From Lockdown Hobby To 260,000 Followers: The Rise Of Young Nigerian Animator Frendad

When the COVID 19 lockdown confined millions of people to their homes in 2020, Chike Ukaha Frendad was looking for something to do with his time.

He found animation.

Six years later, the 18 year old Nigerian has turned that lockdown discovery into a growing creative career, attracting more than 260,000 followers on TikTok and producing animated content for individuals, brands and musicians.

Known online as Frendad Ukaha, the young animator was born and raised in Umuahia, Abia State, and hails from Ohafia in the state.

Creativity was already part of his upbringing. His father is a sculptor, while his mother is a newscaster who previously worked with the state and now works with a private broadcasting station.

Frendad also grew up watching animated programmes, but he did not initially imagine that animation would become a career.

That changed during the lockdown.

With normal activities disrupted, he began looking for ways to express the ideas and stories constantly running through his mind. He started experimenting with animation, using the tools available to him rather than waiting until he could afford sophisticated equipment.

The more he practised, the more interested he became.

Animation soon evolved from an experiment into his preferred way of storytelling.

In 2022, Frendad launched his current TikTok account, @frendad__ukaha, and began publishing his animated stories online.

The early days were not particularly encouraging.

Some of his videos attracted very little attention, while others failed to reach the wider audience he hoped for. But he kept producing content, learning from each attempt and gradually refining his style.

His breakthrough came through stories rooted in everyday experiences.

Frendad began turning familiar Nigerian situations into short animated comedy, often exaggerating ordinary moments to create humorous and relatable stories. The approach helped him establish a recognisable identity among viewers.

His audience steadily expanded, eventually crossing 260,000 followers on TikTok.

But the numbers are only part of the story.

As his audience grew, so did opportunities to commercialise his creativity. Frendad began creating animated advertisements and promotional videos for brands, artists and other clients.

One of his most notable projects was an animated promotion for Ken Sea Chords’ “God You Are Good”, which he describes as his most viral promotional project.

The growth also exposed him to a wider network of animators and digital creators. Through animation communities and collaborations, he has continued to exchange ideas, build relationships and learn new techniques.

And he is now teaching what he has learnt.

Frendad organises animation classes for beginners, particularly showing aspiring creators how they can start with their mobile phones. His training covers basic animation principles such as movement, timing, expressions, lip syncing and backgrounds.

For a creator who began by learning largely through practice and experimentation, teaching has become another way of contributing to the community that helped shape his own journey.

In September 2025, Frendad relocated to Abuja, where he currently studies Computer Science at the University of Abuja.

His studies have added a technological dimension to his creative interests, while animation remains central to his ambitions.

In August 2026, he further expanded his digital presence by launching Instagram and Facebook pages. His Facebook account has already attracted more than 24,000 followers, while his Instagram audience is still developing.

The journey has not been without difficult moments.

There have been times when his content received low engagement, failed to go viral or did not attract the response he expected. Like other digital creators, he has also had to deal with the pressure of consistently producing content while pursuing his education.

But those setbacks have not stopped him.

What began with a phone and curiosity during a nationwide lockdown has grown into an audience, a business and a platform through which Frendad is sharing his creativity with thousands of people.

At 18, the young animator is still learning and experimenting. His story, however, already reflects a wider shift in Nigeria’s creative economy, where young people are using smartphones and digital platforms to turn skills that once began as hobbies into opportunities for work, business and self expression.

For Frendad, the next chapter is still being written, one animation at a time.