By Chiburoma Glory Nwabueze & Majesty Oko-jaja
The year 2022 was fascinating in many respects. Nigerians witnessed firsthand, political gbas gbos, breakthroughs in art and entertainment, the emergence of new heroes, and of course judgments by “online in-laws” on a daily basis.
In this special report, Elanhub’s Chiburoma Glory and Majesty Oko-jaja share details on what many think are 10 of the most talked about Nigerians in 2022.
The ‘Ojuju’ crooner, Ikuforiji Abdulrahman is a Nigerian singer and songwriter professionally known as Oxlade. His sex tape saturated the media space in February 2022 and got a lot of Nigerians talking! He went on later in the year to release Ku lo Sa which trended on TikTok, becoming one of the most-played songs in the country. The singer also bagged some international gigs and recognitions in 2022.
Temilade Openiyi known professionally as Tems, is a Nigerian singer. She rose to prominence after she was featured on Wizkid’s 2020 single “Essence”. In 2022, she trended more across social networks for winning Best International Act and Best Collaboration in the BET 2022 awards. She also won the 02 Silver Clef International award and the BMI London Impact award.
Mr. Rufai is the most popular host on AriseTv. Many believe he is a firebrand journalist and one of the few in his profession who is asking the right questions about the 2023 general elections. Rufai grills his guests to the admiration and disdain of many.
Yul Edochie is a popular Nollywood actor whose sudden marriage to his colleague, Judy an estranged wife of one Mr. Obasi threw him up for a controversy that is yet to end. Yul took to his social media handles to publicly apologise and in other instances, explain himself to his online in-laws, an act that has kept Nigerians talking about him.
Habeeb Okikiola is a Nigerian songwriter, rapper, and singer. Professionally known as Portable(Zazu Zeh), he rose to stardom early this year and has trended for so many reasons. Since his rise to fame, barely a week passes without him being in one controversy or the other. Some of the most popular controversies about him centre around his feud with Poco Lee; his love life and children; the sacking of his manager; and the fights at his shows and concerts.
Tobi Amusan is a Nigerian track and field athlete who specialises in the 100 metres hurdle and also competes as a sprinter. She is the current World, Commonwealth, and African champion in the 100m hurdles. She was also alleged to have failed a drug test and risked losing her titles, a report that sparked national and international debates and which many Nigerians termed racist and a calculated attempt to rubbish her achievements. In September 2022, she was conferred the Order Of the Niger (OON) by President Mohammadu Buhari.
When you hear the name Nyesom Wike, so many things come to your mind at once. Chief. Barr. Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike is a Nigerian politician and the serving Governor of Rivers State and one of the most hardworking governors in recent times. Although he is not on the ballot for the 2023 general elections, hardly a week passes without his appearing on Twitter trends. He is popular and talked about because of his public face-off with his party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, his “Ayu must go” chants, his outings with his music band, monthly projects commissioning, executive orders on public advertisements and campaigns, amongst others. He also leads a group of PDP disgruntled governors tagged G5. The name Wike is almost synonymous with ‘as e dey sweet us’, ‘enyedeba enyedeba’.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a former Governor of Lagos State and the Presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). He has remained the talk of the town because of his aspiration to succeed President Mohammadu Buhari and his many campaign gaffes. He has come under heavy criticism for boycotting media-sponsored town hall meetings and debates. His health status and mental capability are also at the core of the debates about the man, Bola Tinubu. Some of his campaign gaffes are “A town hall different from balablu”, “God bless PDAPC”, “go and get your APV ” “a rotten situation to a bad one “, etc.
Ahmed Ololade, known professionally as Asake, is a Nigerian Afrobeats singer and songwriter signed to YBNL Nation and Empire Distribution. Asake’s breakthrough in 2022 began when Olamide signed him to YBNL Records in February. He went on to release an EP that had Nigerians and his fans talking. A second single from the EP, “Sungba”, was remixed with a verse from Nigerian artist, Burna Boy. In July 2022, Asake trended across media platforms for signing a distribution deal with Empire. His hit singles for 2022 are, “Terminator”, “Peace Be Unto You” and the “Sungba” remix with Burna Boy. Asake was under fire for poor crowd management at his O2 Academy Brixton London tour during which two persons died and many were critically injured. In Dec 2022, he suffered a wardrobe malfunction as he mistakenly ripped his trousers on stage.
1) Peter Obi
Peter Gregory Obi(Go and Verify), a businessman, former Governor of Anambra state, and Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the forthcoming presidential elections is the Most Talked About Nigerian in 2022. Obi remained at the top of all 2022 trend tables and polls for many months, especially following the declaration of his intention to vie for the Office of President of Nigeria. Taunted in some quarters as Nigeria’s next Messiah, Peter Obi is the heart of the Obidient movement in Nigeria – a group of fierce and ardent believers in the Peter Obi candidacy. His public interviews and media tours make him one of the most scrutinised political actors in the country and have enabled him to remain at the core of Nigeria’s 2022 political discourse.
