“I built a fantasy world where I could Survive” — Kizz Daniel

Bullying is one anti-social behavior that its influence doesn’t get talked about very often, and for Nigerian artiste, Kizz Daniel, growing up being a fat boy needed a lot of courage to deal with his peers.

The Nigerian music sensation whose real name is Oluwatobiloba Daniel Anidugbe, opened up about the challenging experiences he faced as a child, including bullying, in a candid interview on the Afrobeats Podcast, hosted by Adesope Olajide.

The ‘Buga’ hitmaker revealed that he had endured a difficult childhood marked by bullying, which had a significant impact on his early life.

Kizz Daniel explained that he had created his own world as a coping mechanism to deal with the bullying he faced as a youngster.

During the podcast episode, the singer shared that his childhood was marred by being overweight, a condition that made him the target of ridicule and taunting by his peers.

He disclosed that the constant teasing and name-calling, with the label “orobo” (a Nigerian term for someone who is overweight), led him to withdraw from social interactions.

Kizz Daniel went on to reveal that these early experiences had left him with social anxiety, and he sometimes turned to alcohol as a means of coping with the discomfort he felt in social situations.

He said,

“I have built a world of my own in my head since I was little. Because growing up, I was a fat kid. I was chubby.

“So, I don’t go out because the kids in the area make fun of me. They called me orobo (someone who is fat). And they bullied me. So I always stay indoors.”

“During that time that I always stayed indoors, I’d already built this fantasy world in my head. In the world that I have built in my head, I’m very comfortable in that space,” he added.

Kizz Daniel also shared that, even after shedding weight and gaining recognition in the music industry, he struggled with social skills and found it challenging to communicate and socialize with others.