EXCLUSIVE REPORT: 100 PEOPLE, PLACES, THINGS AND EVENTS THAT SHAPED 2013

Here is a chronicle of what went down, things and events that shaped the year 2013 as put together by ACADA publisher, Biodun Caston-Dada and managing editor, Sunday Obembe. Enjoy!

1.       20 YEAR OLD COMMERCIAL PILOT - In 2013 a 20-year-old Nigerian, Favour Odozor, emerged as the youngest with the Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) in both Nigeria and South Africa. He completed all the 37 procedures in record time.
Mr. Odozor who graduated alongside 15 other trained pilots at the Afrika Union Aviation Academy (AUAA), Mafikeng, South Africa was described as the new hope of the African aviation industry.

2.       9 YEAR OLD MICROSOFT CERT ENGR - A primary school student in Lagos State achieved this extraordinary feat and at the tender age of 9.

Jomiloju Tunde-Oladipo, a primary 6 student of Role Model School in the Oregun area of the state became one of the world’s youngest Microsoft certified professionals.

Jomiloju emerged first among the 21 candidates who took the exam after he scored 769 out of 1,000 points.

3.       2FACE IDIBIA’S WEDDING – One of the most gifted African musicians, 2face Idibia finally walked down the aisle with one of his baby mamas, Annie Macaulay in March in the beautiful city of Dubai. The glamorous wedding was attended by the cream-de-la-cream of the Nigerian showbiz industry.

4.       ACADA STAFF RETREAT- Acada members of staff embarked on an all expense paid Staff Retreat to the Gold-Coast, Ghana. The retreat is an experience of a life time because of the eye opening effect it heard on the Ghana employees to what is obtainable outside the shores of Nigeria. It was also a time to unwind; leaving behind the hustling and bustling of Lagos. We visited different places of interest in Ghana such as; the Freedom Park, tomb of late Ghana President Attah Mills, Jamestown, University of Ghana, Legon and other mind blowing places that must not be mentioned; tasted some delicious Ghana delicacies and crowned it all with a party at the popular Labadi beach.

5.       AFRICAN 10 MOST BANKABLE ARTISTS - Forbes Africa and Channel O announced their list of the top 10 most bankable African artists and Nigerian artists top the list. The list is based on artist sales, endorsement value, popularity, show rates, awards, YouTube views, investment, influence, appearance in newspapers and social media presence. The list is as follows; Akon, Don Jazzy, P-Square, D’Banj, Wizkid, 2 Face Idibia, Anselmo Ralph, Sarkodie, Ice Prince, Banky W.

6.       ASUU STRIKE – The year witnessed another showdown between the Nigerian Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) which brought to a halt educational activity on Nigerian government universities and forced the students to sit at home for almost 5 months. ASUU accused the Federal Government of underfunding the varsities and renegade on past agreements on lecturers’ welfares.

7.       AMA AWARDS – The ninth edition of the African prestigious movie awards, AMA was another huge event where the finest in the African movie industry were celebrated. The 2013 edition saw more non-Nigerian actors carting home awards than their Nigerian cvounterparts.

8.       AMSTEL MALTA / 2FACE CAMPUS TOUR – Premium malt drink, AMSTEL partners 2face and friends on a campus tour tagged Campus Connect that took the two brands to five tertiary institutions: UNIBEN, Uniport, IMT Enugu,  Uniabuja and Unilag. The campus tour has artsites like Timi Dakolo, Sheyi Shey, Sasha P, Phyno, Crystals, etc on the bill.

9.       AFRICAN MAGIC VIEWERS CHOICE AWARD – The first edition of the AMVCA was held to celebrate African movie makers and celebrities. The top notch event was sponsored by Amstel Malta. Winners include Jackie Appiah, OC Ukeje, Hafiz Oyetoro, Obi Emelonye, Tim Greene, Mercy Johnson among others.

10.    AGBANI DAREGO – Miss Darego turned 30 in 2013 and had a lavish party with close friends and acquaintances. The super model that is also former miss world launched her denim collection brand, AD by Agbani Darego and opened a flagship store 6b Fola Osibo street, Lekki Phase 1, Lekki, Lagos.

11.    ASSOCIATED AIRLINE PLANE CRASH – An Associated Airlines airplane carrying the remains of the late Ondo State former governor Segun Agagu crashed shortly after takeoff. Among those who lost their lives in the ill-fated aircraft was the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr.  Deji Falae. Also, Mr Tunji Okusanja Jr and his father, Tunji Okusanja died alongside some employees of their MIC Funeral Company. The Okusanja family owns the MIC Caskets; a popular funeral undertakers in Lagos Island.

12.    ALEX AMOSU – The UK based Nigerian millionaire and luxury products maker dazzled the whole world once again with another of his creation when he unveiled the world’s most expensive champagne which he called ‘Taste of Diamonds’ and is princely priced at a whopping N2.5m. He also made headlines when he sent complimentary of the champagne to Don Jazzy and P-square.

13.    AIRTEL NIGERIA’S GOT TALENT - Leading telecommunications service provider, Airtel Nigeria, commenced the auditions for Season Two of Nigeria's Got Talent. The maiden edition of the Nigeria’s Got Talent was won by 9 year-old, Amarachi Uyanne from Benin City who performed as a dancer all through the competition. 

14.    BAYERN MUNICH – The German team made history in the German football when they made a triple, clinching the European Champions League, the German Bundesliga and the German (Pokal) in the same year.

15.    BBM & ANDROID – BlackBerry finally opened up its crown jewel, the BBM mobile instatnt messaging application to rival platforms that runs their operating system on the Android OS and Apple iPhones. The BBM platform had recorded over 20 million users since it was launched in October. BBM now has 80 million active users and BlackBerry says it has been one of the top downloaded apps in dozens of countries. 

16.    BEVERLY OSU- Nigeria representative at the Big Brother Africa: The Chase, Beverly Osu‘s naked pictures from the reality TV show leaked online. Though wasn’t the only housemate that represented the country-Melvin also represented Nigeria, but her image made her ‘notorious’ by the day. The leak has raised several discourses in several quarters and many viewers are beginning to question the African morality.

17.    BIG BROTHER AFRICA – The 2013 tagged The Chase is another hot and criticized TV reality show in Africa but remains the most viewed TV show. The 2013 edition has Twenty eight housemates from 14 countries that were camped for 90 days and were chasing the sum of $300,000. Dillish Matthews from Namibia was to later win the reality show. Big Brother Africa The Chase 2013 was sponsored by Airtel.

18.    BRYMO VS CHOC CITY – It was another story of artiste walking out of contract when Brymo walked out of top record label, Chocolate City and accusing the record label of not managing his career well. The label in return said Brymo can’t quit without finishing his 6 years album contract but offered him an option to buy out his contract with N22m or remain the label’s act. Brymo later dare the label and went ahead to release his sophomore album titled “Merchants, Dealers & Slaves”, a move which made Chocolate city to institute a court action against him. The case is still pending at the court.

19.    BEYONCE & JAY Z - In a year that saw The Hov score a platinum record with his latest album, Watch the Throne, he also made $1.4 million a night in the U.S. from his tour. Meanwhile, Beyonce's Mrs. Carter Show world tour made an average of $2 million. Jay also launched a sporting agency while Bey has a fragrance and clothing line. 

All in all, Bonnie and Clyde took home a cool $95million between June 2012 and June 2013.

20.    CARNIVAL CALABA – The Africa’s biggest street party once again lived up to its billings with the array of super stars and holiday makers that stormed the serene city of Calabar for the annual Carnival Calaba. The event featured cultural and musical shows, freestyle parade, international heritage parade, and children carnival and beauty pageant.

The following brands were on display: SeaGull Band, Bayside Band, Freedom Band, Masta Blasta Band, Passion-4 and Nollywood Band.

Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh, Florence Ita-Giwa, Uti Nwachukwu, Funke Akindele were also spotted at the Carnival. 

21.    CHIDINMA SEX TAPE - MTN ambassador Chidinma Ekile has denied rumours that she has made a sex tape which went viral. With tears the ‘Kedike’ and ‘Emi Ni Baller’ crooner has cried out and denied in very strong terms ever making a sex tape that has gone viral on the Internet.

In the malicious sex tape, there is a lady who has a striking resemblance to Chidinma, she is definitely not the lady in the tape. To further support her claims, Chidinma has come out to say she could not have been involved in such sex scandal as portrayed in the so-called Chidinma Sex Tape since she is still a virgin.

22.    COCA-COLA COKE STUDIO - Coke Studio Africa, a musical fusion project that brings together African artistes across cultures, generations, and genres to create an authentic African sound was launched in Nigeria.  The legendary Juju musician King Sunny Ade, Nigeria’s No 1 rapper, M.I, Songstress Waje, vocalist and guitarist Bez and DJ Jimmy Jatt are part of the 24 musicians who participated in the show amongst other musicians from East Africa, Central Africa and South Africa. It also featured some collaborating artistes including Kenya’s Bamboo, Sage and Dela as well as Kassongo from DRC and Nigeria’s Temi Dollface.

23.    COPA LAGOS - The world’s attention was focused on Lagos State as it played host to fans of beach soccer from the world over at Copa Lagos 2013. The Copa Lagos, which started in 2011, was won by The Nigerian Sand Eagles the first two editions in fierce competition that included countries such as Portugal and Argentina.

The annual three-day beach soccer tourney added an approximate $1.3 million to the Nigerian economy, as well as created 700 temporary jobs in the first edition in 2011. Media coverage was supplied by the likes of Eurosports 2 (Europe), Al Jazeera Sports (Middle East), Super Sports (Africa) and Fox sports (North & South America).

24.    DANGOTE - According to Forbes 2013 ranking of the world's billionaires, Nigerian business magnate Aliko Dangote with a net worth of $16.1 billion is the world's richest black person.

25.    DAREY & KIM KARADASHIAN – It was no doubt that the best put together event of 2013 is Darey’s valentine concert tagged “Love Like a Movie”. The show described by many to be flawless and up to an international standard was a four hours of fun. The show has gymnasts, circus ringers and professional musical performances from Darey and fellow a-list artistes like Waje, Timi Dakolo, Banky W among others. But what almost marred the show was the attendance of the American TV reality show, Kim Kardashian who was earlier published as the host of the event but was to later do a 45 seconds intro at the event. A viral rumour later surfaced that she was paid a whopping $500,000.

26.    DAVID BECKHAM - England's most capped player and arguably the most famous player on the planet, David Beckham announced his retirement on 16 May, 2013. The former Three Lions captain made his name at Manchester United, before moving to Real Madrid and also had spells at LA Galaxy, AC Milan and PSG.

27.    DAVIDO – The fast rising pop star surely had a blast in 2013. Selling out concerts on his first European tour and capping it with a Kora Awards for Best newcomer. He later made the headlines with the release of the chart-topping “Gobe” which was rumoured to have been sold to him by the original owner, Password. More issues were to later arise on another of his hit song, “Skelewu”. The video for the hit song made by Sesan was said to have been leaked without Davido’s approval and this made him to shoot another video with Mr. Moe Musa in the UK. This new video was reported to have been a stolen concept of the LMFAO’s “Party Rocks”. But all said and done, Davido emerged one of the biggest acts of 2013.

28.    D’banj – Has his almost dwindling career resurrected by the Mattmax assisted music video “Don’t Tell Me Nonsense” which shot him once again on top of the music charts. He was to later headline the year’s Hennessy Artistry, an endorsement deal with the bank of Industry and cap it with a GLO ambassadorship.

29.    DJ CUPPY – Billionaire, Femi Otedola’s UK based female DJ daughter made a huge buzz when this ‘secret’ was revealed! The charming young lady made headway into the Nigerian music industry with the remake of veteran Tunji Oyelana’s classic, “I Love My Country”.

30.    D’PLACE BY PAPAS – This is surely the hottest hang-outs in Lagos for top celebrities. The ever bubbling club run by Frank Okamigbo aka Papas is where the biggest parties of the year happened.

31.    DON JAZZY – The highly skillful producer and CEO of Mavin Records is surely one of the most notable figures in the Nigerian showbiz terrain in 2013. He won an endorsement deal with the telecom giant, MTN and later packaged an online singing competition, SongStar whose star prize is a Porsche Cayman car for the brand.

32.    DUBAI – The Middle-east city of Dubai remains the top choice for several Nigerian students’ entrepreneurs that trades in clothes and fashion accessories.

33.    EBONYLIFE TV LAUNH- On Sunday 30 June 2013, Ebony Life TV, was launched, being the brainchild of dynamic African talk show star Mo Abudu, and debuts on DStv to delivers a fresh new energy and perspective to audiences across East, West and Central Africa. Mr.Steve Forbes was the keynote speaker at the launch.

Fusing exclusive African original programming, featuring some of the continent’s biggest names, with relevant international urban movie and series programming, Ebony Life TV is available on DStv channel 165 to DStv Premium, Compact Plus and Compact viewers.

With the tagline “Live the Ebony Life”, the channel is both inspirational and aspirational, celebrating style and success while simultaneously motivating audiences to dream and dream big.

34.    ELEGUSHI BEACH – With over 20 bars and clubs, this private beach remains the hottest. Many young Nigerians especially tertiary institutions students throng the beach almost on a daily basis, staging one party or the other.

35.    EWAR MAKEOVER – The Nigerian beauty industry was thrown into mourning with demise of the CEO of Ewar makeup and Makeover who died of a child birth complication.

36.    FAYROUZ FASHION SHOW - The Fayrouz L’Original fashion and style event, tagged “Party for the Originals” had some of the biggest names in the fashion, music and movie industries come together to celebrate Nigeria’s sense of originality in fashion. The event held at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria  December 18, 2013, was hosted by IK Osakioduwa and featured exciting activities such as a runway exhibition of designer outfits by top designers, Mai Atafo, April By Kunbi and KinaButi who were celebrity judges for the competition, Mr. & Ms. Original.

37.    FELABRATION – The six days musical festival was filled with many captivating moments. From Burna Boy performing, Wizkid throwing 100 Grand into the crowd to Seun Kuti ‘yabbin’ Burna, the 2013 Felabration was no doubt another big musical show. Felabration which parades the finest acts in the Nigerian music industry is fast turning into an annual musical gathering where artistes jostle for a spot to perform and wow their fans.  

38.    FEMI KUTI’S GRAMMY NOMINATIONS - Nigeria’s Afrobeat icon Femi Kuti got the fourth Grammy nomination for the album ‘No Place For My Dream’ in the Best World Music Album Category of the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.

Femi Kuti was nominated along side, Indian musician Ravi Shankar, French group Gipsy Kings and South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo are in contention for award in this category. This is the afro beat singer's fourth Grammy Award nomination in a period of 10 years. He previously lost out to Panamanian salsa singer Ruben Blades in 2003, US banjo player Bela Fleck in 2010 and Malian band Tinariwen in 2011.

Afro beat legend Femi Kuti also featured on Wizkid’s ‘Jaiye Jaiye’ a feat that was well received by fans. He has also worked with different international and local artistes like Akon, The Game, Wale, Chris brown, M.I, Iyanya etc.

39.    FIRST BANK YOUTH EXCEL SERIES - FirstBank Youth Excel Series held at the prestigious University of Lagos and the premier University of Ibadan, respectively, reaffirm the position of the bank whose goal is to remain a strong supporter of efforts geared towards equipping youths with the skills and tools required for socioeconomic empowerment. Willie Jolley, one of America’s top speakers delivered his motivational speech that fired up students of both Universities. He crowned both speeches with a striking solo jazz performance.

There were lots to eat and drink for the students of the University of Lagos and Ibadan as well as souvenirs and gifts from First Bank Ltd. Dami Duro crooner Davido was on hand to perform at both Universities. He performed his hit tracks to the thrills of the students.

40.    FUNKE- AKINDELE - Funke Akindele tied the nut with erstwhile heartthrob Kehinde Oloyede and bid same marriage farewell. The classy marriage ceremony didn’t last long as the irreconcilable differences which made the couple part ways were announced on Facebook in the same year. The biggest criticism that Akindele faced before and after her wedding to Oloyede, was the fact that she married another woman’s husband. She however moved on with her life and handled the situation professionally.

41.    FOLORUNSHO ALAKIJA – Nigeria once again was thrown into the spotlight when Forbes announced billionaire, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija as the richest black woman in the world. She is a business tycoon involved in the fashion, oil and printing industries. She is the group managing director of The Rose of Sharon Group which consists of The Rose of Sharon Prints & Promotions Limited and Digital Reality Prints Limited and the executive vice chairman of Famfa Oil Limited. Her fortune is worth an estimated fortune of $7.3 billion.

42.    GLO LAFFTAFEST – GLO continued to trail the blaze in the comedy sector of the Nigerian entertainment industry with the Comedy road show, LafftaFest. The 2013 edition witnessed the coming of two of America’s hottest comedians, Tony Roberts and Deeray Davis who teamed up with Africa’s hottest comedians including the continent’s number one rib-tickler, Ndumiso Lindi of South Africa, Uganda’s Salvado and A-list Nigerian comedians to give Nigerians a comic treat of a lifetime.

