INFOGRAPHIC: What Did Nigerians Search For in 2024?
Here's a rundown of some of the top Google searches in Nigeria, home to over 97 million internet users.
2024 has been a real rollercoaster year for Nigerians, and as humans naturally in the quest for answers, we all took to Google to really understand what was going on around us.
Whether it was to get an update on US Elections wondering who will take charge of one of the world's superpowers (spoiler: Trump won) or it was trying to understand the whole Bobrisky saga, there really was a lot to unpack.
Luckily, Google took note of some of Nigeria's top searches for the year and here, we're going to be taking a look at our history a bit to at least try to understand what exactly happened in Nigeria this year.
The US Elections were the talk of the town globally, reigning as the top search in the News category of the country. Aside from that, every major search was still grounded at home with the highest searches including the new national anthem even though it's technically the old one that was reinstated as the current one; questions about why the National grid seems to collapse on a daily basis; the recent Minimum wage increment to ₦70,000 from ₦30,000 and the devastating Ibadan explosion in Bodija that left 3 killed and at least 77 injured.
On a slightly brighter note, Google's report shows Nigerians really tried to stay on top of their game with Gen-Z words with the top meanings searched being the meanings of the words; Demure, Steeze, Pet peeves and Moots. The only imposter in this was the meaning of Naira Mutilation but that's understandable, because earlier in the year, Nigerian celebrity, Bob Risky, made headlines when arrested by the EFCC because of the fact.
The arrest was such a hit that Bob Risky ended up being the most searched-for Nigerian personality in the country. Other big names that topped the chart were Betta Edu, Shallipopi, Khaid and Bukunmi Oluwashina.
The movie industry also had major hits in Nigeria with Funke Akindele's A Tribe Called Judah topping the charts both in search and the Box Office with the movie reportedly being the first Nollywood movie to hit ₦1 billion at the Box Office, smashing multiple records in doing so. The sequel to Dune, Dune 2 - which came out this year drove Dune to top the charts too.
On the sports side of things, just as he has been taking charge on the pitch, Nico Williams has also led the most searched athlete section of Nigeria's top search recap. He was followed by the country's very own national keeper Nwabali and then other big names in the football sector such as Leny Yoro, Cole Palmer, and Ruben Amorim.
In the end, Nigeria is a vast country with a wide range of diverse thoughts and priorities, so it's no surprise that both light-hearted and serious events topped the charts. As we move into 2025, I can't help but wonder: what will be the nation's focus in the coming year?
Kelechi Edeh
