Nigerian social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has won widespread admiration after officially traveling out of the country to accompany 18-year-old self-taught innovator Darlyton Ovwieghosuotu, widely known as Smartican, to China.
The inspiring journey comes months after VDM discovered the brilliant teenager on Instagram. Smartican had captured the internet’s attention by building functional home appliances—including a working washing machine, a mini-blender, a wireless power bank, and a projector—entirely from scratch using local materials and cardboard.
Moved by raw ingenuity, VDM committed to funding the young prodigy’s education abroad. Rather than simply wiring funds from a distance, the activist went a step further by personally boarding a flight with the teenager to oversee his official university registration, secure critical documentation, and settle him into his new academic environment.
Taking to social media right before departure, a proud VDM shared updates from the airport terminal, humorously embracing his new role:
“As the sponsor, I have to take Smartican to China for his admission registration and other important documentation… Bye-bye Nigeria for now. I will be a good father from the way I take dey do [laughs],”.
The heartwarming development has drawn an outpouring of praise from fans and public figures alike, with many commending VDM for transforming raw grassroots talent into a life-changing global opportunity. As Smartican prepares to begin his formal studies in technology, supporters across the country are flooding social media with goodwill messages for the young inventor.
