Osagie Alonge

Everywhere you look these days, there is a Pulse.ng ad material staring you in the face. There is no escaping the media onslaught it seems. Leading the editorial charge for the brand is entertainment journalist Osagie Alonge. Beyond the routine news, lifestyle and events content, Pulse.ng under Alonge’s watch has cornered the market on the effective use of video to create viral content, with soar away segments like Pulse TV strivia, Vox Pop, and Facts Only.

Mike Asukwo

Chances are you have come across Mike Asukwo’s sharp illustrations, on the pages of Business Day newspapers or on the Internet where they are usually shared as quickly as they are posted. Asukwo uses words, pictures, and colours to present a mirror to society, sometimes in heart-breaking but always funny ways. A multi-faceted artist, he has worked on many prominent sculptural edifices in Cross River State such as the Twin Column at the City Gate and the 3D Coat of Arms.

Linda Ikeji

Everyone’s favourite girl next door has continued to build on the runaway success of her eponymous brand. Ikeji’s blog continues to be the place to go for breaking news, celebrity culture, and gossip. She has started her own social network and made inroads into original content with the Linda Ikeji studios and music. Her give back project, ‘I’d rather be self-made’ helps young girls along their road to entrepreneurship.

Toke Makinwa

It has been a whirlwind year for Toke Makinwa, On Air Personality, television host, vlogger and tabloid magnet. In between covering every major magazine on newsstands, Makiwa made herself some lemonades by capitalizing on the collapse of her high-profile marriage to Maje Ayida to write a sensational memoir which she bills as a ‘’must tell.” Ms. Makinwa proved herself the Queen of the internet when she opened the floodgates of think pieces, reviews and free publicity that came after.

Azuka Ogujiuba

If you are Tiwa Savage and you are itching to correct the narrative of your very public marriage collapse playing out in real time, who do you call to tell your own side of the story? Yes, Azuka Ogujuiba. The This Day near-veteran has access to all the major stars and does not hesitate to call in her contacts to get to the heart of the story. Ogujiuba was also instrumental in the Olajumoke Orisaguna grass to grace story that captured the entire nation’s attention.

Dapo Olorunyomi

No one gets to the root of breaking stories like Premium Times and it is all because of Olorunyomi’s singular vision. In 4 short but eventful years, he has led the team at Premium Times, an online investigative reporting platform that has been relentless in its pursuit of government accountability. Premium Times oversaw the Nigerian leg of the release of the worldwide exclusive Panama Papers.

Sonala Olumhense

Few newspaper columnists command the clout and the national reach of Sonala Olumhense, whose weekly syndicated column has quietly become the Sunday Sunday tonic. Olumhense has a knack for getting at the heart of the matter of whatever topic he fancies at the moment and submitting well thought out, clearly considered analytical pieces that have earned him a wide readership nationwide.

Sam Omatseye

Omatseye is a journalist and chairman of the editorial board of The Nation newspaper, one of Nigeria’s respected national dailies. He has practiced his journalism both within and outside the country. Also, a published author of works of fiction, Sam Omatseye’s weekly In Touch column in The Nation is required reading for students and practitioners of journalism. Taking some poetic license to convincingly advance his argument, Omatseye’s pen remains as sharp as his mind.

Seyi Taylor

Taylor is the co-founder and chief marketing officer of Big Cabal media, publishers of what is now regarded in some quarters as Nigeria’s largest technology website, TechCabal plus the emerging Zikoko.com, an exciting hub for shareable pop culture content that is unabashedly Nigerian. Big Cabal media under Taylor’s leadership, was announced co-recipients of the Lagos Angel Network’s 50 million Naira seed funding.

Chris Ubosi

Ubosi is the founder and CEO of Megaelectric, operators of Classic FM 97.3, The Beat 99.9FM and Naija FM 102.7 in Lagos as well as The Beat 97.9FM Ibadan. He is also a co-founder of MTech Communications Plc, a fully indigenous mobile technology firm, providing services in data communications.

Prince Eheneden Erediauwa

A former crown prince, Eheneden Erediauwa this year became the 39th monarch to ascend the throne as the Oba of Benin. In a landmark event that shut down the Edo state capital for days and attracted politicians, business magnates, scholars, media practitioners and a government delegation led by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Erediauwa’s coronation was both majestic and splendid. He is now addressed as His Royal Majesty, Omo n’Oba n’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, Oba of Benin.

Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi

41 year-old Ogunwusi is the Ooni of Ife, the paramount traditional ruler of Ile-Ife, one of the most revered traditional institutions in the country. A descendant of one of the ruling houses in Ife kingdom, Ogunwusi’s high wire politicking saw off challenges from about 21 other candidates. He has been engaged actively in using his platform to export Yoruba culture to the rest of the world

Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II

Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has remained an active and engaged citizen, speaking out fearlessly on matters of national and economic interest, and standing as a principled and effective conscience for the Muhammadu Buhari led federal government. At a time when members of the elite have found it more convenient to maintain an uneasy silence, Sanusi’s voice has become a vital one, speaking truth to power and affecting change in the process.

 Fati Abubakar

Armed with a camera and an Instagram handle, @bitsofborno, Fati Abubakar strolls the streets of her hometown, Maiduguri and attempts to capture that other side of the terrorism ravaged state the mainstream media will not show you. Inspired by Instagram handles like @humansofny, Abubakar’s simple but powerful pictures of humans triumphing in the midst of affliction and their heart-warming captions have been able to tell a narrative of Borno beyond death and destruction.

Yemi Adamolekun

As the executive director of Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE), a coalition of persons and youth-led organizations tasked with instituting a culture of good governance and public accountability in Nigeria, Adamolekun brings the heat to lax public officials. Her team jointly organised the Ondo state gubernatorial election debate that aired on Channels television,

Obiagaeli Ezekwesili

Fiery and furious, passionate and intelligent, Obiagaeli Ezekwesili, a former government minister and vice president of the World Bank, has kept up with the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, drawing attention to the plight of the missing Chibok girls. Her efforts led to the return this year of 22 of the missing girls. Ezekwesili has repeatedly shown strength of character, vision, and decisive leadership when it matters.

Chidi Odinkalu

The fearless and endlessly brilliant scholar and activist professor Chidi Odinklalu may have completed his tenure as the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission but his voice has remained one of the nation’s most vital, coming across clear on all the important areas of human rights significance. He has also through the headship of the alumni association of federal unity schools tried to improve the educational system.

Seun Onigbinde

Seun Onigbinde is so powerful, Bill Gates knows his name, and shady government officials know to fear him. He fights for institutionalized transparency in government processes through BudgIT, a Co-Creation Hub-incubated. BudgIT was instrumental in blowing the lid off the budget padding mess that tainted the Buhari led federal government and has consistently led the charge for an open national assembly in terms of finances and budgeting.

Bukky Shonibare

Twitter folk are likely to have come across a picture of Shonibare displaying a placard with a loud reminder of the exact number of days the Chibok girls have been in captivity. She uploads these pictures every day, in good health or bad, no matter what part of the world she finds herself. This powerful-in-its-own-way imagery supports the work that Shonibare does with and outside of the #BBOG group, one that includes sit-outs, marches and relief material provision to IDP camps.

Akinwunmi Adesina

A former Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development,- and a pretty decent one too,- Akinwunmi Adesina is president of the African Development Bank Group (AFDB),where he contributes to reducing Africa’s poverty burden via economic development and social progress. He recently walked his talk when he approved a $1 billion loan to Nigeria towards meeting the deficits in the 2016 Budget.