As social media continues to serve as a means of reshaping discourses and refocusing conversations globally, a few Nigerian ladies are upping the ante in their own little corners of the globe. They are the avant garde; continuously shattering that proverbial glass ceiling and pushing the envelopes–one hashtag and tweet at a time. They are the Twitter personalities we dare not dismiss with a wave of the hand because they may return to haunt us; willy-nilly.
These set of ladies have left their Twitter imprints on sports, fashion, style, policy discourses, the blogosphere, law, business and politics. We run through their timelines even when we’ve been off the internet all day, just to catch up on the latest nuggets from their wellspring of never ending perspicacity. And when they err, like they sometimes do, we are quick to forgive them their human frailties. When they sneeze, like they often do, our timelines catch cold.
Below, we run the rule on 25 of Nigeria’s finest Twitter minds of the feminine stock….
1. Dupe Killa (@dupekilla): It says a lot about “Aunt Dupsy’s” Twitter influence that she often matches online campaigns with offline activism. Always at the barricades when most persons would rather hide behind the curtains on rainy mornings and sunny afternoons, Dupe Killa has several successful battles to her credit including #ChildNotBride, #BringBackOurGirls and #FreeCiaxon. While she may not have begun all the campaigns, her Twitter mobilization drives and one-on-one cold calls for “boots on the ground” via mails and phone calls are perhaps second to none.
2. Linda Ikeji (@lindaikeji): Linda has become the generic name for blogging in Nigeria and the prototype for start-up bloggers to model after. Love or loathe her, Linda’s influence is felt across the country and beyond with plenty of cash to show for her efforts. Hers has become the blog bank managers and blue chip executives click on even during boardroom meetings…when no one is watching. She bags as much controversy as well on the go, and often gives as good as she gets on Twitter. She’s a tough and influential cookie, this Linda. Exactly why we love her.
3. Esther Eshiet (@flexydaisy): Esther is a social worker, entrepreneur and change advocate. Her timeline is often the birthplace of news across Africa, policy and democratic discourses. Hers is the best example of using a twitter handle to monitor polling on the continent. She has tweeted real time results and pictures from polling centers across several States in Nigeria as the ballots are being turned in.
4. Femi Oke (@femioke): She’s the Al-Jazeera journalist and moderator “who tweets about the world in a British accent”. Femi Oke is as much a football enthusiast as she’s a news wonk–riveting attention on everything from fashion bloopers to Neymar’s dive. With thousands of followers gobbling her every tweet,
Femi Oke is one female Twitter personality we’ve all come to love.
5. Bibi (@boluxxxx): The number of letter “Xs” in Sister Bibi’s twitter ID should tell you what to expect when you do follow her. She’s a straight tweeter who often takes no prisoners and goes hard when she desires. She also finds it pretty comfortable going on the offensive and not sucking up to any “twitter overlord’s” opinion. She rides roughshod on the rest of Twitter and her brave tweets often stand her out from the rest of the pack.
6. Dame Valuta (@Dames_Caucus): Dame is a case and then some…..She runs an X-rated blog which enjoys widespread and closet readership even from moralists. Her Twitter timeline is also testament to the liberal behind @Dames_Caucus. Her tweets drip with sarcasm, wise-cracks and sagacity and she often takes on the State and those who intend on running it aground. Dame loves football as well, and you may want to camp inside her timeline for some of the most humorous tweets when a game is on.
7. @Olorisupergal: Warning: this gap-toothed, curvy damsel could leave you drooling offline as well. She combines a charm offensive offline with an aggressive marketing drive online. @Olorisupergal is a social media marketer, blogger and advocate. And she does all of these with a smile.
8. Nana Nwachukwu (@PUREHAIRE): Nana is not a Ghanian queen with the softest of centers, but she could well have been. She loves to pride herself as “her royal hipness” and for good reason as well–a lawyer groomed in the finest traditions of the profession, Nana is endowed with a curvy exterior to die for. But she’s much more than hips and sex appeal–Nana is an advocate and policy wonk as well. To underscore how influential she’s become on Twitter, when recently she disappeared off our timelines for weeks on end and threatened to delete her account for effect, a delegation was immediately put together to cajole her to shelve her plans.
9. Rinsola Abiola (@Rinsola_Abiola): The late politician and philanthropist, Chief MKO Abiola, may well have found his reincarnation in this young passionate social crusader. Like a duck taking to water, Rinsola has found in politics a ready and comfortable home. She’s on the executive of the youth wing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and has put several opposition handles to the sword (hello, @akaebube!). When Rinsola tweets, she does so with a fiery underbelly.
10. Joy .E. (@Joysuo): Joy is Twitter’s relationship expert, West of Africa. Her tweets are a potpourri of relationship and sex tips with some soul serenading soundbites. Joy may have saved several relationships online without even realizing it. Such is the depth of the niche she’s carved for herself.
11. @MrsGiroud: If Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud ever wants a wife from Nigeria, he just needs to send a Direct Message (DM) to this handle and set the darn “P”! But she’s more than a Giroud crusher–she loves everything Arsenal; from nine years of a barren spell to Wenger’s famed parsimony. When Arsenal takes the field, @MrsGiroud should be your companion.
