Davido, Nse Ufot, Olugbenga Agboola, Ijeoma Oluo, Feyikemi ‘FK’ Abudu, Odunayo Eweniyi, Damilola Odufuwa Make 2021 TIME100 Next List

Davido, Nse Ufot, Olugbenga Agboola, Ijeoma Oluo, Feyikemi ‘FK’ Abudu, Odunayo Eweniyi, Damilola Odufuwa Make 2021 TIME100 Next List

TIME has released its 2021 100 Next list, an expansion of the flagship TIME100 franchise that highlights 100 emerging leaders who are shaping the future, especially how they are inspiring the world and thriving in their space despite the global pandemic. The list highlights some of Nigeria’s stars influencing their space such as Davido, Feyikemi ‘FK’ Abudu, Odunayo Eweniyi, Damilola Odufuwa, Nse Ufot, Olugbenga Agboola and Ijeoma Oluo.

Honourees of the 2021 Time100 Next list are individuals who provide a “clear-eyed hope” amid a global pandemic, deepening inequality, and systemic injustice. They are doctors and scientists who are at the frontline fighting COVID-19, advocates insistent on equality and justice, journalists standing up for truth and artists sharing their visions of the present and the future.

This year’s list is divided into five categories which highlight these young leaders rewriting the world’s history. The categories include Artists, Phenoms, Leaders, Advocates, and Innovators constantly shaping the future of entertainment, health, policy and advocacy, politics, business and technology.

Davido was listed under the Phenoms category; Ijeoma Oluo, Feyikemi ‘FK’ Abudu, Odunayo Eweniyi, and Damilola Odufuwa, Advocate category; while Olugbenga Agboola and Nse Ufot were listed under the category of Innovators.

Here’s what TIME published about these notable few.

Davido

“Davido is one of the biggest voices in Afrobeats because his music connects with people, often in ways that transcend his expectations. When he released the song “FEM” in 2020, a title that loosely translates to “shut up” in Yoruba, he didn’t know it would become a major #EndSars protest anthem, as youths banded together to demand the government take action to end police brutality in Nigeria, last October (October 2020). You can tell Davido puts 100% into every song he makes.”

Ijeoma Oluo

Ijeoma Oluo’s article was written by Ibram X. Kendi.

“I still remember an event we did together in 2019. It was the second time I saw Ijeoma Oluo enthrall a crowd with unmatched clarity and conviction, and her mix of seriousness and laugh-out-loud humour, all the while showing a deep and abiding concern for racial justice. She evoked what humanity needs to secure and defend humanity’s needs.”

Read Also: Four Nigerians Listed on Time’s 2020 Most Influential People in the World

Feyikemi ‘FK’ Abudu, Odunayo Eweniyi and Damilola Odufuwa

“When protests calling for an end to police brutality and the disbandment of Nigeria’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) erupted across the country in fall 2020, Damilola Odufuwa and Odunayo Eweniyi, founders of the Feminist Coalition, sprang into action. Drawing on their expertise in tech, they raised donations in Bitcoin to offer protesters medical assistance, legal aid and mental health support. Simultaneously, Feyikemi “FK” Abudu acted quickly, raising funds from both Nigeria and the diaspora to organize food and security arrangements for protesters in the ground.”

Olugbenga Agboola

Olugbenga Agboola, Cofounder and CEO of Flutterwave.

“Amid lockdown, Flutterwave expanded from specializing in digital cash registers to hosting digital storefronts, helping some 20,000 small businesses suddenly, without foot traffic set up online shops, receive payments and arrange delivery options. “We called it ‘Keeping the Lights On,’” 

Nse Ufot

“Under Nse’s kind, creative and determined leadership, the New Georgia Project—a civic-engagement nonprofit founded in 2013 by Stacey Abrams—has worked alongside fellow grassroots organizations in the state to register hundreds of thousands of Georgians to vote. She helped ensure that Georgia’s diverse communities had what they needed to vote and vote safely in both the 2020 presidential election and the 2021 Georgia Senate runoffs—all while leveraging technology and gaming culture to engage young voters and doing the irreplaceable hard work of reaching voters behind every door, in every corner of the state.”

View the full list of honourees on time.com