Peter Obi, Buga, Others Emerge Top Trending Searches in Nigeria in Six Months

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

In the first half of 2022, the trio of Peter Obi, Putin and Bianca Ojukwu were the top three trending people in Nigeria, while AFCON 2022, the ASUU strike and Winter Paralympics were the top three trending moments in the period under consideration, according to data released by Google, a search engine giant.

It was discovered that Nigerian netizens were interested in various aspects of life, including politics, high profile deaths, sports personalities, blockbuster movies and TV series, Nollywood actors, musicians and songs.

Peter Obi is a Nigerian businessman and politician who served as the Governor of Anambra State three separate times from 2006 to 2014. He is currently the Labour Party nominee for President of Nigeria in the 2023 presidential election.

Vladimir Putin, Russia’s President also grabbed the attention of Nigerians in the first six months of this year as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine became topical across the globe.

Bianca Ojukwu, the widow of the late Biafran warlord, Chukuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu also led the search interest by Nigerians when she slapped Ebelechukwu, the wife of immediate past Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano. A second famous slap comes in at number five on the list of top trending people after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars in March.

AFCON 2022 topped the list of most searched moments between January and June. Senegal beat Egypt in the final match of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) football competition to emerge as the winner.  The ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that has seen the majority of Nigerian students in public tertiary institutions stay out of classes for five months is also a top moment that captured the interest of Nigerians online.

Top of the list of notable deaths is the death of popular Nigerian gospel singer, Osinachi Nwachukwu. She was allegedly killed by her husband in a case of domestic violence. The death of another gospel singer, Chinedu Nwadike, was the second most searched death for Nigerians.

The song, Buga, by Kizz Daniel and Tekno is the number one trending song in the period under review. Blood sisters, a Nigerian series on Netflix starring Nancy Isime and Ini Dima-Okojie topped the list of top trending movies and TV Series by Nigerians from January to June 2022. Olu Jacobs, the veteran Nollywood actor who recently celebrated his eightieth birthday leads the list of top trending actors in Nigeria while Raheem Sterling’s journey from Manchester City to Chelsea FC led him to be the number one trending sports personality in Nigeria.

Take a look at the full lists of top trending searches for the first half of 2022 below: