Google unveils Nigeria’s Most Searched Terms in January 2015

Muna Obiekwe passed away on January 18 after a protracted kidney disease that the general public was completely unaware of. Muna Obiekwe was a Nollywood actor and he left behind a wife and two kids. What his death more of an enigma (and hence, more searching) was not just the sudden nature but at that time, a fake Twitter account was debunking the claims that the actor was dead. This left a lot of confusion and lots of hopeful fans turned to Google to confirm their worries. Muna’s colleagues had to step out and make an authoritative statement. The Twitter account later apologized and closed shop.

Next on the list is the first of the political searches. On January 7,  two Islamist gunmen forced their way into and opened fire in the Paris offices of a French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, killing nine staff, a maintenance worker and two police officers, and wounding eleven. Charlie Hebdo was very notorious for its very controversial nature especially its cartoons that were blasphemous to Muslims. The attack on Charlie Hebdo sparked the Je Suis Charlie (I Am Charlie) movement which found overwhelming support from foreign media and world leaders.

Meanwhile, on the political home front, the issues of the 2015 General Elections seemed to revolve General Buhari’s certificate.  The certificate saga involving General Muhammadu Buhari, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC took a new turn when the announced it didn’t have the said document. The Principal of Buhariá alma matter releasing the results did not help his case much as opposers claimed it was a forgery. As of now, the controversy surrounding the certificate is still on.

Chris Kyle, an American Navy SEAL who inspired the movie, American Sniper, comes in next. Chris Kyle was killed in February 2013 and is currently the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history with 160 confirmed kills. American Sniper, the movie inspired by his story turned out to be a $264million box-office sensation.

Wizkid‘s Ojuelegba blew both fans and critics out of the water as the superstar who had a turbulent 2014 decided to release the video to a song that did not have to do about money or women. In the song Ojuelegba, Wizkid sings about his roots in Ojuelegba, a suburban area in Lagos. Ojuelegba is off Wizkid’s sophomore album, Ayo and the video currently has more than half a million views on YouTube.

On 23 January 2015, King of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah passed away. He had ruled for just a decade and he is one of the least controversial Arabian monarchs ever. His death at 90 sparked renewed interest in his life and times and the prosperous but shadowy kingdom he led.

General Buhari’s daughter Zahra Buhari became an overnight Twitter celebrity on January 13 after Nigerian blogs discovered her Instagram and Twitter pages. Her stunning pictures left a lot of social media users smitten, wanting more, and created a lot of funny banter online. She eventually deactivated her social media accounts to the excessive attention.

Father Mbaka is another personality who was searched for many due to political reasons. The outspoken Catholic Priest, called on Nigerians to vote out President Goodluck Jonathan out of office come election time. This came as a shock as just weeks ago, the Father entertained the President’s wife in his parish and pledged his support for her husband’s tenure. The reactions to the YouTube video which has now attracted almost 400,000 views was mixed.

Pero Adeniyi sparked Nigerians’ curiosities after gossip blogs shared pictures of her and singer 2Face kissing in a club. Pero Adeniyi has one child for 2Face who is currently married to Annie Macaulay of which he has two kids with. As Nigerians took to Google to ogle, 2Face asked everyone to kindly stay out of his business.

The tenth and final entry was another brought about by an unfortunate death as radio presenter, Olumayowa Orisatola passed on in the early hours of January 16. Nicknamed Aditu after the popular show he anchored and which aired in several states in the Southwest, he was said to have succumbed to a brief illness.

Top trending word in Nigeria

The most searched word in Nigeria in January was ‘sacrosanct‘. It is an adjective (especially of a principle, place, or routine) regarded as too important or valuable to be interfered with.

This search was inspired by President Goodluck Jonathan’s speech where he emphasized his administration’s commitment to democracy and his willingness to handover should he lose the elections. He reiterated that May 29 handover date is sacrosanct. To quote President Jonathan;

“I emphasised to Secretary Kerry that I am deeply committed to ensuring that our forthcoming election is free, fair, and credible.

“It is especially critical that all political parties abide by the Abuja Accord, which commits each to non-violence before, during, and after the election.

“I made it absolutely clear that the May 29th handover date is sacrosanct.

This sent Nigerians a-searching to find out the meaning of the word.