43.    GHANA MEETS NAIJA - Ghana Meets Naija’ music showdown, Empire Entertainment in partnership with Media GH put up with the third edition of the show. If you were one of the numerous fans who saw the show for the first time, you probably have joined the many choruses praising and lauding the organizers for putting up a very great show.

The show was overcrowded with artistes dragging it needlessly. As you know ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’. The show was originally billed for the headline artiste, Wizkid, his Nigeria compatriots Timaya and BurnaBoy while Samini, Okyeame Kwame, R2Bees, E.L., Edem, Dobble, Dr Slim, Raquel were to represent Ghana. These were guys who observers in the industry could confirm that indeed they put out hits in Nigeria and Ghana.

The only artiste who, perhaps did not fully meet the criterion but was included was Shatta Wale (Bandana) but even happens to be the most talked-about now with his ‘Dancehall King’ song being the biggest song in Ghana. His inclusion, in a way, was justified.

44.    GLO X-FACTOR - In 2013 Globalcom brought the world’s biggest singing competition The X-Factor to Africa named Glo X-Factor with a mouth watering N24 million star prize, a recording contract with Sony Music and professional management; making it the biggest prize to be won in any singing competition. The prize was also a reflection of the premium status of the programme, cum the super star status of the eventual winner and international stardom which is not provided by any other music talent show in the country. However DJ Switch, real name Obianuju Catherine Udeh emerged winner of the debut GLO X-Factor and cart away the ultimate prize of $150,000 and other mouth-watering packages as well as a contract with Sony Music, who have churned out international stars like Beyounce, Chris brown, Britney Spears and Alicia Keys.

45.    GUINNESS COLOURFUL WORLD OF MORE – If one says this event is the most hyped event of 2013, you will surely be right. Aside the hype, the Guinness Colourful World of More lived up to its billings with the arrays of superstars that were paraded at the concert.  Held at the Expo Centre, Eko Hotel and Suites Victoria Island, music stars like Flavour, Kcee, P-square, Tiwa Savage, Chidinma, Waje among others dazzled the crowd with brilliant performances at the event.

46.    GT CREA8 CAMPUS TOUR – The campus student package from GT Bank is already creating ripples with his Campus Storm tour. The 2013 edition saw the train moving from FUTA, UNIZIK to the UK and finally berthing at UNILAG on December 18^th. The Unilag edition saw a student winning a brand new Mini Cooper car and another, one million naira.

47.    GLO AFWL – The African fashion Week London sponsored by telecom giant features creative designs from top African fashion designers. Currently in its third year, the event saw big and emerging fashion names unveil their latest collections. The runway featured designs from countries like Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Kenya and Morocco and also from Britain and the Caribbean.

The four-day event was rounded off with the African Arts and Fashion Banquet on Sunday 4th August 2013 at Dorchester Hotel, Park Lane, London. 

48.    GOLDEN EAGLETS - It was a revival year in Nigeria Football with the double victories as Nigeria’s under 17 National Team, the Golden Eaglets, became the first team ever to win the FIFA U-17 World Cup (four times) when they defeated Mexico.

The Golden Eaglets are indeed the “Brazil” of the FIFA under 17 competitions having previously won the competition in 1985, 1993, and 2007. The two finalists were in the same group and Nigeria (who won the final by a score of 3-0) had already thrashed a very good Mexican side 6-1 in the group stages.
This young Nigerian team was also awarded with the tournament’s fair-play award and Dele Alampasu, the teams outstanding goalie received the Golden Gloves award for being the best goalie of the tournament. The win completes a revival year in Nigerian football with the senior team having won the African cup of nations in South Africa this year.

49.    GOLDIE HARVEY’S DEATH - Goldie Harvey, one of Nigeria’s finest female singers passed on in the arms of her best friend Denrele Edun at the Reddington Hospital in Victoria Island. She died on Valentine’s Day, after coming back from the US where she attended the Grammy awards. After her death her family members revealed to the public that Goldie willed her property to Charity. Goldie until her death was an ambassador of ‘Project Alert on Violence Against Women’ and she had supported them in several ways.   

50.    GLO SLIDE & BOUNCE - Glo thrilled youths with the Glo Slide and Bounce Musical Tour which took place in 8 cities pan Nigeria. The Glo Slide and Bounce tour featured eleven newly signed Glo ambassadors who will starred in the specially packaged concerts. In a TV commercial, the Glo ambassadors extended invitation to their fans, urging the fans to join them for a musical extravaganza of a lifetime. The ambassadors who thrilled the audiences at the various venues include popular lyricist, MI, Flavour, Waje, Omawumi, Burna Boy, Lynxx, Bez, Chee and Naeto-C. The concerts were anchored by popular comedians, Basketmouth, Gbenga Adeyinka the 1st and Okey Bakassi. The concerts kicked off at This Day Dome, Abuja, on June 22 before moving to Benin on June 29, Ibadan on July 6, Enugu on July 13, Port Harcourt on July 20 and Calabar on July 27. The final segment of the tour was held at Uyo on August 3 before it climaxed in Lagos on August 10.

51.    HEADIES - Hosted by Mavin Records artiste Tiwa Savage and Dr Sid, Nigeria’s music biggest night was with all paparazzi and trappings that trail such awards ceremonies. Olamide was the king of the night; picking up 3 awards for himself plus an award for collaborating with Phyno on Ghost Mode. Afro pop star Sean Tizzle won the Next Rated award which came with a Hyundai Tucson SUV.

52.    HENNESSY ARTISTRY – Hennessy Artistry is a worldwide musical platform organized by Hennessy to celebrate the vibrant multiculturalism of different genres. The popular annual club tour had its 2013 headliner as D’banj. The club tour moved across various A-list clubs across the country for four months before the grand finale that was later held at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island. This year tour has top acts such as Chidinma, Olamide, Phyno, Sheyi Shey, Kayswitch among others.

53.     HNAUB 17YR OLD RITUALISTS – One of the news that made round was some Houdegbe University students that were caught for money rituals. The amazing thing about this story was that, the culprits were barely seventeen years old and are in 100 Levels.

54.    ICE PRINCE BET AWARD- Ice Prince with two albums to his credit ‘Everybody Loves Ice Prince’ and ‘Fire of Zamani’, proved that he has come of age in the dynamic music industry, when he carted away the Best African Act category of the Black Entertainment BET Awards 2013. A notable feat in the sense that he competed in that category alongside African star acts and an established star like Tu Face Idibia arguably the most popular and award winning African and Nigerian hip hop star.

55.    INSTAGRAM - Instagram is an online photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take pictures and videos, apply digital filters to them, and share them on a variety of social networking services, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr. The Mobile App no doubt that gained more popularity especially among top showbiz personalities in 2013.

56.    IYANYA – 2013 is surely Iyanya’s year. Raking in over N200 million from various endorsement deals. Playing sold out concerts and also releasing his sophomore album, “Desire”. He sure had a good run in the year.

57.    JEZZE JAGZ – He started off by walking out of his record label, Chocolate City with the report that his record deal had expired and he wasn’t willing to renew it, Jezze Jagz had one of the finest album of 2013 “Jagz nation Vol. 1”, but almost mar it with his promotion of marijuana which didn’t go down well with many people.

58.    JIMMY’S JUMP OFF – This is one of the dates on the musical calendar of music lovers in Nigeria. The event held at the GET Arena was graced by celebrities like Olamide, Chidinma, Banky W, Dare Art-Alade, Sound Sultan, Victoria Kimani, Kola Soul, Phyno, Karen Igho, Baba Dee, Julius Agwu, Gbenga Adeyinka and a host of others. 

59.    KCEE – His career experienced an unprecedented eruption in 2013 with the release of the monster single “Limpopo” and he quickly churned out more hits such as and “Okoso” and “Pull Over” which also received wide acceptance. He was to later inked an endorsement deal with MTN and was on tour with the telecom company.

60.    KIM & KANYE – Kim Kardashian finally got a divorce from ex-husband Kris Humphries, and hooked up with long time friend, top hiphop act Kanye West. The couple later got a baby girl in June and christened her North-west.

61.    LAGOS COUNTDOWN – With over 60 Nigerian finest artistes performing on watch night, concerts can’t surely be any better. The Lagos countdown is fast turning into a big deal as the platform is fast turning into a ground where many young artistes showcase their talents and the old one gives breath-taking performances in an event that spanned over 20 days.

Conceived by the State Governor Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), in order to put Lagos on the global map and at per with top cities such as New York, Dubai, London, Sydney, and other major destinations that commemorate the cross over into the new year.

Venue for the event was the Bar Beach stretch, Victoria Island and it took place from the 7th of December 2013 and culminated on the 1st of January 2014 with an official countdown into the new year.  This event is arguably the biggest New Year's Eve celebration in Africa. 

The 2013 edition was supported by big wigs such as Multi-Choice, Pepsi, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Dangote Group, Zenith Bank, Airtel, Samsung, Hotspots, Stallion Motors, 7-Up Bottling Company Plc, Mikano and Forte Oil among others.

62.    MAFIKIZOLO – The South African duo/group surely had a hit with the chart topping single “Khona”. It was one of the hot songs that ruled the Nigerian music landscape in 2013. The group was to later perform in Nigeria at The Corporate Elite and at the maiden edition of the Caribbean American and African Nations Music Awards.

63.    MILEY CYRUS – Though relatively unknown before the big break in 2013, Miley Cyrus has been in showbiz since her childhood and has minor roles in the television series Doc and the film Big Fish . She rose to International fame with the huge success recorded by her fourth album Bangerz, by which point she had become associated with a controversial public image. Its singles "We Can't Stop" and "Wrecking Ball" were promoted with provocative music videos. The latter track became her first number-one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. She capped the year 2013, as MTV "Artist of the Year”.

64.    MTN SONGSTAR - MTN launched Songstar Karaoke mobile app in partnership with leading African music producer, Don Jazzy. The app which allows customers on the MTN network select, listen and sing to a karaoke version of any of their favorite songs both locally and internationally. A karaoke contest MTN Online SongStar was also organized to further promote the brand amongst its young subscribers. PassWord emerged winner of the contest and garnered recognition after it was revealed that he originally composed Davido’s Gobe. And as promised, He was awarded with a Porsche Cayman and also bagged a recording deal with Don Jazzy‘s Mavin Records.

65.    MTN PROJECT FAME 0.6 - MTN Project Fame West Africa Season 6 kicked off with auditions across ten major cities in West Africa ended on a very pleasant note with Olawale carrying the day. This history making event was graced by some crime-de-la-creme of the society, the contestants' mentors, family and friends of the contestants and myriads of well wishers. MTN sponsors of the singing competition doubled the prizes Season 6 Project Fame winning categories.

Niniola emerged 3rd runner up winning a sum of Two Million Naira (N2M), Margaret-2nd runner up carting away N2M and a brand new mid size saloon car. Olawale emerged winner while Immaculate was the 1st Runner up. Olawale as the winner leaves with N5M, a fully loaded SUV and one year recording contract worth several millions of Naira and Immaculate earned N3M and a brand new Saloon car.

