In the last couple of days, some Nigerian women in the spotlight have made the country and Nigerians very proud.
These young women have excelled tremendously in their field of work which has kept the country in a good light locally and internationally.
This week, we acknowledge the Nigerian women who have put us one step ahead and given us butterflies in our stomachs as the first time man landed on the moon.
1. TEMS
Despite having been in the music scene for a while she rose to prominence in 2019 when her song “try me” became one of the biggest hits of the year, fast forward to 2022 and Tems is attaining remarkable heights and is fast becoming the poster girl for Nigerian music on the international scene.
Tems was recently featured on the soundtrack of the Black Panther sequel, ‘Wakanda Forever.
This surprise was revealed when Marvel released the trailer for Wakanda Forever on Sunday 24th July 2022 and it featured Tems singing a cover for Bob Marley’s ‘No Woman No Cry.
This achievement comes a week after she was credited as a songwriter on Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance album.
The track list of Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ which was posted on social media on Thursday, 20th July 2022 saw Tems credited as one of the songwriters on track 10 ‘Move’ under her full name Temilade Openiyi.
Prior to that she was the first Nigerian female artist to debut on Billboard hot 100 and has made three additional debuts on the Billboard hot 100 since her first debut with her making her solo debut in July 2022, with her 2020 song, “Free Mind” off her For Broken Ears EP, peaking at No. 90.
She also broke a record in June 2022, as the first Nigerian female artiste and African female musician to clinch the Best International Act at the BET Awards 2022.
The singer beat competition from her fellow Nigerian Fireboy, Dave (UK), Dinos from France, and Fally Ipupa from Congo.
The singer also has a Grammy nomination to her name alongside Wizkid in the “Best Global Music Performance” category at the 64th Grammy awards.
TOBI AMUSAN
The 25-year-old made Nigeria proud by winning the 100m hurdles gold medal.
Tobi Amusan also became the first Nigerian to win a World Title at the tournament. The talented athlete also became the 100m Hurdles World record holder after breaking the previous record in just 12.12 seconds.
Amusan came in with a record time of 12.12 seconds, beating Kendra Harrison’s 2016 record of 12.20 by 0.8 a second.
She went on to bag gold in the final, though her initial finishing time of 12.06 was ruled out due to strong wind speeds.
Amusan’s world record sent shockwaves through the athletics world.
In November 2016, the now-25-year-old tweeted: “Unknown now but soon I will be unforgettable, I will persist until I succeed.”
Her win (Nigeria’s first gold at such an event) was met with joy, with congratulations pouring in from a state governor and a presidential candidate in the upcoming 2023 elections.
ESE BRUME
The 26-year-old Athlete also made Nigeria proud after winning silver in Long Jump at the World Athletics Championship.
Brume leaped 7.02m to finish second in the women’s long jump despite that she barely made it into the final with her last attempt to book an automatic qualification spot.
Ese Brume has been very consistent for Nigeria in the past three years.
The Silver medal is an improvement on the Bronze she won she won in Doha in 2019.
Brume, Olympic Bronze medallist finished behind Germany’s Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo who leaped 7.12m. Brazil’s Leticia Oro Melo jumped 6.89m to take Bronze.
Brume is expected to be in Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games and will attempt to reclaim the Gold she won in 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland. She missed the 2018 edition in Gold Coast, Australia.
ASSIST OSHOALA
The Barcelona and Super Falcons striker made Nigeria proud after becoming the first African to win five African Player of the Year Awards.
The 27-year-old won the award in Morocco and dedicated it to her Super Falcons teammates.
With this win, Oshoala becomes the first player in history to win five African Player of the Year awards.
Oshoala was adjudged the best African female footballer in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019.
The winning is her fifth time winning the award, going beyond former Falcons striker, Perpetua Nkwocha.
The 2021-22 campaign can be said to be Oshoala’s best yet as she played a pivotal role in her Spanish side’s treble charge – the Spanish Women’s Super Cup, Copa de la Reina, and the Primera Division.
She was forced to miss this year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations due to an injury.
Earlier this year, she became the first African woman to win the Pichichi Award, which is given to the top scorer in the Spanish league.
