Explaining 9 Of The Greatest Nigerian Memes

Is your post even funny without a meme? Memes have become a huge part of our digital culture from work messages to private DMs between friends, our lives are defined by memes. Thanks to certain personalities and characters, we always have the perfect meme for any moment. From Osita Iheme to Odunlade Adekola, here are some of the top memes to come out of Nigeria.

Osita Iheme

Nollywood actor, Osita Iheme is popularly known as Paw Paw, a moniker derived from his role in the movie Aki na Ukwa (2003). He is arguably one of the top five memes out of Nigeria to grace social media, especially black Twitter. His memes appeared on social media in 2019 and went viral after Twitter account @nollywoodroll owned by Nicole, a woman based in Brazil posted a clip on her timeline. Whether you are feeling excited, broke, in doubt, or depressed, there is always a Paw Paw meme for every occasion. 

Chinedu Ikedieze

Popular for his role alongside his friend, Osita Iheme on Aki na Ukwa (2003), Nollywood actor, Chinedu Ikedieze, widely known as Aki is another Nollywood actor whose meme is well-known on the internet. In most of the memes, Aki is usually alongside PawPaw. The scene where he was crying holding a cutlass is his most popular meme yet.

Odunlade Adekola

He is one of the first memes to surface on Nigerian social media. There was a period when you would see his memes all over social media and occasionally, the meme is decorated with funny bits which often makes the joke funnier. The Yoruba actor’s various expressions were hilarious in movies and most of the time, you would see his different memes attached to a funny tweet or bizarre story. His meme just makes a post 10x funnier.

Royco advert

The 2001 advert birthed a new meme in 2017. In this meme, a moody and hungry husband comes home from work craving a Royco-seasoned meal but unknown to the wife, she offers him an orange juice which he rejects. He grabs his car keys in an attempt to leave the house but upon perceiving the aroma of her food, he gives off a smile and nod showing approval that he was angry because he was hungry.

Nkem Owoh

This is the perfect meme for those moments when you make an interesting discovery or come to a realization about a situation. After his role as Osuofia in the self-titled movie, he was nicknamed after the movie title. In this meme, Osuofia heard strange noises from his room that seemed like his wife was cheating on him.

Kanayo O. Kanayo

Kanayo quickly became a household name after his role in Living in Bondage (1992). Subsequent roles in other movies made him famous for making sacrifices and indulging in rituals, making him the go-to meme for being devious or cold-hearted. In this meme, he looks like he is planning something sinister or he did something evil.

Ukonu Ogechi

Also known as Caramel plug, the internet sensation went viral on Twitter after creating a video ranting about the hype attributed to the blockbuster series, Game of Thrones. There are several memes of her wearing pyjamas and bonnets with various facial expressions that are great for various situations.

John Okafor

Some posts are the type to get you in trouble so you do not want to get involved. This meme perfectly reflects someone who does not want to be dragged into any form of drama or someone who did but pulled out. The majority of the movie roles he played in were comical so it is expected that when you are attaching this meme to a post, the post is not extremely serious. 

Benita Nzeribe

This meme shows the Nollywood actress looking seductive. If you find something interesting on the internet or you are trying to make someone do your bidding, this meme already does the talking for you.