FUNNIEST TRENDS OF THE YEAR SO FAR.

Over the years, we Nigerians have earned quite the reputation for our suffering and smiling spirit. Let petrol prices jump overnight and by morning, you’ll see Nigerian youths flooding the internet with hilarious videos, memes, and skits about the situation. Honestly, sometimes, I just sit back and admire my people. Nigerians are the true definition of peaceful hustlers. No matter how rough things get, trust us to squeeze out new trends that make everybody laugh through the pain.

  Now, just in case you’re wondering what these funny trends I’m talking about are — let me break it down small. In Nigeria, a trend isn’t just one random internet joke that flies and dies. Nooo, it’s a full cultural movement. It could be a catchy phrase, a meme, one TikTok sound, or a video that blows so much that you’ll start hearing it in church, at the market, in your family WhatsApp group, just anywhere and  everywhere! Sometimes, it comes from pure vibes, other times, from the not-so-cool things  we experience in this country. But one thing about these trends? They always find a way to make all of us laugh together. Whether you’re stuck in Lagos traffic, dealing with Ibadan micra drivers, or managing your last money for fuel in Abuja,  you will still see something online that will make you laugh till your ribs hurt.

Last year, it was the “No gree for anybody” era — a ridiculously funny trend that completely took over the internet. If you opened IG, TikTok, or X (formerly known as Twitter, but forever Twitter in our hearts), you couldn’t scroll five seconds without seeing that phrase. This phrase is used when someone tries to intimidate another person and anyone around can just tell the latter, “no gree for anybody” or “you go gree?”—- which might also sound like a motivation, but, all cruise. 

  Another way this was used was when some students will be like, “make lecturer sef come teach me for house” then with the hashtag #nogreeforanybody— mind you, this was in no way to disrespect their lecturers but basically just to feed the internet and follow the trend.

  Now it’s 2025, and you’re probably thinking, maybe Nigerians have calmed down, humbled by the economy. Please, rest. Nothing humbles Nigerians. If anything, we’ve outdone ourselves. This year alone, we’ve moved from the “Chakam”trend to “You dey go naw”, and then to “I’m so hungry I could eat a baby”. I had to pause and ask myself, are we okay in this country? Cozzzz…

  Let’s start with Chakam. This one killed me. The first time I saw it, I was lost. I didn’t even know it was a trend. “ what is Chakam?” — you must have been wondering,I wondered too. I was so confused that I had to google it, then it turned out that chakam is the Nigerian way of imitating the sound of a camera shutter— that sound a camera makes when it takes a picture and the light. How people have been using this?

  I was just scrolling through TikTok, minding my business, then I stumbled across a post— a lady talking about getting married to a wealthy chief, she said it in a very funny manner, and I entered the comment section — because, let’s be honest, the comment section is always funnier than the post itself. The first comment I saw was “Chakam ????”. I scrolled down… another one. “I don Chakam you like that”. I kept scrolling and it was Chakam, Chakam, Chakam. At a point I had to ask myself, “am I still on Nigerian TikTok or has my algorithm relocated?” 

  Not long after that,I saw another post of a girl, with the caption “ mood coz my dad has sent me money for the textbook I won’t buy” and almost everyone in the comment section start commenting “Chakam”, which means they’ve taken a picture of her— in case she wants to deny it later. 

  So basically, when someone does something embarrassing, questionable or weird, people ‘snap’ them by typing Chakam. Moral lesson: Don’t misbehave online, or you’ll be Chakam-ed.

  Next up — the “You dey go naw” trend (which also means “keep moving” or “be going naw”). Jeeez! This one has me in stitches every single time. I don’t know why, but whenever I hear it, I laugh like it’s the first time. And yes — I’m always late to these trends. I won’t lie. I never know what’s trending till it’s everywhere and someone eventually shames me into googling it. One person even asked, “Are you sure you’re Gen Z?” Well, I wonder too sometimes.

   Hmn, let me tell you how this particular trend started. One random video popped up where this guy was trying to toast one fine babe walking with her friend. The babe, being nice, actually stopped to hear him out and her friend, like a proper wingwoman, just stood to the side, minding her business. Next thing, this guy turned to the friend and hit her with a straight-faced “You dey go naw.” I hollered! Like, tears-in-my-eyes, almost-choked-on-air kinda laugh— that hysterical laughter, because what? The disrespect was loud, but also? Hilarious.

Since then, everybody and their grandma has been using it to dismiss people. It’s now living in TikTok skits rent-free — especially those ones where one friend is physically endowed and the other isn’t.  The comments section under those videos? AbsoluteLu crazy, “You dey go naw”, “Even if na bush, just dey go”, you can check out videos under  ‘Bana by Niniola Apata’ on TikTok and come back here to laugh. Nigerians don’t just have joy, honestly. The trend is  savage, but hilarious and the internet really took that one line and made it a lifestyle.

  And then, the one that had me questioning the future of humanity — “I’m so hungry I could eat a baby”. I don’t even know how this started, but it blew up. People post this and then record their toddlers’ reactions, and trust me, those babies have no business being that funny. There was one that told her mum, “If you eat me, you’ll hurt the Jesus in my stomach because Jesus lives in me”. At that point, I logged out of the internet because,  what? What are these kids eating? Who’s raising them? The confidence! The wisdom! Nahh, Gen Alpha is not normal. If you haven’t seen it yet, go on Instagram or TikTok and type “I’m so hungry I could eat…” in the search bar. You’ll come back here to thank me.

  Every year, Nigeria gives us fresh trends. It’s like we’re on a mission to outdo ourselves, and honestly, I love it. Yes, the economy is terrible, things aren’t moving well, and people are struggling. But somehow, we’ve made humor a survival skill. These trends have even become part of our daily conversations because they’re effortlessly funny. It’s a beautiful way to lift each other’s spirits and remind ourselves that, no matter how tough life gets, we still have jokes.

  And guess what? This is just the first half of 2025. I’m already looking forward to what else Nigerians will come up with. Because one thing about us? We go again. And harder.