So, Who’s Behind This Blog?
Hey! My name is Oladepo Babatunde. I run this place.
I’m a Computer Science graduate based in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. I also write content for a living. Research papers, academic work, web content, technical documentation. You name it, I’ve probably written it at some point. On top of that, I build websites and write code. Basically, if it involves a screen and a keyboard, there’s a very good chance I’ve spent hours doing it.
But 9jaBoizGist isn’t just another project on my list. This blog is something I care about on a personal level. It started because of a real problem I kept running into, and it exists today because that problem still hasn’t gone away.
Let me tell you the full story.
How This Whole Thing Started
I launched 9jaBoizGist back in 2016. At the time, I was just a regular guy who was fed up with one specific thing: searching Google for simple Nigerian telecom answers and getting completely useless results.
You’ve been there. I know you have. You want to check your MTN data balance, so you type it into Google. You click the first result. The article gives you a USSD code. You dial it. And nothing happens. The code is wrong. Or it expired two years ago. Or the article was copied from another blog that also had the wrong code.
So you go back to Google. You click the second result. Same problem. Third result. Same thing again. By the time you find the right answer, you’ve wasted twenty minutes on something that should have taken twenty seconds.
That used to make me so frustrated. Not just for myself, but for everyone else going through the same thing. Think about it. There are over 100 million mobile phone users in Nigeria. Millions of people dial USSD codes every single day to buy data, check balances, transfer airtime, and subscribe to plans. These codes change regularly. Networks update them, remove old ones, and introduce new ones without much warning. And yet, most of the blogs that show up on Google are still publishing information from 2019 or 2020 like nothing has changed.
I knew I could do something about it. I had the tech background. I had the writing skills. I had the patience to actually test things before publishing them. So I sat down, registered the domain, set up WordPress, and started writing.
The idea was straightforward. Build a blog where every USSD code actually works. Where every tutorial is tested on a real phone. Where the information gets updated whenever something changes. A place Nigerians can trust to give them the right answer the first time, without making them dig through ten different websites.
That’s how 9jaBoizGist came to life.
What Happened Next (The Honest Part)
For a while, things went well. The blog was growing. People were finding the content. I was publishing regularly and enjoying the process.
But then life got complicated.
Other responsibilities piled up. Work got busier. Personal stuff demanded more of my time. Slowly, I stopped publishing new content. Then I stopped updating old content. Then I stopped logging into WordPress altogether.
And then the domain expired.
Just like that, years of work disappeared. Articles I spent hours writing, guides that were helping thousands of people, all gone. I didn’t renew the domain in time, and it lapsed.
I’ll be honest with you. That hurt. It really did. Not because of the traffic or the numbers, but because I knew those guides were genuinely useful to people. I would get messages from readers saying things like “thank you, this is the only blog that gave me the correct code.” Knowing that I let that slip away was not a great feeling.
But here’s what I discovered about losing something. It forces you to figure out how much it actually mattered to you. And 9jaBoizGist mattered. A lot.
Even after the domain expired, I kept noticing the same problems everywhere. People on Twitter asking “what’s the code to check Glo data balance?” Friends and family calling me to ask how to use OPay or PalmPay. My own mother asking me to help her link her NIN to her phone number. The need for clear, simple, and accurate tech guides in Nigeria never went away. If anything, it got worse.
So I made a decision.
The Comeback
In 2026, I bought the domain back. I paid for it, set up a fresh WordPress installation, and made a commitment to myself. This time, I’m doing it right.
I deleted every single piece of old content. All of it. I didn’t want to recycle outdated articles or try to update posts that were years old. I wanted a clean slate. Every article you see on this website right now was written from scratch, researched from scratch, and tested from scratch.
No leftover content from 2016. No recycled guides from 2020. Nothing copied from anybody else’s blog. Everything is new, and everything is mine.
I also changed my approach. Back in 2016, I tried to cover too many topics. Entertainment, news, finance, tech. I was spreading myself too thin. This time around, I’m focused. I know exactly what this blog is for, and I know exactly who it’s for.
What You’ll Find on This Blog
If you own a phone and you live in Nigeria, this blog was built for you. I keep the focus tight and the content practical. Here is what I cover.
Telecom guides for all four major networks. MTN, Airtel, Glo, and 9mobile. I write about data plans, USSD codes, airtime transfers, night plans, data sharing, and every other service you access through your phone’s dialer. When networks change their codes or update their prices, which happens more often than you’d think, I go back and update my articles. You should never land on a 9jaBoizGist article and find information that doesn’t work anymore. That’s the whole point.
Phone tutorials for everyday problems. Those small but annoying issues that pop up on your Tecno, Infinix, Samsung, or whatever Android phone you’re using. Storage full. Phone running slow. Screen won’t rotate. Bluetooth won’t connect. SIM card not detected. I write step-by-step guides that walk you through the fix, with screenshots taken from real phones. Not stock images from the internet. Actual screenshots from the device sitting on my desk.
Guides for popular Nigerian apps. Every few months, there’s a new app that millions of Nigerians are downloading. OPay. PalmPay. Kuda. Moniepoint. Piggyvest. Jumia. Bolt. Each one works a little differently, and not everyone figures them out immediately. I break these apps down in plain language so that even your uncle who just got his first smartphone can open the app and know exactly what to tap.
Internet and data tricks. Let’s be real. Data is expensive in Nigeria. Everyone is looking for ways to make it last longer, find cheaper plans, or stop their phone from eating data in the background. I write about all of that. Which network has the cheapest data right now? How do you stop apps from using data when you’re not looking? How do you browse more efficiently? These are the kind of practical tips I focus on.
Government and ID how-to guides. NIN registration. NIN linking. BVN checks. International passport applications. TIN registration. These are processes that millions of Nigerians go through, and they can be confusing if you’ve never done them before. I don’t write about government policy or politics. That’s not what this blog is for. I just write clear, step-by-step instructions to help you get through the process without stress.
Why the Name “Gist”?
I know what you’re thinking. “Gist” sounds like a gossip blog. Celebrity drama, relationship stories, Nollywood news. That kind of thing.
That’s not what we do here. Not at all.
When I picked the name 9jaBoizGist, I was thinking about the other meaning of the word. In everyday English, “the gist” means the core information. The essential point. The main thing you need to know.
That’s exactly what this blog delivers. You come here with a question. You get the gist. You solve your problem. You go on with your day. No filler, no fluff, no ten paragraphs of introduction before the actual answer. Just the information you came for, laid out in a way that makes sense.
What Makes This Blog Different?
I want to be straightforward with you. There are hundreds of Nigerian tech blogs out there. Some of them are run by great people doing solid work. But a lot of them have a few problems that I’ve seen over and over again.
Outdated content. Articles published in 2020 or 2021 that are still showing up in Google search results with codes and prices that haven’t been valid in years. Nobody goes back to update them.
Copied content. One blog publishes a guide, and then fifteen other blogs copy it word for word with minor rewording. You end up with twenty websites all saying the same thing, and none of them bothered to verify if the information is even correct.
Clickbait titles with thin content. You click on “How to Get Free 10GB Data on MTN” and the article is three sentences long with zero actual steps.
No testing. The writer didn’t actually try the code or follow the process before publishing. They just found the information somewhere else and repackaged it.
I’m not going to pretend I’m the only blogger in Nigeria who cares about quality. That would be arrogant and untrue. But I can tell you what I personally do differently, and you can judge for yourself.
My Promise to You
I take these commitments seriously. They are not just words on a page. They are the standard I hold every single article to before I press the publish button.
I test everything on a real device. Before any USSD code, app guide, or phone tutorial goes live on this website, I try it myself. I pull out my phone, insert my SIM card, and go through the exact steps I’m writing about. If something doesn’t work on my end, it doesn’t get published. Full stop. I would rather delay an article by a week than publish something I haven’t verified.
I update content when things change. This is the part most bloggers skip. Writing the article is only half the job. The other half is maintaining it. When MTN changes a data plan price, I go back and fix the article. When Airtel introduces a new code, I add it. When an old code stops working, I remove it. You should be able to visit any article on this site at any time and trust that the information is current.
I write for real people, not for search engines. Yes, I understand SEO. I studied Computer Science, and I know how search engines work. But I don’t write articles stuffed with keywords that are painful to read. I write the way I’d explain something to a friend sitting next to me. Step one. Step two. Step three. Done. If my guide confuses you, I haven’t done my job properly.
Everything on this site is original. Every word. I don’t copy from other blogs. I don’t spin existing articles. I don’t scrape content from forums and repackage it. If you’re reading it on 9jaBoizGist, I wrote it myself, from my own research and my own testing.
Access is always free. There’s no paywall. No “premium membership” to unlock the full guide. No “subscribe to see the remaining steps.” The complete article is right there in front of you, every time. I believe useful information should be accessible to everyone, whether you’re a university student in Lagos or a small business owner in Sokoto.
A Bit More About Me (Since You’re Still Reading)
Outside of blogging, I stay busy. I work as a freelance content writer, and I specialize in research writing and academic writing. I’ve worked on projects ranging from undergraduate dissertations to professional white papers. Writing is something I genuinely enjoy, and I’ve been doing it long enough to know how to explain complex things in simple terms.
I’m also a web designer and programmer. I’ve built websites for clients across different industries, and I handle the technical side of 9jaBoizGist myself. Everything from the theme customization to the page speed optimization to the SEO setup. When something breaks, I fix it. When something needs improving, I improve it. Having that technical background means I don’t need to rely on anyone else to keep this site running smoothly.
On a personal level, I’m in my 30s, and I’ve reached a point in my life where I know what I want to spend my time on. And building something genuinely helpful for Nigerians is at the top of that list.
I’ve always believed that if you know how to do something, and other people are struggling with it, you should teach them. That’s really the core of why this blog exists. Not for fame. Not for clout. Just to teach and show people how to fix things.
What’s Coming Next
I have big plans for 9jaBoizGist. Right now, I’m focused on building out comprehensive guides for all four major telecom networks. I want this site to be the single most reliable source for MTN, Airtel, Glo, and 9mobile information in Nigeria.
After that, I’ll be expanding the phone tutorials section, adding more app guides as new apps gain popularity, and creating resources that address the specific tech challenges Nigerians face daily.
I also plan to build a complete AI tools section in the future. Artificial intelligence is changing how people work, study, and create content. Many of these tools are free or affordable, and Nigerians should know about them. When the time is right, I’ll be covering that too.
This blog is a long-term project. I’m not here for a few months. I’m here to stay.
Let’s Talk
One of my favourite things about running this blog is hearing from readers. Seriously. Whether it’s a question, a correction, a suggestion, or just a simple “this helped me,” I appreciate all of it.
If you notice that a code has changed, please tell me. If there’s a topic you want me to cover, let me know. If something on this site is confusing or could be better, I want to hear about it. Reader feedback is how this blog gets better over time.
Here’s how to reach me:
📧 Email: contact@9jaboizgist.com.ng
You can also head over to the Contact Page and send me a message directly through the form. I read every single message that comes in, and I do my best to reply as quickly as I can.
One Last Thing
Thank you for being here. I mean that.
Whether you found this blog through Google, someone shared a link with you, or you just stumbled across it somehow, I’m glad you’re reading this. This website exists because of people like you, and I don’t take that for granted.
I built 9jaBoizGist to be the blog I wish I had back when I was struggling to find the right USSD code or figure out how a new app works. If even one article on this site saves you time, saves you frustration, or helps you solve a problem you’ve been stuck on, then everything I’ve put into this project was worth it.
Thanks for your time. See you around.
Oladepo Babatunde Founder, 9jaBoizGist Computer Scientist. Content Writer. Web Developer.