"Collins Asein didn't grow up with books in the house. He grew up with a tray on his head."
Uhonmora-Ora, Edo State
By the time he was six years old, he was already on the streets of Uhonmora-Ora in Edo State, hawking roasted fish and fresh fruit alongside his mother — a woman who worked herself to the bone to keep her children alive. School happened when it could. Some years it didn't happen at all. He moved from one school to another, learning in gaps, picking up what he could wherever life allowed.
He Walked Away From Both
He almost didn't make it to adulthood. His elder brother accidentally poured boiling water on him as a child, leaving his body scarred. A car hit him in Benin City and dragged him. He walked away from both. Not unaffected — but alive.
What Saved Him
What saved him, more than anything, was words. It started with a letter. As a boy, he was known in his neighborhood as sharp, resourceful — the kind of kid people trusted with tasks. Young men would come to him with a problem: they liked a girl, couldn't find the words, needed help. Collins would carry the letter. One day, out of pure curiosity, he opened one. It was beautifully written — tender, careful, searching. Something about it reached inside him and didn't let go.
Songs Came First
He started writing his own. Songs came first. His earliest lyrics captured the streets he knew — the noise, the hustle, the weight of wanting more than what was in front of you. Music became his first real language, the thing he chased when he eventually moved to the city. By 2009, he had recorded his first mixtape, working with producers, getting a taste of what a different life could look like.
"A boy who learned that words could do what money couldn't."
Lagos. Blogging. Books.
Lagos brought a new beginning. He found blogging, built an audience, became a voice people returned to. That led to travel writing, to vlogging, to sharing stories from places he once only dreamed of visiting. And through it all, his faith was deepening — shaping not just what he believed but what he wrote and why. His first book, Unlocking Divine, marked the start of something that hasn't stopped.
127 Books. 6 Apps. 20+ Albums.
He has now published over 127 titles — mostly prayer books and devotionals, written for people who are searching for something solid to hold onto. He runs MandyNews, a blog covering tech, finance, and culture. He is building apps — BookSane for writers, Owanly to preserve the Owan language of his homeland, AbegNa to help Nigerians support each other in hard moments. Under the name WeGlobe, he has released 20+ albums spanning Afrobeats, Gospel, R&B and Inspirational music. Everything connects back to the same thing: a boy who learned that words could do what money couldn't.