By Benjamin Njoku

In Africa’s crowded gaming content space, where thousands of creators battle for views, one name stands above the rest.

Basiru Faruk, known to fans as DMS, has done what no other African gaming creator has done by becoming the continent’s most followed gaming streamer, with a combined audience of over 2.5 million followers and hundreds of millions of views across YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook.

The numbers are hard to ignore. As of April 2026, DMS has 142,000 subscribers and over 12 million views on YouTube, 2.3 million followers with 45 million likes and more than 50 million views on TikTok, and 108,000 followers with over 10 million views on Facebook.

But it’s the story behind those stats that makes him different. Faruk’s path into gaming wasn’t planned, it was personal. Growing up in Nigeria, he played games, recorded his wins, and saved them just to relive the moments.

There were no plans to monetize, no brand deals in sight, just a kid who loved to play and wanted to remember when he played well. “I was not thinking about followers or fame. I just wanted to play, and I wanted to keep my wins. That was everything to me at the beginning”, he said

That simple start slowly turned into something bigger. By 2022, his personal passion had become undeniable. DMS hit his first 1,000 YouTube subscribers, a milestone that gives many creators their first real taste of validation. For Basiru, it was the signal to go all in. He refined his craft, posted with consistency through 2023, and grew his audience organically.

Without major label deals or corporate backing, DMS built his following on content quality and a genuine bond with his audience. By January 2025, his channel crossed 100,000 subscribers, earning him the YouTube Silver Creator Award — making him the first African gaming streamer to receive the honor.

Today, DMS plays across titles including Free Fire, Call of Duty, and PUBG Mobile. His content blends competitive gameplay, entertaining reactions, and community-driven moments — a style shaped in part by global gaming star IShowSpeed, whom Faruk calls his biggest influence.