Editor-in-Chief of the digital women’s magazine Elowell Max, Elohor Ogaga-Edafe, has said she is intentionally working to rekindle Nigeria’s declining reading culture by prioritising depth, meaning, and thoughtful storytelling.
She noted that reading habits, especially among younger audiences, have weakened as social media scrolling, short videos, and viral captions increasingly replace engagement with long-form stories.
In a digital space saturated with constant online noise, Ogaga-Edafe said meaningful journalism now faces stiff competition, but insisted that media must resist the pressure to sacrifice substance for speed.
Launched in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic as a wellness platform, Elowell Max has since evolved into a digital publication curated for the modern African woman.
“I’m not interested in just competing,” she said. “I’m interested in building meaning. Media should not just fill space; it should leave something behind.”
As part of its evolving editorial direction, the magazine recently introduced new columns, including The Curve Economy and The Inside Life, designed to interrogate women’s bodies, money, access, power, and lived realities beyond surface-level narratives.
The Curve Economy examines how women’s bodies intersect with culture, commerce, beauty standards, and control, while The Inside Life offers intimate insights into personal worlds often hidden behind curated public images.
“These columns were born out of the need for depth,” Ogaga-Edafe explained. “Women are constantly spoken about, yet rarely spoken with depth. I wanted spaces where nuance is allowed. Elowell Max is where stories are not rushed, diluted, or reduced to trends.”
She added that the platform has begun training its first batch of journalists, with emphasis on critical thinking, cultural context, and ethical storytelling rather than speed or analytics.
According to her, the magazine covers themes ranging from identity and relationships to culture and pop analysis, treating them as serious reflections of African women’s lived experiences.
Ogaga-Edafe said the goal is to build a readership that values thoughtful, consistent reporting over viral appeal.
“Media can change how people see themselves and the world,” she said. “But only if it stops insulting readers’ intelligence.
“We don’t just need more content; we need better thinking. I want writers who ask better questions, who can sit with discomfort, and who understand that clarity takes work.”
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