At Lagos's landmark Eko Convention Centre, Mainstack's Moment 2026 conference, held from March 13-15, 2026, aimed to inspire, connect, and grow thousands of African creators. However, the event unexpectedly ignited one of the most talked-about public feuds in Nigeria's tech scene this year, pitting two leading creator monetization platforms, Selar and Mainstack, against each other.
Selar, which bills itself as Africa's largest creator platform with over 2 million registered users and having paid out over $26 million to creators, employed a classic "guerrilla" tactic. They secured prominent advertising space at the venue, erecting billboards featuring motivational slogans like "Create with intention" and "Create what sells," prominently displaying the Selar logo.
Selar's CEO, Douglas Kendyson, later explained that they had disclosed the nature of the commercial competition to the venue operators beforehand and received their approval. It was a bold, calculated move in guerilla marketing, subtly inserting their brand into the competitor's spotlight without uttering a word.
Mainstack, however, which had invested heavily in curating a series of keynotes, workshops, and premium experiences for the conference, viewed Selar's actions as a provocation. They promptly lodged a complaint, and the billboards were swiftly removed.
What could have been an interesting footnote exploded on X (formerly Twitter) when it was revealed that Milton Tutu, Selar's former Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), was the new CMO for Mainstack. Tutu, who spent four years at Selar, helping it grow from a small platform into a significant force across the continent, had previously stated his departure was amicable in a Medium post dated October 2025 titled "Leaving Selar, Not the Mission." According to that post, Selar users spanned 13 countries, reaching 2.2 million.
Simultaneously, a flurry of highly similar tweets emerged on X: "Looks like I'm moving to Mainstack with Milton Tutu #moment2026" and "#Momentbymainstack just announced Milton as CMO! Milton moves from Stellar (nickname for Selar) to Moment!".
Kendyson dismissed these tweets as "scripted" and "targeted," implying Mainstack was making a subtle, or not-so-subtle, jab at Selar by positioning Tutu as a star product being "poached."
The timeline of events also added fuel to the debate. Tutu's departure announcement was made months prior, with overt signs of hostility only appearing now. While Mainstack's widely circulated photo of a confident-smiling Tutu was noted by observers for its irony, Tutu had expressed positive sentiments about collaboration with Selar as late as late 2025.
The reaction on X vividly captured the chaos. One user commented: "'Selar's move was unfair.' 'Mainstack invested heavily in this event.' Honey, this is competition, like Burger King vs McDonald's, Coke vs Pepsi. The world does this, it's not a 'friendly sing-along, let's all get along' vibe, lol.".
Her post garnered significant support, framing Selar's actions as a...