Nigerian singer and songwriter, Oxlade, topped both categories of top trending people and top trending musicians searched by Nigerians this year.
This is according to Nigeria’s 2022 Year in Search lists released by Google on Wednesday. According to the report, Asake, an Afrobeat singer signed to YBNL Nation, came up in second place in the top trending musician’s list. Meanwhile, Anikulapo, a Nigerian epic fantasy film starring Kunle Remi and produced by Kunle Afolayan, topped the category of trending movies and series.
The 2022 Year in Search lists provides a snapshot into what piqued Nigerians’ curiosity in a year that saw major sporting events, high-profile deaths, and in the run-up to Nigeria’s election in February 2023.
Questions Nigerians are asking: The report reveals that top questions Nigerians asked Google this year include ‘Who is Peter Obi’s running mate?’ ‘Who is the APC Presidential candidate?’, ‘Who is Atiku’s running mate?’, ‘Who is leading in the Osun State election?’, ‘Who is Tinubu’s running mate?’ and ‘Who is Peter Obi?’.
Entertainment-related search terms like ‘Finesse lyrics’, ‘Buga’, the song by Kizz Daniel featuring Tekno, and ‘Will Smith’ all topped their categories revealing Nigerians’ interest in lyrics, songs and celebrity personalities.
Other top searches: The Africa Cup of Nations, referred to as AFCON, and Casemiro, a Brazilian football player, topped the categories of top trending searches and top athletes and sports people respectively. Nigeria was eliminated from the 2022 AFCON competition by Tunisia in a 1 – 0 defeat as Senegal went on to beat Egypt to win their first Africa Cup of Nations title earlier this year. The strike action by ASUU, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, that lingered for eight months got the Union in second place in the top trending searches by Nigerians in the period under review.
