own pace, finding purpose through my journey. Before content creation, nutrition advocacy, I am just someone who’s interested in making people feel good, ensuring people find solace through me. However, it has helped me in this pathway.

Also, one of my personal experiences that led me here is my uncertainty about my aspiration in the beginning. Nutrition was never in the picture, but Medicine and Surgery. In my part two (200 level), when I realized that some people still perceive nutrition to be about cooking alone. With that, I intended to bridge the gap.

The Lagos Voice: You’re balancing student life with building a nutrition community. How did those two worlds come together for you?

Mojolaoluwa Dosunmu: Honestly, trying to balance being a student and building a personal nutrition brand is not easy, because as a student, I have to perform my duties (assignments, classes, and presentations, plan practicals and write reports), and show up consistently for my brand.

However, I just had to fight against inconsistency because I realized that visual content reaches more of an audience than writing.

The Lagos Voice: What specific problems among students and young Nigerians did you observe that convinced you to start The Nutri Effect?

Mojolaoluwa Dosunmu: That’s the level of confusion topics and that’s alarming among students. Nowadays, we have so much misinformation, fallacies and myths on social media. They are so confusing, and many people often don’t understand the science and balance behind it.

Even for students, they just juggle academic activities, which often resort to an unhealthy diet. Also, when professionals come out to talk about some of these myths, it often looks ambiguous, technical and difficult for people to understand but The Nutri Effect is just here to bridge the gap, as evident in my statement; “the place is the Nutri Effect, a space where Nutrition finally makes sense.”

The Lagos Voice: The Nutri Effect began with a desire to make healthy living accessible and real. What did that vision look like in the beginning, and how has it evolved?

Mojolaoluwa Dosunmu: Sincerely, the journey didn’t begin with The Nutri Effect, but rather to document my growth, in relation to my activities with writing on my social media, but I felt the quest to reach a wider audience. With that, The Nutri Effect came in, and it has become what I have been building, and I hope I can evolve in the coming years, as an NGO conducting awareness campaigns, speaking engagement in schools, and rural communities.

The Lagos Voice: What was your first piece of content, and what surprised you most about the early response?

Mojolaoluwa Dosunmu: My first video content was on Tiktok, and the engagement was quite very encouraging. As a first timer, I could recall I got over 120 views, I kept pushing on and here I am today.

The Lagos Voice: Walk us through a typical day as a student nutritionist and founder. How do you manage the competing demands?

Mojolaoluwa Dosunmu: The demands have not been exhausting after coming to terms that they are not a separate world, but naturally connected because what I am learning in class as a student is related to what I am giving out online as founder of The Nutri Effect.

The Lagos Voice: What are the most common nutrition and wellness mistakes you see among Nigerian students, and how do you address them?

Mojolaoluwa Dosunmu: The nutrition and wellness mistake most Nigerian students make is skipping meals. In most cases, it happens as a result of a busy schedule and also coping mechanisms due to their finances. Because, at the end of the day, they overcompensate their body with any meal available, which might not be healthy.

Additionally, many rely on fast foods which are not healthy for the body. But, my way of addressing that to people is through encouragement on balanced meals, and intentionally choosing foods accessible. Students need to know that balanced diets are not expensive.

The Lagos Voice: What practical habits or strategies help you stay grounded and well during high-pressure periods like exams or deadlines?

Mojolaoluwa Dosunmu: During a high pressure period, I don’t try to do everything perfectly, but stay consistent, feel good with my body, stay hydrated, and balance stress.

The Lagos Voice: What is the biggest misconception people have about nutrition and healthy living in Nigeria?

Mojolaoluwa Dosunmu: Healthy meals are expensive.

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The Lagos Voice: What has been your biggest setback so far, and what lesson did it teach you about entrepreneurship and resilience?

Mojolaoluwa Dosunmu: One of my biggest setbacks is consistency, and that’s as a result of lack of confidence for video creation. Naturally, I am comfortable with talking to the camera and posting it for people to see it. But, the knowledge of needing it to communicate and people’s connection with visual content pushed me out of my comfort zone.

The Lagos Voice: How has content creation changed the way you see yourself and your voice?

Mojolaoluwa Dosunmu: Content creation has actually changed the way I see myself, as I can now influence people’s decision, choices. It has also given me a wider audience, as people get more interested in picking and learning from the knowledge that I shared through various contents. Also, content creation has helped me see my voice as a tool in communicating what I know.

The Lagos Voice: You’ve received messages from people whose lives were affected by your work. Which ones stand out, and why?

Mojolaoluwa Dosunmu: My Church member’s comment who indicated things she has learnt through my content, and how she inculcated it into her daily wellbeing. With that, I felt encouraged, and could still trace my purpose, while still building.

The Lagos Voice: What does being a young Nigerian founder mean to you at this moment, and what opportunities do you believe young people are overlooking?

Mojolaoluwa Dosunmu: Being a young Nigerian founder means building with limited resources, you have to create structure, value, set clear goals and vision, while personally building yourself academically. However, one thing many Youths are overlooking is the power to leverage on what you have. Nigerian youths have skills, potentials but we feel discouraged due to lack of resources.

Most importantly, it’s okay to start small, but it’s not okay to remain small, because we can always learn on the job. Nigerians youths need to start small, build credibility and stay consistent. The goal of every foundation is to solve a real problem, create impact.

The Lagos Voice: Finally, If you had the attention of every young Nigerian for one minute, what would you tell them about wellness, and where do you see the future of youth wellness in Nigeria heading?

Mojolaoluwa Dosunmu: I would tell them that wellness shouldn’t be postponed, it’s something you do intentionally as a result of small, daily choices ranging from the way you eat, rest, and handle stress. Healthy living is not expensive, but something in the range of availability and accessibility.

The future of youth wellness in Nigeria is actually improving, because there’s now awareness, but we need implementation to take place. We need simplification to make youth understand how they can apply it to their daily life and that’s why The Nutri Effect is here.

Sincerely, I am open to contribute to this movement, help bridge the gap between complex nutrition and application in daily lives. Nutrition is not about rigid rules, it’s about awareness, balance, consistency and simply making healthy choices with what is available.