Top things Nigerians were looking for online in March

Motherhood and women’s rights topped online searches done by Nigerians in the month of march, understandably so as the month featured both the International Women’s Day and Mother’s day. Entertainment, from movies to music came next, and all of these generally reflected the mood of Nigerians in March as shown by their Google Search behaviour.

The top trending terms for March in descending order were; International Women’s Day; Mother’s Day; Coming to America 2; Grammy Awards 2021; Champions League draw; Raya and the Last Dragon; Sadiq Daba; Obafemi Martins; Rema – Bounce; Piers Morgan; Daddy Freeze.

Search trends information is gleaned from data collated by Google based on what Nigerians have been searching for and asking Google. Google processes more than 40 000 search queries every second. This translates to more than a billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches annually, worldwide.

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On March 8, International Women’s Day (IWD), Nigerians joined the world to commemorate the cultural, political, social and economic achievements of women. The theme, “Choose to Challenge”, urged women to take charge of their thoughts and actions, and to call out gender bias and inequality. It also marked a time to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements in Nigeria.

Interest in motherhood also peaked online during the month as Nigeria celebrated Mothers’ Day on March 14. In Nigeria, this special day, also known as Mothering Sunday, is when Nigerians traditionally honour mothers in appreciation for all they do.

The movie, Coming 2 America, the sequel of the American 1988 comedy film Coming to America starring Eddie Murphy, also had Nigerians hitting the search key in March. While the movie features top names like Arsenio Hall and Wesley Snipes, Nigerians were more interested in the role played by multi-award winning singer Davido, who made his international debut appearance with a cameo in the Hollywood comedy.

There was plenty of interest too for the 2021 Grammy Awards, with the 63rd event held in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on March 14. Afrobeat stars Burna Boy, and Wizkid took home honours, with Burna Boy winning the Best Global Music Album category with his Twice as Tall Album. Wizkid won the Best Music Video category for his song with Beyoncé, Brown Skin Girl from Lion King. Searches for the 2021 Grammy Awards by Nigerians reached a high point as people celebrated the wins by Burna Boy and Wizkid, but there was certainly also general interest in the other winners too.

Other searches common amongst Nigerians during the month included the death of Nigerian veteran broadcaster and actor Sadiq Daba, Nigerian singer, songwriter and rapper Rema’s new single Bounce, and English television personality Piers Morgan leaving ITV’s Good Morning Britain following comments he made about the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle.