Hashtags That Ruled 2017

The year 2017 was a very sensitive and woke year for the hashtag revolution. Whether it was #Covfefe, #Libya #MansNotHot or a meme, hashtags automatically stirred the direction of conversations.

These are some of the hashtags that invaded the Nigerian space during the year.

#BAAD2017
Nigeria’s sweetheart Banky W broke so many hearts when he took beautiful actress, Adesua Etomi to the altar but this was not without some memorable moments. From the misspelt maary me in the proposal picture to people selling wedding tickets of N35,000 fraudulently to the white wedding, it was clear that Nigerians were super excited for the couple and monitored every process.

Banky W and Adesua Etomi At Their Traditional Wedding (#BAAD2017)

#EbukaAgbada
Ebuka Obi-Uchendu is the new fashion icon. His N250,000 Kimono-style agbada took most of the attention at #BAAD2017 traditional marriage. Banky W couldn’t help but tell him to slay at #BAAD2017 white wedding. Since then, he hasn’t failed us. Meanwhile, music producer Mastercraft came under serious lashing for his outfit at the #BAAD.

#5KBae, #KeepTheChangeBae
Adeniji Olaoluwa “Pablo” Ayodeji is yet to come out for something positive. Early this year, he took to twitter to rain abuses on a girl @Missmosiku who refused to accept his advances after spending N3800 on a date. The girl in return refunded his money, added an extra N1200 and told him to “keep the change bruh”. After the public disgrace, he took to Twitter again to apologise for his naivety but banks, corporate bodies and brands had already used it to their advantage. Apart from being the focus of attention for the period it lasted, they received freebies and were guests of different radio stations.
In an ongoing backlash, Ayodeji has been accused of being the handler of the @nuellaa_ag account, an account used to scam people of N145,000.

#EFCCHandler
This year was EFCC’s year. While EFCC is known for the sensitive operations, their Twitter handle was known for its ‘savagery’ and loved for its epic responses so much that the handler, @F-Shaw was celebrated on the social media scene when he left the job.

#MrEazi
Nigerians unofficially disowned Mr Eazi for bruising their ego. Mr Eazi a Yoruba boy with Ghanaian blood publicly said that Nigerians are copying his Ghana-influenced style of music. Boy, bye.

#Libya
Perhaps the most sensitive of them all, Libya. After the release of videos that showed the modern day slavery people go through to get across to Europe, the hashtag brought the attention of activists and the government of various nations who in turn, responded swiftly and brought their people back to their countries.

#WoChallenge
The king of the street, Olamide’s single, Wo garnered attention for its street style and its relatable verse (which got it allegedly banned anyway). It didn’t take long for this song to gain wide acceptance. A dance challenge was organised by Olamide and it spread like wildfire. Even legendary American record producer  Swizz Beats posted a video of himself dancing to the song.

#MansNotHot
The ting goes skrrraah, apap, pap, ka-ka-ka, skidiki-pap-pap…this song which was first sung on BBC1 radio series became an instant hit. Big Shaq even had to go the studio to add more spice and is currently getting invites as a surprise artiste in different countries.
Girl: Take off your jacket
Biq Shaq: Man’s not hot
Nigeria: Say no more

Wande Coal And Big Shaq In Nigeria. Photo credit: Phalorey Studios

#IStandWithNigeria
Tuface decided to be a hero and encouraged people to gather in different states to protest against the hardship and sufferings of Nigerians and the supposed government’s change mantra. Tuface later came online to cancel the protest. Only him knows what went down in the closet.

#OurMumuDonDo
Our Area Father, Charly Boy trended the #OurMumuDonDo and like everything he does, this trend lasted a long time. The trend saw people take to the streets to protest against to the activities of the government and their insensitivity to the cries of the masses.

#OurMumuDonDo Movement. Photo credit: BellaNaija

#Olowogbogboro
Gospel sensation, Nathaniel Bassey’s, Olowogbogboro one-hour prayer challenge sure shook Nigerian Instagram foundations. An average of 40,000 Nigerians including musicians and actors participated in the 30-day challenge to the end and CNN could not help but interview the gospel artiste. Not even the accusations of using it as a medium to push the sales of his album or the outcry of some people to ignore the challenge and take to the streets rather pray could stop the challenge.

Nathaniel Bassey. Photo credit: CNN

#CommissionerForHappiness
Rochas Okorocha, the Imo state governor hugged infamy earlier this year for his erecting statues. And then, he did something more astonishing: he created a new office for his sister – Ministry Of Happiness and Couples Fulfilment to find solutions to the bitterness of the people of Imo. He changed it to Ministry of Happiness and Purpose Fulfilment when he couldn’t bear the heat from Nigerians while insisting that the initial name was a typographical error.

Gov Rochas Okorocha. Photo credit: Twitter

#PhynoFest2017
The streets are not safe anymore. A month after Phyno Fest, allegations of rape started to spring up. People readily believed because of the video of Dbanj stopping his performance to address the sexual harassment incident close to him. Phyno claimed to have the crowd situation in control while promising to update us on any new information.

#EndSARS
While the Nigerian police was trying to salvage its reputation after being named world’s worst police, brutal videos of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) surfaced online. In reaction, the police arrested the first person to tweet about it and started the #ReformSars campaign. The first person to tweet about it was taking for investigated while SARS took it to a whole new level by arresting people who had the twitter app on their phones.

#OLIC4
Olamide was in the news again for two reasons this December. The excitment surrounding the concert dwindled when news that YomiSars, a SARS official who has defended their operations several times was going to perform filtered the air. Because of their love for Olamide, they promised to attend the show but with water and stones. Contrary to speculations, the Nigerian police did a good job of ensuring that the security was tight.

Olamide Performing At His Concert, OLIC 2017<span style="font-size: 16px;">.</span>

#WizkidVsDavido
The legendary Wizkid and Davido beef turned violent in Dubai and our Cassava baby boy, Tekno felt the impact of the fight in his face. Talk about being at the right place at the wrong time.

#WizkidTheConcert
If you patronized telecom’s data services just to join in the #WizkidVsDavido feud or you became enemies with your friends, we hope you are doing fine. While people were still bothering themselves with the beef, the two decided to surprise everyone by coming out to perform on the same stage. We guess this is their new year resolution.

#Tagbo
Davido was entangled in a scandal involving the death of three of his friends (Tagbo, DJ Olu and Chime) this year. After several contradictory accounts and investigations, an autopsy revealed that his friends died of an overdose of alcohol. The public predicted that he will mention Caroline (Caroline Danjuma is an actress who exposed the incident to the general public) in any song he releases same way he mentioned the Dele Momodu saga in Humble Smith’s Osinachi. True to their words, he released a song called FIA where he dedicated a line to her – Caroline save your drama for soap opera. Only this time, he claims Caro was his classmate in primary school (he must have a good memory)

#FuelScarcity

Its almost becoming normal to experience fuel scarcity but this year has proven to be the worst so far. People were seen spending the 25th in fuel stations.

Conoil Filling Station, Opp NNPC Towers, CBD, Abuja
24/12/2017
15:16 hrs

Just watch. No comments necessary pic.twitter.com/j58bcgYojd

— Igala_Alan_Shore (@i_am_Anomeli) December 24, 2017