12. @MrsMUFC: “And God created Van Persie and saw that he was good….” reads the Bio from this handle. And just as well. She’s a Red Devil through and through and one of the most influential Twitter sports personalities in Nigeria without a doubt. If it breaks on the official Manchester United handle, it breaks on @MrsMUFC’s timeline. Remember you read it here, first.
13. Blossom Nnodim (@blcompere): Blossom is the creator of #AdoptATweep. She’s been adopted as well by most of Twitter: spearheading online campaigns, marketing brands, ideas and merchandise and stirring hornet’s nests all over the place. She runs a blog as well where she often puts Twitter newbies through their paces. Blossom tweets unapologetically (it was a real surprise she was harassed into a mea culpa recently) and her Twitter influence and reach is not up for debate.
14. Side Chic to CR7 (@Ms_Blingberry): No one has mastered the art of saying so much in 140 Twitter characters quite like @Ms_Blingberry. She packs intelligence in a lithe frame and never fancies getting in anyone’s way on Twitter. But if you desire a witty nugget, a smiley and a nice sub wrapped in chocolate foil, @Ms_Blingberry has got your back.
15. @TopsyKen: When we are all soiled in mud and have been pilloried by the elements, Aunt Tope picks us up, blares some stern words of advice into us and hands us new toys and clothing. She’s Nigeria’s Twitter equivalent of ‘Mother Theresa’– ever loving, ready to fund a cause, meeting needs of friends offline and worrying her heart out when her ‘kids’ are on the streets as they seek a just society. Her influence is such that she has most of the phone numbers of everyone she takes to online. And she’s taken to quite a lot.
16. Dami (Avariberry): This “Orobo on Beat FM” is a sweet so and so. She often pulls no punches, aims for the jugular of oppressors and calms frayed nerves with #DamiBants during drive time traffic. She’s a witty, sarcastic twitter user with quite some influence. “Many are cold but few are frozen”, her bio reads. She’s a scriptwriter and a sucker for intelligent persons as well. Plus, she’s hot and still up for grabs. #OmojuwaWillKnow.
17. Idomagirl(@ebonyoma): To cross swords with Idomagirl is to sign a death warrant. Her opinions on policy or politics are often wrapped in spiked paper, she never waivers from a point of view and delivers her subliminals with timely, cold precision. She also fines a joke in every tweet, no matter how dire and lugubrious. She’s a factor in Nigeria’s Twitter community. One huge factor, that is.
18. Payme (Payme_My2cents): Beauty, brains and an independent mind, @Payme_My2cents has got them all. She never allies with the rest of the herd and often sifts through a clutter of varying opinions before delivering her verdict. Her retweets are often followed up with her definitive stand, a harangue or a sarcastic tweet. When Payme is in her elements, she engages just about everyone in a series of tweets until the subject under discourse has been analyzed to the very last bit. She never shies away from an argument. And when she does go after you, consider yourself a goner.
19. RamblersINC (@tee_hidee): “Influence” won’t do for this lady raised by devout parents. She’s one hell of a writer and story-teller, studious, analytical and deep. @tee_hidee shapes opinions daily on her TL in lucid and well laid out tweets, they could have emanated from Socrates.
20. Isioma Osaje (@MsJazzyfied): Isioma is a nutcase of the finest hue. She leaves you reeling in laughter from the moment you begin skimming through her timeline. @MzJazzyfied identifies herself as a “licensed doctor and the coolest kid ever liveth” and when we want a good laugh after putting several hours in the office, we search for her on our TLs and just keep scrolling.
21. Abigail Anaba (@Anabagail): Aunty Abigail is the twitter equivalent of a Tsunami and the self styled queen of “subs” (she appears to have toned it down in the last couple of weeks, or has she?). She’s not one for the popular viewpoint; aiming darts this way and that and coating them with finely laid tweets and life lessons, as one should expect from the schoolteacher that she is. She’s also a cool blogger who chooses her words carefully and one influential tweep with a cast of #trollcabals lapping on her every word.
22. Fola (@SheCrownLita): Blessed with a detective’s mind and a scholar’s presence, Fola is one of Nigeria’s most influential twitter personalities who also finds time to tweet about the several softer sides of life. She’s also witty, analytical and finds time between a pile of paper work to tend to prolific writer, Ayo Sogunro’s career needs.
23. Chioma Ogwuegbu (@AfricanCeleb): Chioma is a rebel with a cause who moonlights as a freelance researcher. She comes from a family of activists and recently dragged her aged Biafran-war-veteran mother alongside her siblings, to a street protest aimed at rescuing the Chibok girls. Chioma is a good dancer as well and a Nigerian with a passionate streak outlining her every facial feature.
24. Award Winning Wife (@Bimbo_Cash): The toothy smile from Bimbo that greets you from her avatar, belies the warrior within. She’s claimed so many “overlord” scalps and is always in the mood to claim more. She’s also one tweep who injects so much life into her timeline and has influenced so many.
25. Ayo Naledi (@AyoNaledi): Ayo runs a design outfit where she heads the creative unit. She’s passionate about the plight of women and girls, drives female advocacy campaigns and also works as a TV broadcaster. Ayo has used her timeline to draw attention to a gender-distorted world. She has a nose for politics as well.
culled from ekekeee
No comments:
Post a Comment