Top 10 Nigerian memes explained

Memes are one of the best gifts from the internet. The joy of the best memes is that they always take you by surprise and then they crack you up. Nigerians are globally known as people who love jokes and are not afraid to tell them. So it’s not surprising that Nigerian memes are popular all over the social media. I mean, what’s the point of browsing through your social media handles if you don’t come across one or two hilarious Nigerian memes?

It’s impossible to count how many memes are on the internet. There are so many out there and there are more still being posted as we speak. But that’s not our problem Let them keep coming. We like it like that.

Table of Content hide 1What is a meme? 2How to pronounce meme 3Popular memes 3.11. Osita Iheme 3.22. Chinedu Ikedieze 3.33. Odunlade Adekola 3.44. Crying meme 3.55. Comrade of “vawulence” 3.66. Mummy GO 3.77. Royco advert 3.88. Nkem Owoh 3.99. Smiling meme 3.1010. Mugabe quotes

What is a meme?

So I browsed the meaning of meme and Google gave me two meanings:

1. An element of a culture or system of behaviour passed from one individual to another by imitation or other non-genetic means.
2. An image, video, piece of text, etc., typically humorous in nature, that is copied and spread rapidly by internet users, often with slight variations.

In my opinion, the second meaning gives the best definition of what a meme is. For clarity, a meme is an image, video, or short text that people post on the internet to express themselves in mostly funny ways. You gerrit now? If you don’t gerrit, forget abourit. Next segment, please!

How to pronounce meme

I have heard different weird pronunciations of the word. Some people sound like cows (moo moo) when they pronounce the term. Some others sound like constipated goats (meehh…) as they pronounce meme. I have even heard someone call it “mama” or “may may”.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the correct pronunciation of meme, according to Oxford English Dictionary and the BBC’s Pronunciation Unit, is “meem.” As in, you have to pronounce “meme” with a long “e” sound, like “meem”. Now that you know, please don’t call it “may may”, “mee mee” (unless you’re a baby, of course, which is really cute), “meme”, “mama”, or “mumu.”

Popular memes

Ugh, where do we even begin? There are so many of them (stamping my feet). Oh, I know. Why don’t we talk about popular faces on hilarious Nigerian memes? Sounds fun, right? Let’s take a look.

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1. Osita Iheme

If you’re familiar with Nigerian memes and you’ve not seen Osita “Paw Paw” Iheme’s face, I don’t know what you’ve been seeing. The popular Nollywood actor became a regular feature in Nigerian memes in 2019 when a Twitter account @nollywoodroll owned by Nicole, a woman based in Brazil posted a clip on her timeline. There is always a Paw Paw meme for every occasion whether you’re feeling excited, broke, rich, or depressed.

2. Chinedu Ikedieze

He is Paw Paw’s partner in crime in Nollywood movies. Chinedu Ikedieze, popularly known as “Aki” is another Nollywood actor whose meme is well known on the internet. “Aki” is always crying in his memes and it’s hilarious.

3. Odunlade Adekola

Odunlade Adekola is arguably the king of Nigerian memes. He is one of the first memes to grace social media. The Yoruba actor’s various expressions in the memes are so hilarious and they are all gotten from his many movies. Most times, you would see his different memes attached to a funny tweet or bizarre story. Even if the post is sad, somehow his expressions will make it even funnier.

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4. Crying meme

This crying meme will always go down in history as one of Nigeria’s greatest memes ever. Skabash reported that the boy behind this hilarious meme said he cried profusely to attract sympathy after losing N200 to gambling. His grandmother had given him the money to buy garri for dinner but he chose to gamble with it. He lost the gambling and “I kon reason say if I put passion for my cry, the people fit help me,” he explained. His story is even more hilarious than the meme which has been attached to several funny and bizarre social media posts.

5. Comrade of “vawulence”

This is a sticker frog meme that has become very popular on social media. Our comrade is the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian vawulence movement on social media. In case you don’t know, vawulence is slang for “violence” and it has become an attacking tool for social media trolling. Say what you like, we love our comrade and his vawulence and want them to keep coming.

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6. Mummy GO

Mummy GO became a popular meme after her controversial preachings about heaven and hell broke the internet. Her pictures trended on social media with hilarious quotes attributed to her, whether true or false. Her full name is Evangelist Funmilayo Adebayo and she is the founder of  Rapture Proclaimer Evangelical Church of God in Ekiti State. She also owns RAPEC Academy, an institution that teaches theology to potential evangelists. Her doomsday sermons are so funny that they have become sensational memes on Nigerian social media.

7. Royco advert

This Royco advert was done in the 1990s but has remained an internet sensation in 2022, thanks to Nigerian memes. In the advert,  a moody and hungry husband comes home from work but his wife offers him orange juice which he rejects. In anger, he grabs his keys to go out but is lured by the aroma of her Royco-seasoned food. Very interesting advert but somehow Nigerians have turned it into a hilarious meme.

8. Nkem Owoh

Nkem Owoh, popularly known as Osuofia, is a veteran Nollywood actor who has graced our screens for decades. His comic acts which have made him one of the most hilarious Nollywood actors, have found their way into Nigerian memes. Anywhere there is a hilarious meme, Osuofia’s face must be there.

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9. Smiling meme

This smiling meme made a Nigerian boy named Femi popular. His funny facial expression where he quickly sucked in his cheeks in a video became an instant meme on social media. The meme is arguably the most used WhatsApp sticker among Nigerians.

10. Mugabe quotes

Robert Mugabe was the President of Zimbabwe who died on September 6, 2019. However, his memes are all over the Nigerian social media space. All the quotes attributed to him are hilarious. Whether they are true or not, we don’t care. We just can’t get enough of the Mugabe quotes.

Which of the Nigerian memes do you find most hilarious?

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