A list of top trending searches on Google by Nigerians in the first half of 2022 has shown that Peter Obi, Vladimir Putin, and Bianca Ojukwu are the top three trending people in the past six months.
Since January, Obi, the former governor of Anambra State has been one of the most talked about politicians since he declared interest in the 2023 presidential election.
Obi who was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) until May was believed to be positioning himself for a Vice-Presidential position in the opposition party.
But when he dumped the party on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, for the Labour Party, he became a force to reckon with as Nigerian youths on social media endorse his candidacy.
While searches about Obi are tied to his 2023, presidential ambition, Google searches about Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia have to do with his country’s invasion of Ukraine.
About five months ago, Russian forces unleashed attacks on neighbouring Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday, February 24, 2022.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine became a global conversation and Nigerians were not left out of the topic.
One of the main reasons the conversation about the Russo-Ukrainian war gained traction in Nigeria was because many Nigerians studying Ukraine had to flee the country to Poland, Hungary, and other countries in Eastern Europe to escape from the war zone.
Bianca Ojukwu, the widow of late foremost Igbo politician, Chukuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu is the third most googled personality by Nigerians in the past six months.
The daughter of a former governor of Anambra state, Christian Enoh, became a search interest in March when she slapped Ebelechukwu Obiano, the wife of immediate past Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano.
Seven other personalities that were googled by Nigerians in the first half of 2022 are Simon Leviev, Will Smith, Abba Kyari, Johnny Depp, Black Chully, Funmilayo Adebayo aka Mummy GO, and Kelly Tiktok.