2019 was an eventful year. We’ve seen several hot topics that have rocked the media and will remain memorable for some time to come. Here is a countdown of these trends ranging from entertainment to politics.
10. African Giant
2019 was indeed a great year for Burna Boy as he won so many awards and secured a Grammy nomination. This success is partly due to his widely acclaimed album African Giant which is undeniably the best body of work by an artiste in 2019. The album received so many positive reviews after it was released in July and promoted on international shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Breakfast Club on Power 105.1, and The Daily With Show With Trevor Noah.
9. #SexForGrade
BBC Africa Eye, the BBC’s investigative arm in Africa caused an uproar on social media when it released a documentary about sexual misconduct by lecturers of two top West African universities; the University of Lagos and the University of Ghana.
The documentary titled Sex For Grades entailed secret surveillance off four lecturers who were implicated in the scandal.
Full Documentary:
Reactions
https://twitter.com/Jurinormatthew1/status/1181434620480512000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
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8. The 10-Year Challenge
The year 2019 started with a new fad called the 10-year challenge. The challenge involved people posting photos of themselves many years earlier next to photos of themselves in 2019. Of course, many celebs jumped on this trend and it was fun while it lasted.
7. Senator Abbo
Nigerians were in shock after CCTV footage of Senator Elisha Abbo — a representative of the Adamawa-North senatorial district — assaulting a woman began making the rounds on social media.
Of course, many didn’t take kindly to the video and called for justice to be served on behalf of the woman. The senator was later tried in a hearing set up to investigate him.
Here is the video:
Reactions:
6. Busola Dakolo’s revelation against Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo
This year, the media was rocked by staggering rape revelations made by Bukola Dakolo, photographer and wife of singer Timi Dakolo, against Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo, Senior Pastor and founder of Commonwealth of Zion Assembly popular known as COZA.
Dakolo made this revelation in an interview with YNaija TV, accusing the pastor of allegedly raping her when she was still a teenager. She went on to also file a lawsuit against him alleging that he had raped her and caused her emotional distress.
After going through lengthy litigation and stirring more controversies, the case was eventually dismissed, with the court awarding costs of N1,000,000 against Busola Dakolo‘s counsel.
Reactions
Different opinions
COZA
Reactions to court dismissing Busola Dakolo’s case
5. The Social Media Bill
A bill dubbed the “Social Media Bill” has raised eyebrows across the country since it was introduced by the senate. The bill, ‘Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulations Bill, 2019,’ championed by Sen. Mohammed Sani Musa passed the second reading on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday, November 20, 2019.
Nigerians have not taken the bill lightly since it emerged. This is due to the implications it holds on free speech if passed into law. Here are screenshots of the content of the proposed bill
https://twitter.com/amid_temitayo/status/1197806859975102467?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Reactions to the bill
4. End SARS
The hashtag #EndSARS trended continuously on social media due to the incessant mistreatment of innocent Nigerians by the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS). Many Nigerians use the hashtag to call for the boycott of SARS to put an end to the harassment people go through in the hands of the body’s officials. Ever since the hashtag made its way to social media, many have lent their voice to the cause.
https://twitter.com/Booda_Kola/status/1113396431627460609?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/JalomiMohammed1/status/1113042725102870529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
3. Face App
Not too long after the emergence of the 10-year challenge, the Face App surfaced. This app, which was one of the most controversial fads of 2019, predicts what you would like when you’re old. It all started when many celebrities used the app and posted pictures predicting what they would look like in the future. The buzz around the app was, however, shortlived after cybersecurity experts claimed that the app was a counterintelligence threat and could be used maliciously against people who use it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz_h1fbHlcO/?utm_source=ig_embed
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0BCUFRBR3P/?utm_source=ig_embed
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0A7kOighVX/?utm_source=ig_embed
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz_Hbt7F_xL/?utm_source=ig_embed
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz_ssD3nUI7/?utm_source=ig_embed
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2. Xenophobia
One of the occurrences to recently rock the online space was the xenophobic attacks in South Africa. There were several angry reactions from Nigerians, like never before, concerning the attacks ranging from celebrities to regular folks. The highlight was when rapper Ycee went on a rant about the attacks and called out South African rapper AKA for a controversial remark he had made earlier.
Exchange between Ycee and AKA
https://twitter.com/iam_YCee/status/1168835311012589569/photo/1
Reactions from Nigerians
1. Artiste Of The Decade
This week, Pulse released its list of top Nigerian artistes of the decade. Wizkid earned the first spot with Olamide, Davido, Psquare and Burna Boy following closely behind. Of course, music lovers had a thing or two to say about the list, each contributing to the conversation on social media.
On Wizkid, they said:
On Olamide…
On Davido…
Other reactions:
Featured Image Source: Burna Boy – Youtube
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