Nigerian TikToker and content creator Elizabeth Amadou, popularly known as Jarvis, has spoken about the hardship she experienced while growing up, including living without her father and enduring periods of hunger and financial difficulty. Jarvis also discussed being raised by a mother whom she said had bipolar disorder, explaining that her mother’s condition made her childhood home unpredictable and emotionally difficult.
She shared her experience in a video recorded on Sunday while appearing alongside her husband, Peller, during a service with Spark Nation founder Pastor Tobi in the United Kingdom. Speaking about her family background, Jarvis said her grandfather was ill at the time and that living with her mother was stressful because her behaviour sometimes changed suddenly.
According to the content creator, her mother could be calm and affectionate at one moment but become violent or verbally abusive at another. “Growing up with her has been very stressful and depressing because sometimes the disorder is crazy,” she said.
Jarvis said she did not grow up with her father, explaining that her mother travelled outside Nigeria and returned pregnant before giving birth to her. “I didn’t grow up with my father because my mother travelled out of the country and came back pregnant and gave birth to me,” she said.
She added that growing up without a father was particularly difficult because of the challenges she experienced with her mother. Jarvis said her grandparents took responsibility for much of her upbringing and provided the discipline and guidance she needed during her early years. She described them as educated and strict, adding that their approach to raising her influenced the person she eventually became.
“I grew up with my grandma and grandpa. They did their best to raise me, and they are very learned and strict. The strictness made me who I am today,” she said. The content creator also recalled facing serious financial difficulties, including periods when her family could not pay her school fees.
Despite the financial pressure, Jarvis said she did not want to abandon her education or be influenced by her peers into seeking money through inappropriate means. She disclosed that the hardship affected basic needs in the household and that she and her sister sometimes went to bed without food. Jarvis said they would watch cooking videos on TikTok even when they could not afford the meals being prepared in the clips.
“I and my sister used to watch cooking food videos on TikTok just to salivate, and at the end of the day we pray that God help us, cry and sleep because there is hunger,” she said. According to her, the search for a way to improve their circumstances eventually led the sisters to TikTok livestreaming.
Jarvis said an individual contacted her through the social media platform and informed her that she could earn money by broadcasting live. Although she was initially reluctant and uncomfortable about appearing publicly on social media, she decided to try livestreaming with her sister.
The sisters earned about $5 from their early effort. Jarvis said the amount was small but meant a great deal to them because of the financial conditions they faced at the time. “So I started with my sister, and we made like $5 at first, and we were very happy because it was crazy,” she said. Jarvis explained that she felt less nervous because her sister appeared with her. She also said they initially kept their social media activities away from their family because they feared it would cause problems if discovered. As the sisters continued using the platform, their activities gradually developed from livestreaming for immediate income into regular content production.
Jarvis said her desire to care for her sister and provide for both of them remained a major source of motivation. “I wanted to take care of my sister. I want to be able to provide a living for ourselves,” she said. What began as an attempt to earn money during a period of financial hardship subsequently became Jarvis’ entry into livestreaming and social media content creation. Her account traced that journey from a childhood marked by an absent father, difficulties at home and food shortages to the beginnings of the online career for which she later became known.