Obi tops Google search as ‘Obidients’ blossom in quest for political revolution
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
‘Obidients’, the youthful Twitterverse of Peter Obi pitching him to become President on the platform of the Labour Party (LP), have been firing on all cylinders and will be pleased to know they have placed him right at the top of Google search in Nigeria.
The second most searched name in Africa’s most populous nation between January and June is Vladmir Putin, for his notoriety in invading Ukraine in February.
Next is Bianca Ojukwu, for slapping Ebele Obiano at the inauguration of Charles Soludo as Anambra Governor in March, according to the latest Google trend report.
The report also reveals moments, songs, and movies Nigerians searched for in half year 2022 (HY 2022).
“The first half of 2022 has been eventful for Nigerians. Between politics, high-profile deaths, sports personalities, blockbuster movies and TV series, Nollywood actors, musicians and songs that became very catchy; Nigerian netizens turned to Google to find out more,” Google said.
“The top three trending people in Nigeria in the first half of the year are Peter Obi, Putin and Bianca Ojukwu.
“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.”
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Putting and Bianca
“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 late Biafran warlord, Chukuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, also led 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,” Google explained, per reporting by Nairametrics.
AFCON 2022
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 Nation (AFCON) football competition.
“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.
“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 Netflx starring Nancy Isime and Ini Dima-Okojie, topped the list of top trending movies and TV Series by Nigerians from January to June 2022.”
Full list of top trending searches
Below is the full list of top trending Google searches in Nigeria between January and June 2022, per additional reporting by The Nation.
Top trending people
- Peter Obi
- Vladimir Putin
- Bianca Ojukwu
- Simon Leviev
- Will Smith
- Abba Kyari
- Johnny Depp
- Black Chully
- Funmilayo Adebayo aka Mummy GO
- Kelly Tiktok
Top trending moments
- ASUU strike
- Winter paralympics
- Chrisland school girl
- APC Presidential primaries
- Russia Ukraine conflict
- Kuje Prison attack
- PDP Presidential primaries 2022
- Owo Church Attack
- Blasphemy Sokoto
Top trending deaths
- Chinedu Nwadike
- Dejo tunfulu
- Alaafin of Oyo
- Shinzo Abe
- Alao Akala
- Osmond Gbadebo
- Abiodun Oropo
- Mino Raiola
- Ernest Shonekan
Top trending sports people
- Raheem Sterling
- Raphinha
- Lisandro Martinez
Search trends
Search trends information is gleaned from data collated by Google based on what Nigerians are searching for and asking Google.
Google processes more than 40,000 search queries every second. This translates to more than a billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year worldwide.