Davido, Feminist Coalition, Olugbenga Agboola make 2021 TIME100 NEXT list
Popular Nigerian singer, Davido and The Feminist Coalition
group have made 2021 TIME100 NEXT. According to TIME Magazine, TIME100 Next
list is an expansion of their flagship, TIME100 franchise, that highlights 100
emerging leaders who are shaping the future.
The FEM singer was selected in the Phenoms category
alongside stars like Amanda Gorman, Charli D’Amelio, Rege-Jean Page, Anya
Taylor-Joy, Nyjah Huston, Sydney McLaughlin, Brit Bennett, Olivia Rodrigo,
Steve Kornacki, Doja Cat, Luka Doncic, Trevor Lawrence, Abby Phillip, Janja
Garnbret, Izkia Siches Pasten, Koyoharu Gotouge.
Like the members of the Time100 list, the Time100 Next honorees
each have a tribute written by someone in their field. For Davido, winner of
Big Brother Naija season five, Laycon, wrote the tribute.
Laycon wrote, “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 youth banded together to demand the government take
action to end police brutality in Nigeria last October. Officials responded by
sending politicians to give speeches. We told the government to keep quiet
unless they had something sensible to add—the ethos of “FEM” was directly
relatable to that moment.
“You can tell Davido puts 100% into every song he makes. And
the results are clear: his album A Good Time surpassed a billion streams in
2020. Afrobeats is a worldwide phenomenon, and Davido is one of many Nigerian
artists who has made that possible; now more and more artists, from Nicki Minaj
to Young Thug, want to work with him. By bringing Afrobeats to the global
stage, he’s paved the way for people like me.”
Also, Damilola Odufuwa, Odunayo Eweniyi, both founders of
the Feminist Coalition, and a member, Feyikemi “FK” Abudu, were spotlighted by
Time Magazine for their role in the #ENDSARS protest. The trio were in the
Advocates category of the list.
The magazine wrote, “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 on the ground. Abudu later joined forces with the
Feminist Coalition, and the organization, comprising 13 founding members,
raised more than $387,000 in two weeks. As their fight continues—in
mid-October, the government pledged to implement police reform, but efforts to
suppress dissent, including by arresting demonstrators, are ongoing—the
coalition’s leaders hope their crucial role in the protests demonstrates the
importance of having women in leadership. —Suyin Haynes.”
Another Nigerian made it to the list is Olugbenga Agboola,
Flutterwave’s co-founder and CEO. He was recognised for his contribution during
the #ENDSARS protest.
The magazine said, “In 2020, COVID-19 lockdowns across the
world hit brick-and-mortar businesses hard. Africa’s small shops and
restaurants, very few of which have an online presence, were particularly
vulnerable. Enter Flutterwave, a tech startup based in San Francisco and Lagos,
Nigeria, that is known for helping companies process customers’ online
transactions during checkout. 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,’” says Olugbenga Agboola, Flutterwave’s co-founder and CEO, who
lives in Washington, D.C. The company processed more than 80 million
transactions, worth $7.5 billion, in 2020, establishing it as Africa’s premier
payment-solution provider. Now Flutterwave—which already has a presence in 17
African countries—is planning to leverage that momentum into greater expansion,
so that a customer in South Africa, for example, can seamlessly use her Kenyan
digital wallet to buy products in Senegal. “Africa is not a country,” says
Agboola. “But we make it feel like one.”
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