Nigeria 2013 in Search: Heroes, Moments and Tragedies

Every day, around the world, we search. We want to find out more about our heroes, explore far-away destinations, or settle a dinner table dispute between friends. And sometimes we just search to find out if eating ‘suya’ is a good dieting decision.

Zeitgeist — German for “spirit of the times” — is Google’s yearly look at the billions of searches performed throughout the year. Google’s Year-End Zeitgeist uses data from multiple sources while filtering out spam and repeat queries, to build fascinating top-ten lists across pop culture, sports, music, politics, news, and more.

This year, we reflect on the people, places, moments and topics that sent Nigerians searching for answers.

Topping the list of top trending people in Nigeria is the late music diva Susan Oluwabimpe Filani Harvey popularly known as Goldie. The large amount of Goldie-related queries following her death on valentines day shows she was and will also continue to hold a golden place in the heart of Nigerians. Other notable individuals also on the list include 2013 Big Brother Africa contestant Beverly Osu, the Time 2013 Person of the year, Pope Francis, late musician Damilola Olaniyan, a.k.a. Damino Damoche, late ‘Fast & Furious’ star Paul Walker amongst others.

The top trending events list is one that possibly reflects Nigerians’ concern for the tertiary education system, with the #1 and #2 trending terms being ‘ASUU strike’ and ‘JAMB Exam’. Other high interest 2013 events in Nigeria are the high tensioned Anambra Elections, the death of former Ondo state governor Olusegun Agagu, the birth of the newest member of the british royal family, Prince George amongst others.

2013 can also be said to be the year of Afro hip-hop, with the top 10 most trending Nigerian musicians all coming from the Afro hip-hop genre. Occupying the #1 top trending Nigerian musician position is EME’s singer, songwriter and performer Wizkid. He beat the “Baddest Guy Ever Liveth”, Olamide and HKN records’s Davido to #2 and #3 to become Nigeria’s most popular musician of 2013. Also featuring in the list are MI Abaga, Flavour, P-square, Timaya, Tiwa Savage and Dbanj.

There weren’t much surprises in the top trending Nollywood celebs with Mercy Johnson Okojie, Tonto Dike and Ini Edo retaining the top 3 positions- only difference from last year is that Tonto Dike now holds the #2 position.

In the sport category, Chelsea, Arsenal and Barcelona remained the top 3 most searched football clubs, while Victor Moses, John Obi Mikel and Coach Stephen Keshi topped the list of most searched sports personalities of 2013. For the first time, the Nigeria Super Eagles featured on the top 10 most searched football teams list, coming #9 ahead of the EPL’s Everton.

Other Nigeria-specific lists include Top 10 most searched cars, Top 10 Most searched Mobile Gadgets and Phones, Top 10 “How tos…”, and Top 10 “What is…”.

Globally, the #1 trending search of 2013 was an international symbol of strength and peace: Nelson Mandela. Global search interest in the former President of South Africa was already high this year, and after his passing, people from around the world turned to Google to learn more about Madiba and his legacy.

Here’s a full look at all of our top 10 lists for Nigeria in 2013.

You can also explore more global trends this year—directly from our Zeitgeist homepage. Check out the top 100 trending searches of 2013, and simply click one to dig deeper on Google Trends. Or if you’d rather be nostalgic, you can take a look back at each year's Zeitgeist from 2001 on.

You can also see an interactive 3D global map showcasing the top search trends of 2013 by day in cities around the world. You can easily spin the globe, select a city and explore the topics that brought people to search on any day of the year—from local sports games to international news stories.

Enjoy the 2013 GLOBAL reel here.