By Eberechi Obinagwam
Google has announced the results of its 2022 Year In Search, revealing the most searched terms, people, actors, musicians, topics, questions and more that captured the interest of Nigerians the most throughout this year.
Google’s Year in Search is an annual analysis that reveals the top trending lists and also spotlights what the world searches to see, learn and do. In Nigeria, the result for this year’s Year in Search shows a heightened interest in politics, entertainment, sports, lifestyle and notable personalities.
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.
The Africa Cup of Nations, referred to as AFCON, and Casemiro, the 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.
Oxlade, the Nigerian singer and songwriter, topped both categories of top trending people and top trending musicians searched by Nigerians this year. Asake, an Afrobeat singer signed to YBNL Nation came up in second place in the top trending musician’s list.
Anikulapo, a Nigerian epic fantasy film starring Kunle Remi and produced by Kunle Afolayan topped the category of trending movies and series.
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Questions like, ‘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 isTinubu’s running mate?’ and ‘Who is Peter Obi?’, reveal the increased interest of Nigerians in politics and the elections happening next year.
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.
And in a year with a number of high-profile deaths, the death of Queen Elizabeth was the most searched loss, followed by gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu, who died in April and actress Ada Ameh who died in August.
Other top searched questions like, ‘How to link NIN?’, ‘How to buy shares?’, ‘How to register for PVC online?’, ‘What is Lupus?’ and “What is NATO?’ showed how Nigerians made use of Search to find out more about their interests in 2022.
Here are the trending searches in 2022:
Top 10 trending searches
1.AFCON
2.ASUU
3.iPhone 14
4.Oxlade
5.NATO
6.Buga
7.Peter Obi
8.Ukraine
9.World Cup
10.Asake
Top 10 trending people
1.Oxlade
2.Peter Obi
3.Asake
4.Black Sherif
5.Casemiro
6.Putin
7.Lisandro Martinez
8.Anthony
9.Gabriel Jesus
10.Raphinha
Top 10 athletes/ sports people
1.Casemiro
2.Lisandro Martinez
3.Anthony
4.Gabriel Jesus
5.Raphinha
6.Maduka Okoye
7.Fofana
8.Eriksen
9.Tobi Amusan
10.Graham Potter
Top 10 trending musicians
1.Oxlade
2.Asake
3.Black Sherif
4.Portable
5.Lil Tjay
6.Ruger
7.Kwaku the traveller
8.Buju
9.Angelique Kidjo
10.DJ YK
Top 10 trending actors
1.Will Smith
2.Johnny Depp
3.Yul Edochie
4.Osita Iheme
5.Judy Austin
6.Olu Jacobs
7.Peggy Ovire
8.Amber Heard
9.Nkechi Blessing
10.Thuso Mbedu
Top 10 trending loss
1.Queen Elizabeth
2.Osinachi Nwachukwu
3.Ada Ameh
4.Rico Swavey
5.Takeoff
6.Chinedu Nwadike
7.Dablixx Osha
8.Dejo Tunfulu
9.Ifeanyi Adeleke
10.Alaafin of Oyo – Oba Lamidi Adeyemi
Top 10 trending lyrics
1.Finesse lyrics
2.Overdose lyrics
3.Rush lyrics
4.If I broke na my business lyrics
5.Palazzo lyrics
6.Bandana lyrics
7.Buga lyrics
8.Kwaku the traveller lyrics
9.Cough by Kizz Daniel lyrics
10.Machala lyrics
Top 10 trending recipes
1.Fried rice recipe
2.Afang Soup recipe
3.Jollof rice recipe
4.Banana bread recipe
5.Parfait recipe
6.Sex on the beach recipe
7.French toast recipe
8.Ogbono soup recipe
9.Chin chin recipe
10.Lasagna recipe
Top 10 trending devices
1.iPhone 14 pro max
2.iPhone 13 pro max
3.Tecno Camon 19
4.Infinix Note 12
5.Tecno Spark 7
6.Infinix Note 11
7.Redmi Note 11
8.Infinix Smart 6
9.Spark 7
10.Tecno Spark 9
Top 10 trending movies/ series
1.Anikulapo
2.Blood sisters
3.House of the dragon
4.Thor love and thunder
5.The woman king
6.Selina tested
7.Tinder Swindler
8.Black Panther
9.Eternals
10.All of us are dead
Top 10 trending songs
1.Buga – Kizz Daniel ft Tekno
2.Overdose – Mavins, Crayon, Ayra Starr, Ladipoe, Magixx and Boy Spyce
3.Machala – Carter Efe ft Berri Tiga
4.Calm Down – Rema
5.Rush – Ayra Starr
6.Terminator – Asake
7.Girlfriend – Ruger
8.Finesse – Pheelz ft BNXN
9.How are you my friend – Johnny Drille
10.Cough – Kizz Daniel
Top 10 trending “Who is” general
1.Who is Peter Obi’s running mate?
2.Who is Queen Elizabeth?
3.Who is the Greek God of war?
4.Who is the APC Presidential candidate?
5.Who is Atiku’s running mate?
6.Who is Princess Diana?
7.Who is leading in the Osun State election?
8.Who is Tinubu’s running mate?
9.Who is Peter Obi?
10.Who is Rico Swavey?
Top 10 trending “How to” general
1.How to link NIN?
2.How to buy shares?
3.How to register for PVC online?
4.How to remove the rotoscope filter?
5.How to maintain facial health by controlling the type of food consumed?
6.How to create an NFT?
7.How to upgrade to iOS 16?
8.How to hide an app on an iPhone?
9.How to hide number?
10.How to write an application letter for a job?
Top 10 trending “What is” general
1.What is Lupus?
2.What is NATO?
3.What is NFT?
4.What is the cause of the Russia and Ukraine war?
5.What is the meaning of zazu zeh?
6.What is PVC?
7.What is intersex?
8.What is the meaning of sapa?
9.What is Greta Thunberg known for?
10.What is the scientific term for ear ringing?