MUMBAI, Jan. 25 -- Could this young Nigerian be more Indian than an Indian? Agu Stanley Chiedozie, 24, comes pretty close. After six years in India - he first arrived as a student - he's picked up an instinctive feel for everyday Indian habits: the quick pranaam when a foot brushes someone else's, the careful shaping of modaks during Ganesh Chaturthi, even ending his sentences with "yaar". Chiedozie truly 'gets it', and it's what's making this social media influencer such a hit among his 974,000 followers on Instagram, most of them Indian. He made his viral debut on social media in 2023 and, about a year ago, made Versova in Mumbai his home. In that short time, he's been seen on social media alongside India's film and television personalities and social media influencers, endorsing products, and spouting lines not just in Hindi but also Bhojpuri, Marathi and Gujarati. "When I came to India in 2019, I made friends on (Amity University, Lucknow) campus. My best friend Utkarsh didn't speak English and I didn't speak Hindi at the time, but I picked it up by listening to it," says Chiedozie, who was raised in Lagos and has a flair for languages. The 6 ft 5 in basketball player has embraced all things Indian, and a sense of humour comes in handy when at the receiving end of things that aren't always funny, such as racial profiling. "Self-deprecating humour always works," he says, with an infectious smile. "Some people don't know any better; they don't have the education or exposure to know when something is offensive. When an unkind word was tossed at me at a food court on my way to Pune, I still took a selfie with the guy," he says, amused at the memory. Chiedozie wears his new-found "celebrity" status lightly and readily obliges selfie requests in malls, restaurants and even on the street. His content is often shaped by real-life experiences. Humour is his default mode, but he sometimes uses choice Hindi words to lend his message authenticity. Not surprisingly, expletives were his entry point into Hindi, which he picked up in Lucknow, where he earned a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree in 2024. Pharmacy was his father's pick, not his own, he says. "Bachpan se mujhe bola tha ki you have to be a pharmacist," smiles Chiedozie, flaunting his Hinglish! The social media influencer has mastered both the cold stare and the eye roll, very useful while attempting to sensitise Indians to what it's like to be a black man in India. "Lagta hain kisi ne mujhpe kaala jaadu karwaya hai, nahi toh bachpan mein to main gora tha (Someone has performed black magic on me because as a child I used to be white)." "There's been a lot of stereotyping and also myths relating to black people, and I have decided to correct these using my platform and present it in a comical way," says Chiedozie, wrote on Instagram about a series of reels he started in December 2023. Even as a student, he didn't necessarily band with three fellow Nigerians on campus and is lucky to have a tight group of friends, all Indians. "I didn't travel 10,000 km from home to stay with Nigerians." Playing basketball professionally helped Chiedozie pay his college fees and gave him the opportunity to travel across India. "I've visited Mizoram and Goa and other places too," he recalls. With an athletic bent, learning an Indian sport was a natural choice. "I wanted to go pro in kabbadi but they had a weight cut-off of 85 kg. I am 125 kg," says the towering young man. But, no matter how "Indian" he is, home still tugs at the heart, and food is where he finds comfort. "I've been cooking since I was nine-years-old," says Chiedozie, who sources Nigerian ingredients from a woman in Mira Road, which is home to a sizable Nigerian community. Seasoning, sun-dried fish, spices, curry powder and Zobo, a healthy drink made from dried hibiscus flowers, are some of his staples. Chiedozie's eyes light up when he talks about Jollof rice, a signature West African rice preparation similar to biryani. Naturally, opening a Nigerian restaurant in India has crossed his mind. "Why not," he says. But he has plenty to do in India and elsewhere in the world before he sets down roots, he adds. How about a career in Bollywood? A diehard fan of Gangs of Wasseypur , Chiedozie has featured in Anurag Kashyap's Bandar alongside Bobby Deol, a film screened at the Toronto Film Festival last year. He will soon start shooting for a South Indian film. But, he adds, he'll continue to entertain his followers on social media where he first started to shine....