21 PEOPLE IN 21MILLION: OLAMIDE, OMOJUWA, DON JAZZY, WIZKID, MO ABUDU, OTHERS MAKE GUARDIAN AFRICA'S POWER LIST

Lagos, a Mega city home to an estimated 21 million people, is Nigeria’s cultural and political powerhouse.


It’s home to Nollywood, the world’s third-largest film industry, it’s the centre of the country’s music industry and it’s also where some of the world’s happiest citizens live.

The city is expanding rapidly and the residents are increasingly connected, with social media allowing them to hold their government to account.

But who are the individuals driving these changes? Is it possible to identify 21 people to watch as Lagos continues to grow – both in population and as a global powerhouse?

Guardian Africa network partners YNaija, an internet newspaper for “an evolving generation”, and SaharaReporters.com, an online network of citizen journalists covering government corruption, in attempt to do just that.

Recognising that a list of the most influential personalities in politics and entertainment can never be definitive we’ve started with just 11 – listed below. We want you, our readers, to nominate the extra 10 to take us up to 21 (in 21 million).

 

Politics

 

As nominated by Sahara Reporters

Japheth Omojuwa

Japheth Omojuwa, 31, is one of Nigeria’s most prolific online commentators with his Twitter page, @omojuwa, home to some of the sharpest observations about the country’s political decay.

A fearless campaigner, he was one of the leading voices in the #BringBackOurGirlsmovement, demanding the rescue of the 276 school girls abducted by Boko Haram from Chibok in 2013.

 

He was also instrumental in the #OccupyNigeria movement which exposed endemic corruption in the government, and helped the #SaveMeka campaign raise millions of naira for Rhyhm FM’s DJ Meka Akerojola, who was in need a life-saving kidney transplant.

 

Ikhide Ikheloa

Ikhide Ikheloa, better known as Pa Ikhide, is a maverick in a social media environment that usually takes one side or the other in Nigerian politics. Few manage to escape his damning critiques – includingthe country’s often-overlooked intellectual elite.
 

The 57-year-old’s no-holds-barred, name and shame approach has earned his Twitter account, @ikhide, a substantial following, many of whom are political officials awaiting his next tirade.

 

And he has impact. Ikhide once questioned a $1m entry in Nigeria’s budget for an obscure literary association – which was subsequently removed by Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

 

Tunde ‘Egghead’ Odewale

“Egghead” Odewale, 37, is credited as one of the first people to actively push Nigerian government officials to engage with the public on social media.

Despite previously working in government, Odewale’s critique of Nigeria’s institutions has earned him a dedicated following on Twitter, where he goes by@eggheader.

 

 

His intricate knowledge of politics and pithy Tweet-analysis mean he is routinely asked by the media to weigh in on the most controversial issues.

Ayo Obe

Ayo Obe, 60, is a pivotal figure in some of Nigeria’s most influential social, legal and and human rights movements.
 

From pressuring the government to rescue the abducted Chibok girls; shining a spotlight on violence against women and fighting for democratic reform, her ability to mobilise and inform her social media followers and to connect local injustices to national movements, make her a leader in the new media environment.

 

 

Rudolf Okonkwo (Dr Damages)

Rudolf Okonkwo, otherwise know as Dr Damages, is a satirist and reporter on SaharaTV – an unapologetic jester goading the court of Nigerian leaders.

The 46-year-old’s Twitter account, @DrDamages, is an endless stream of political satire, encouraging Nigerians to laugh at the antics of the political class. But his humour cuts deeper than criticism, and encourages the growing activist community to demand change.

 

Entertainment

As nominated by YNaija

 

Mo Abudu

Mo Abudu, “the African Oprah”, abandoned a highflying career in the corporate world to run a television studio.

Abudu, 51, set up EbonyLife Television (ELTV) in 2013 to try to change the way the way the world sees Africa– and has since commissioned young film-makers to produce original content.

​ELTV have also secured the franchise for developing an African version of Desperate Housewives, and released Fifty, a hit drama about the lives of middle-aged Nigerian women.

Kene Mkparu

Kene Mkparu, 49, is trying to revolutionise Nollywood’s film distribution. Theindustry may be worth $5bn (£3bn), but film-makers struggle to make a profit because of the distribution of pirate copies, often recorded at the cinema.

The CEO of Filmhouse Cinemas, a franchise popular across the country, his staff sit in screenings with infrared glasses to identify anyone who might be trying to record a film, a practice he has previously said “breaks his heart”.

Mkparu is currently working on a project that will take film distribution directly to the grassroots through a network of community cinemas.

Olamide Adedeji

In the past five years the 26-year-old rapper and label boss has seized the imagination of an entire nation with his catchy, locally-flavoured anthems.

Raised in Bariga, a ghetto suburb of Lagos, Adedeji’s music represents his experiences and the yearnings and aspirations of the country’s considerable underprivileged population.

In November 2015, Olamide became the first Nigerian rapper to put out five consecutive solo albums in as many years. His label, Yahoo Boy No Laptop, is home to Lil Kesh and Viktoh, two of Nigeria’s fastest rising young talents.


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