66.    MY OGA AT THE TOP - The phrase ‘My Oga at the Top’ went viral on social media and became a signature tune of most conversations; the statement was made by Mr. Obafaiye Shem, the Commandant Lagos State branch of the Nigerian Security & Civil Defense Corps, during an interview on Channels TV breakfast show, where he was asked the official website of NSCDC, and he replied ‘I can’t categorically give you any website and My Oga at the Top says something different’. The phrase even led to the removal and replacement of the commandant with Mr. Adesuyi Clement, from Oyo State Command.

67.    MTN LOUD IN NAIJA CONCERT – MTN whose penchant for the Nigerian music industry can’t be rivaled, stormed six of the country’s cities (Ibadan, Port-Harcourt, Abuja, Owerri, Ilorin and Lagos) with an array of music stars and ambassadors in a ‘mother-of-all’ musical concert tagged, Loud in Naija. 

68.    MTV BASE SHUGA – The popular MTV base TV series that deals with issues affecting young Africans especially HIV/AIDS and unprotected sex was brought to Nigeria. The platform affords many young Nigerian talents to participate in the production of the TV series which is already fast gaining popularity among young African viewers. Set against the clubs, bars and student hangouts of Lagos, Shuga relates a bitter-sweet tale of love, betrayal, relationships and heartache among a group of friends in the city of Lagos.

69.    NMVA – The music awards event which was organised to showcase Nigeria’s culture and appreciate Nigerian Artistes had the audience been thrilled by performances from Ice Prince, Waje, Sean Tizzle, May D, Flavour and many more.

Highlife crooner emerged the biggest winner of the night, carting home four awards.

70.    NELSON MANDELA’S DEATH - In 2013 Nelson Mandela died at 95; he was born in 1918, to a tribal leader, in a remote village in South Africa. The soft spoken global statesman who inspired millions people around the world survived 27 years at the Robben Island prison where he did hard labour in a lime quarry which eventually led to the end of the country's apartheid system when he came out of prison and became the first black South Africa President.

Mandela had been listed in "serious but stable condition" after entering the hospital in June before returning to Johannesburg where he received continued medical care before his death. World leaders paid tribute, including President Obama who said Nelson Mandela embodied the "promise of change for the better.

71.    NOKIA DON’T BREAK DA BEAT - Prometh, christened Samuel Falowo, a 300 level Biology student of the University of Abuja emerged winner of Nokia Don’t Break Da Beat 2013 rap competition, organized in partnership with Trace. He emerged winner at the grand finale held on Friday November 22^nd at 10 Degrees, Oregun, Ikeja beating down 9 other contestants which includes, HEC, Miekharry, Psychobarz, EM.A, Dusten Truce, Baysix, Jurggis, Golden and High M; which makes him the lucky dude who smiled home with the cash prize of $20,000. The night was also filled with mind blowing performances from top Nigerian music artists; Wizkid, Olamide, MI, Lynxx, Phyno, Skales, Sean Tizzle, Jesse Jagz, May D and Blink.

72.    NOT JUST OK – THE LIST – Causing great uproar among the Nigerian hiphop community is the not Just Ok the Top 10 Hip Hop acts. Many felt disappointed they didn’t make the list while some feel some acts are not meant to be there, this led to some artistes reacting by releasing ‘diss’ tracks. Most notable is the beef it generated between former allies, Sauce Kid aka Sinzu and Godwon.

73.    NOKIA LUMIA – One of the most popular mobile products with so much hype and frenzy is the Nokia Lumia phone sets. The Nokia Company created so much buzz about the various brands of the phone and stages various launch parties to introduce them to consumers. Among the ones unveiled last year are the Lumia 520 and Lumia 720.

74.    OCTOBER 1 – The fourth self produced movie from the award winning movie producer, Kunle Afolayan generated so much publicity during its production as various location pictures are released daily. The movie will hit cinema before the end of the first quarter of this year.

75.    OLAMIDE, THE GUNMAN POSE – Olamide sure had a fantastic 2013. Dropping popular hit tunes, releasing his 3^rd studio album, YBNL, playing sold out concerts and shows with performing figures hitting 7 digits. Wining multiple awards and endorsement from telco Etisalat. He sure created ripples with the Gunman Pose, which trend globally on cyber space endlessly for days. The Gunman Pose is actually off the CD art for his YBNL album, I bet only a handful of people know the Album Art was designed by talented rapper and producer, H-Code.

76.    OAU TOILET BABY - At the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, a 400L student, Oyinlola Rotimi caused a commotion as she was accused of attempting to flush her new born baby boy down the toilet at the Moremi Hall of the institution.

The truth of the matter is that, there was a delivery of a baby boy by an inexperienced mother who, in her naivety, thought she was pressed by call of nature while she was actually in labour pains. Prior to the appearance of the baby, the young, inexperienced mother had discovered that she was bleeding and went to the toilet only to observe that something expelled into the water closet.  It was at that juncture that she screamed and shouted for help when her friend heard her voice and traced her to the toilet from their room. It was when the toilet and found the baby that they called an elderly cleaner for assistance because the two of them were novice in childbearing.

77.    OJB JEZREEL’S KIDNEY TRANSPLANT - Veteran producer, OJB Jezreel’s need for a kidney transplant not only filtered into the media in 2013 but also with the appeal to raise a whooping sum of N16M to undergo a kidney transplant in India; however, well meaning Nigerians and the likes of Governor Rotimi Ameachi of Rivers state, P-Square and brother Jude Engees-Okoye, Iyanya and manager Ubi Franklin, and other entertainment stars came to his rescue and donated the huge sum for the surgery. It is also worthy of note that Jezreel donated N200, 000 to the Heart of Gold Children Hospice located in Surulere, Lagos out of the money he raised for his transplant. Interestingly, we heard it was his first wife Mabel that gave him her kidney. They landed in the country months backs after the successful kidney transplant in India.

78.    OPON IMO - Opon Imo is clearly, the most revolutionary element of the education reforms, the customised computer tablet that contains 63 textbooks covering 16 subjects, 800 minutes of virtual class lessons, and 40, 000 past questions for WAEC and tertiary education matriculation examinations, conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board. These have been provided free for all the 150, 000 high school pupils in Osun.  Aside from the curriculum textbooks, Opon Imo also contains copies of the Bible, the Quran and the Ifa Divinity, to underscore the place of Osun as epicentre of Yoruba culture, as well as the multi-religious reality of the state, in the best tradition of equal opportunities.

The Opon Imo initiative has proved a masterstroke, both to save costs and provide qualitative learning aids by the instrumentality of ICT. It has rightly been hailed by the United Nations as a revolutionary learning innovation to help Africa and the rest of the Third World improve its educational capacity.

79.    ONLINE HYPE/PR – Many major entertainment websites and blogs had huge patronages from various companies and organizations with major campaigns for products, services and most especially, events as the online platforms keeps getting more popular and relevant by the day with Nigerians.

80.    RICH GANG – Rich Gang is the first compilation album by Young Money and Cash Money as the supergroup Rich Gang. The album was released July 23, 2013 by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records. The album contains contributions from several YMCMB members, including Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Busta Rhymes, Mack Maine, Tyga, Limp Bizkit, Mystikal, Bow Wow, Jae Millz, Ace Hood, Cory Gunz, Gudda Gudda, Caskey and Detail. The compilation also features guest appearances from artists outside the labels, including Future, French Montana, T.I., Rick Ross, Game, Flo Rida, Kendrick Lamar, Chris Brown, R. Kelly, Yo Gotti andMeek Mill. The album produced the hit sonh “Tap Out”.

81.    PAUL WALKER’S DEATH- The death of movie star Paul Walker has both shocked and enthralled fans. Perhaps it is because of the irony of the buff actor coming to fame in the "Fast & Furious" franchise to then lose his life in a car crash. Or maybe it is due to the fact that at the age of 40, his death was so unexpected and means he will now forever be frozen in time in the minds of fans -- defined not only by his roles and his philanthropy, but also by the footage of a smoking wreck which trapped him and his friend Roger Rodas. He died in a single car accident and explosion in Santa Clarita, Southern Califonia in two-seater 2005 Porsche Carrera G, a rare vehicle that has three times the horsepower of an average car. He leaves behind a 15-year-old daughter named Meadow.

82.    PETER OKOYE WEDS LOLA- Peter Okoye, one half of the mega Afro-pop group P-Square and Lola Omotayo, the mother of his two adorable kids wed in the traditional way in Lagos. The event was held at the Ark in Lekki with a number of entertainment stars and socialites in attendance.

So far guests include Kate Henshaw, Genevieve Nnaji, Rukky Sanda, Folorunsho Alakija, May D, Toke Makinwa, Dr. Sid, Don Jazzy, Karen Igho, Emmanuel Adebayor and many more, who were all present to wish the couple a sweet married life ahead.

83.    ROBIN THICKE – This American-Canadian pop singer staged scored high with the hit single “Blurred Line” ft TI and Pharrel Williams is one huge success. Robin Thicke made the headlines alongside bad girl Miley Cyrus with their controversial Twerking at the 2013 MTV VMA.

84.    SAKA – I DON PORT- Hafiz Oyetoro a lecturer at the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of education and a fair complexioned father of three popularly known as Saka; a character he played in a TV comedy soap, House Apart. The actor is synonymous to comedy; he’s been a house-hold name, face and brand at the Etisalat and appeared in different Television Commercials for Etisalat. Viewers usually enjoy watching him and his hilarious clips.  

His decision to leave Etisalat for MTN created a lot of controversies and debates in the media, especially the ‘I Don Port’ comedy song he did for MTN. In the TVC Saka was seen as porting to MTN amidst dancing around, at the beginning a character was dressed in green attire backing the camera; a colour synonymous to Etisalat. As the song climaxed, the character tuned back, it was revealed to be Saka chorusing ‘I Don Port Oooo’. The cloth also changed from green to yellow; the colour of MTN. Meaning he has switched network, making him the best personality to really explain the Number Portability which allows an individual to move from an existing network to another without losing the number.

85.    SAMSUNG NOTE 3 + GEAR – With so much hype and frenzy, the Samsung Note 3 and Gear made a gallant entry into the Nigerian market. The Galaxy Gear is a wrist-worn device that connects to the Note 3. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is Samsung’s thinnest and lightest device in the Note category yet. It features a screen larger than that of its predecessor, the Galaxy Note II while maintaining the same width as the previous Galaxy Note version and delivering on a larger, better viewing and multi-tasking experience.

86.    SEAN TIZZLE – The hustle pays for this young and talented Afro-pop star when his single “Sho Le” produced by the hit maker Detunes becomes a national anthem making him to be one of the favourites of show promoters, charging six figures for performances. Sean a powerful dresser and stylish act later crowned the year by winning Headies Next Rated and carted home a brand new jeep.

87.    STAR MUSIC APP, THE TREK, THE ROC STAR – Star lager Beer from the stable of Nigerian Breweries is simply unbeatable when it comes to entertainment sponsorship in Nigeria. The foremost beer brand always dazzles Nigerians especially the young consumers with various activations and top notch events. Topping the list in 2013 is Star Music Mobile App launched in February. The Mobile Music app allows users access to top Nigerian hit songs even before they are released into the market; The annual Star Trek is no doubt the biggest musical tour in Nigeria taking over 20 artistes to various Nigerian cities. The Trek gives the young act to rub shoulders with A-list acts; The Rock Star is a special limited edition of Star Beer that was launched with huge funfair.

88.    STOW AWAY TEENAGER - A teenager Daniel Oikhena, made the news when he beat airline security and hid in the tyre compartment of Arik Air aircraft used for flight W3 544 from Benin Airport to the Murtala Muhammed Airport, MMA Lagos. There was, however, pandemonium at the airside of the Lagos airport when passengers disembarking from the aircraft saw the teenager as he emerged from the undercarriage to join fellow travellers.                                      

However, De Raufs, a volunteer group extolling the virtues of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Governor of the State of Osun has volunteered to sponsor Daniel Oikhena up to university level and help him realise his dream of travelling by air legitimately.

89.    TABLETS – There was an increase in the usage of mobile Tablets in the country with many mobile brands introducing various brands and making it more affordable for consumers.

90.    TASUED FEMALE STUDENT KILLING – This is a love story gone gory when a supposed boyfriend who happened to be an armed robber killed her lover when the later detected his shady deals. The story was initially that it was armed robbers that shot the girl dead but her parents didn’t buy into it and decided to invoke her spirit, it was this act that made the boyfriend to confess to her killing. Before her death, Wunmi Adebayo was 200 Level student of TASUED.

91.    TECNO PHONES - Tecno android smartphones were the rave in the mobile market in 2013. They produced more affordable phones and yet efficient android smartphones which perform reasonable tasks beyond their price tag. Compiling the lists of all the major Tecno Android smartphones in Nigeria; the Tecno Q1, Tecno N3, Tecno P3, Tecno D3, Tecno D5, Tecno N7, Tecno F7, and the latest of all is the tecno Phantom A series, including the Tecno A3. Most of these phones run the Android 4.1.1 JellyBean OS with and more.

92.    TELECOMS ENDORSEMENTS - Nigerian music industry experienced a complete turn-around as their hard works were immensely rewarded by different telecoms company in Nigeria with the mass endorsement deal. MTN signed Iyanya, Tiwa Savage, Chidinma, Wizkid, IMike, Don Jazzy, Kcee, Praiz and also renewed Davido’s contract. It’s indeed a mouth watering deal. Globacom, Nigeria’s indigenous telecom company again signed on new acts with a number of endorsement deals in 2013. Glo ambassadors are; Omawumi, Waje, MI, Lynxxx, Bez, Naeto C, Burns Boy, Wande Coal and the greatest of all the feat is bringing back the ‘koko master’- D’Banj. Etisalat was also not left behind in the endorsement deal, as the self acclaimed ‘Badoo’- Olamide, Shasha P, Ice Prince, Seyi Shay turned their ambassadors. It was definitely seems a year of reaping for the singers.

93.    TIWA SAVAGE & T-BILLZ - Tiwa Savage, ties the nuptial knot with her manager, Tunde Balogun popularly known as Tee Billz, the colourful ceremony would linger in the heart of those that were allowed into the event center, though some Journalists are still not happy about the way they were faced from the venue. 

94.    TWERKING - Twerking is a type of dancing in which an individual dances to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low squatting stance. Since the late 1990s, twerking was associated with Bounce music of the Dirty South and was disseminated via mainstream hip hop videos and popular video-sharing sites since the mid 2000s. The sensual dance steps stages a huge comeback in 2013 no thanks to artistes like Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus, Major Lazer among others who made the dance a talk-about issue.

95.    TWITTER – No doubt gained more ground in 2013. There was tons of twit-fight among celebrities which happened to be one of the amusing and interesting features that usually draw people to Twitter.  

96.    UNILAG STUDENT FASHION WEEK - The first edition of the Nigerian Student Fashion and Design week was a great landmark in the world of fashion world in Africa. The fashion show held at the indoor sport hall of the University of Lagos and was organized by BlackNBold Fashion House, Africa Fashion Week London and Mahogany international. It featured 25 young designers from various universities in Nigeria and some non student designers.
It was a two day event that included three runway shows which were hosted by Dupsy of Unilag FM, Yemi Obamedo of spicetv , Larry Foreman and Moyo of Stritz Tv.
The Judges included Mrs Ronke Ademiluyi (CEO Africa Fashion Week London), Ayotunde Fabamwo (Co Founder Just Fashion Uk), Asake Oge and Onome (CEO Ebony Worth).

97.    UCHE, MTV VJ SEARCH WINNER – This young, bubbling and amiable dude hit the limelight when he was declared the winner of the MTV VJ Search Nigeria contest. Ehiz was a popular favorite leading up to the finale which took place on the 25th of January 2013 at One-Eleven Night Club in Victoria Island, Lagos.

98.    VERSACE – In hiphop fashion and style, Gianni Versace resurrects and became the favourite fashion item of many A-list artistes both home and abroad. The brand became so popular that some many artistes dropped the name in their songs. The Versace brand was Google most searched fashion brand in 2013.

99.    WIZKID AND EME RIFT - Wizkid, bowed out of Banky W’s record label, EME Music, over irreconcilable differences which has to do with the sharing of proceeds from a deal. His controversial tweets emphasized that he has left the record label when he re-updated his twitter profile by removing EME/Konvict music from it. EME Records Boss Banky W also released the official track-list for his upcoming album ‘R&BW’ where Wizkid’s name is conspicuous by its absence. Wizkid on the other hand also released a single and video titled ‘The matter’ featuring UK based maleek Berry. The video opens with ‘Starboy Ent’-the new label owned by Wizkid.

However, the rift between them was settled and both parties worked peaceful respecting each other’s opinion and contributions. 

100.WANDE COAL – Wande Coal had an impressive year having dropped hit singles which include “Rotate”, My way”, “Amorawa”.  He later walked out of Don Jazzy’s Mavin records which sparked some uproar. Wande ended the year smiling to the bank with a Glo multi-million naira endorsement deal.