Political, economic issues top Nigerians’ Google news search in 2024

Onome Amuge

L-R: Diipo Ayo-Adeusi, creative director, King & Consort; Grace Abanyam, founder, Rebel by Gracie; Olumide Balogun, director, West Africa, Google; Tola Okodugha, creative director, Studs n stones; Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, communications and public affairs manager, Google West Africa at the Google Year In Search event on Tuesday 10th December 2024

Google has unveiled the findings of its 2024 Year in Search for Nigeria, showcasing a continued interest in the political and economic landscape, with searches related to the US elections, the new national anthem, and the national grid topping the news category in this order.

Google’s Year in Search is an annual analysis that reveals the top trending lists and also spotlights what the world searches to see, learn, and do. The analysis indicates the most popular searches, notable individuals, actors, musicians, topics, questions, and other subjects that captured Nigerians’ attention during the course of the year.

The music scene in 2024 was marked by a surge in popularity for artists like Shallipopi and Khaid, who also featured prominently in the overall personalities list. The top trending song was “”I Don’t Care” by Boy Spyce”, followed closely by “Ozeba” and “Commas” by Ayra”. Nigerians also showed a keen interest in understanding the lyrics of various songs, with “Ogechi lyrics”, “Ozeba lyrics”, and “Omemma by Chandler Moore lyrics” leading the searches in the lyrics category.

The 2024 result also showed that Nigerians were curious about personalities like Bobrisky, Betta Edu, Shallipopi, who led the trending people’s list.

According to Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Google West Africa, “The 2024 Year in Search offers a unique lens into the questions, interests, and conversations that shaped the lives of Nigerians this year. From cultural milestones to pressing concerns, these insights reflect how Search continues to be a valuable tool for users to navigate and better understand their world”.

This year, Nigerians continued to demonstrate a strong interest in entertainment with movies like “A Tribe Called Judah”, “Treasure In The Sky”, and “Damsel” topping the movie charts. The top TV series that captured the interest of Nigerian netizens included “Supacell”, “My Demon”, and “Queen of Tears”. In the culinary world, Nigerians explored diverse recipes with “Pornstar Martini recipe” leading the searches.

Concerns about personal well-being and global events were also reflected in search trends. Questions like “How much is dollar to naira today?”, “How to get perfectly defined curls for African hair?”, and “Who won the US presidential election?” topped the list of queries. Nigerians were curious about the meaning of words like “demure,” “steeze,” and “pet peeves,” turning to Search for answers.

Below are the full lists of Top 10 Trending Searches by Nigerians in 2024: