Chidi Okereke
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#Jollofwars
This was a recurring battle for the best Jollof Rice between Nigeria and Ghana. We were winning the war of tweets/bants before Lai Mohammed, our own minister of information, betrayed us when veteran Journalist, Richard Quest asked him who had the best Jollof. Baba Lai said Senegal, scoring one of the biggest own goals of 2017. Anyways, we move, cook, and eat.
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#GameOfThrones
This is the biggest TV show ever made and the 7th season was a trending topic every week it aired. The drama was mad and people couldn’t wait to use the hashtag to share what they thought, as soon as they watched each episode.
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#HallelujahChallenge
This is the biggest religion-themed hashtags of 2017. It was led by gospel singer, Nathaniel Bassey, and it was basically a one hour praise and worship session broadcasted on Instagram Live. The remarkable thing is, it held for 30 days, between the hours of 12 and 1am, when people are usually fast sleep. But the most amazing part is, everyday was bigger than the last.
https://twitter.com/DaisyEmenike/status/874054518367023105
In June 2017, Nigerian Gospel Singer, Nathaniel Bassey started an online worship session, the #HallelujahChallenge. It was covered by CNN. pic.twitter.com/3zQTf7QzdP
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) July 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/TheAfricanVault/status/881529144038838273
But while the challenge brought many together in praise and worship, it also pissed some people off. Some accused the convener of ‘publicity stunting’ for his new music, while others said those who participated were “Bandwagoning”.
I don't think anyone should have issues with the #HallelujahChallenge . No need to mock people who are doing it. It's not by force .
— Gbemi O-O (@GbemiOO) June 14, 2017
I don't understand how people can be bothered about other people spending one hour every morning singing and praying in their private houses
— Chidi Okereke (@Chydee) June 13, 2017
Regardless of these, at it’s peak, over 80,000 people – including celebrities and renowned public figures were tuned in live.
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#ResumeOrResign
After Muhammadu Buhari became the first diaspora president of Nigeria to spend more than 2 months away from the country, Nigerians decided to give him an ultimatum – #ResumeOrResign. The hashtag rapidly spread and culminated in an offline protest that occurred in various places. It worked, as the president resumed office in Nigeria few days later. His health status is still not public information, but we can all agree that he is not as sick as he was earlier in the year. Hashtags have healing powers fam.
