Welcome to July. So much has happened from when the month began. As always, Google is the first place most of us go to when we have questions about issues that matter to us.
Looking at the charts for the month, here are the conversations that were most important to Nigerians.
June 1 to 7
Asphyxia (10,000+ searches)
According to George Floyd’s family, after they had ordered for an independent autopsy on his corpse, it was discovered that the cause of his death was asphyxiation. Floyd died after an encounter with Minneapolis Police officer, Derek Chauvin, who has since been fired from the force.
According to a video which trended at the time, Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than 8 minutes, cutting off the flow of air to his brain.
The resulting #BlackLivesMatter protest has seen people from other countries, including Nigeria, show their support for the African Americans. More than 10,000 searches were carried out on Asphyxia to better understand the cause of Floyd’s death.
Majek Fashek (100K+ searches)
On June 1, legendary Nigerian reggae singer, Majek Fashek died in New York City at the age of 57. Majek worked with many musical stars including Beyonce, Tracy Chapman, Michael Jackson, Jimmy Cliff, and Snoop Dogg during the course of his career.
While 100,000 searches do not necessarily mean that 100,000 people searched for Majek Fashek on June 2. However, it shows that a significant number of people were interested in the musician and wanted to know more about his life.
Diezani (10K+ Searches)
For some reason on June 7, Nigerians remembered former minister for petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke who has been under EFCC investigation for the past 5 years for money laundering.
Diezani who has allegedly been treating cancer for a while in the UK, cannot be extradited to Nigeria to face trial because of the diplomatic passport she obtained from the authorities of the Dominican Republic.
She is also the Trade and Investment Commissioner of the island, a position that was allegedly lobbied for and secured while she was the Minister of Petroleum Resources in Nigeria.
Nigerians showed that as far as they are concerned, the matter is far from over judging from the more than 10,000 searches for Diezani on Google.
June 8 to 14
Adekunle Gold (20K+ searches); Jamb (20K+ searches)
There were more than 20,000 searches for Adekunle Gold on June 8 because of the video he released for his hit track ‘Something Different”. On the same day, there were 20,000 searches for JAMB (Joint Admission Matriculation Board).
Parents and students joined in the online search for JAMB because the results of the exam conducted by the Board had been recently released. Lockdown or not, stakeholders are interested in the next steps to take concerning tertiary education in the country.
Hushpuppi (100K+ searches)
The shockwaves of Hushpuppi’s arrest in Dubai rocked Nigeria on June 9. The social media celebrity who shares his flamboyant lifestyle online was arrested by Interpol and the FBI for alleged fraud.
Suggested read: Social Media Roundup: Liverpool Wins EPL, Hushpuppi Arrested and Other Trending Stories this Week
The allegation was that Hushpuppi and his associates were involved in fraud and the laundering of over $100 million which was supposed to provide support for Native Americans during the Coronavirus Pandemic.
The volume of search showed the clear interest of Nigerians in the life of the internet celebrity and fraud which has become very rampant among Nigerian youths for years. There is also the need to know what next for the socialite following his arrest.
CBN COVID-19 loan (2K+ searches)
Over 2,000 searches were carried out by Nigerians to get more information on the loan that the CBN had made available to SMEs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ibidun Ighodalo (100K+ searches)
Ibidun Ighodalo is the wife of Nigerian pastor Ituah Ighodalo. She died at the age of 39, barely a month to her 40th birthday. The search for her name bordered on getting information about her, as well as the cause of her demise.
The news of her departure as a result of a cardiac arrest came as a shock to many Nigerians as they trooped online to express their condolences and appreciation for her generous nature.
Over 100,000 searches were carried out on her name on the 14th of June.
June 15 to 21
Dexamethasone (20K+ searches)
With the coronavirus still infecting people and wreaking havoc, it is not surprising that more than 20,000 searches were carried out for a drug that could reduce the death rate.
Dexamethasone is a steroid that has been clinically tried in the UK for treatment and found to reduce the number of deaths among the patient groups it was tested on.
Ajimobi (200k+ searches); and Happy Father’s Day (100K+ searches)
Former governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, was rumoured dead on the 18th of June. This led to a huge volume of searches for news about his death. The rumour was later dispelled as fake but people’s curiosity had already been aroused. The former governor was later pronounced dead on June 25.
Nigerians celebrated fathers and father figures on June 21 with the father’s day celebration. The search volume for details of the celebration is over 100,000.
June 21 to 30
N-power
With over 500,000 searches, the N-power initiative for unemployed youths in the country has the highest search volume for the month of June. The application portal was opened on June 26, but the huge search volume was generated on June 25.
This shows the huge anticipation that youths with employment challenges had for the initiative.
Interstate movement in Nigeria (10k+ searches) and European football (300+ searches)
Movement in and out of states within the country has been restricted for some months due to the COVID-19. Curiosity about what the regulation is on the interstate movement resulted in 10,000 searches for the topic on June 29.
Searches for football matters topped the charts for 13 days in the month. The search for the PS5 launch was 100,000, Tottenham vs Man United had 100,000 searches, Live score for the Serie A games had 200,000 searches.
Lee Min Ho
Search results show that since Nigerians watched Boys over Flowers, Lee Min Ho has been given a permanent spot in our hearts.
The Korean actor celebrated his birthday on the 22nd of June and trended on Twitter with a huge number of ladies tweeting birthday messages at his official handle. There were more than 20,000 searches for him on Google.
The list shows that topics on football, well-known people, coronavirus, among others, spiked curiosity and holds the attention of many in the country.
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