2024 was the year of “una,” “type shit,” and a whole lot of other slang that made our conversations more lively, more hilarious, more trendy and more Nigerian. But, let’s be real, with new slang popping up every five minutes, it’s hard to keep track of what’s hot and what’s not.
That’s why we asked 14 Nigerians to tell us their most used slang of 2024. From the classics to the newcomers, we got some of the phrases that made it to their everyday vocabulary.
Dave
“OHHH BROTHEERRR”
I picked this slang from a Twitter mutual in 2022, and it stuck. It’s basically saying “Omo.” It works for context when you’re trying to express happiness, sadness, disappointment, or whatever.
Gafar*
“Una”
It’s a word I picked from Twitter (now X or whatever Elon calls his app), and I’ve been obsessed with it. I typically use it for sarcastic tweets and when I’m trying to look for someone’s trouble. Even my girlfriend has picked it up. I hope she doesn’t get into trouble with it. LOL.
Lolu*
It’ll have to be “Allow” and “Bring/Gbewa.”
I can’t remember when it became a thing, but it must have been during the earlier months of the year. X influencers and banger boys made both slangs popular. “Allow” is mostly used when someone is making an obvious goof or telling a lie but people want the said individual to go on regardless. Bring (Gbewa) is also used in a similar way.
They both mean or represent nothing to me. They’re just social media lingo. You can’t latch on to them for too long because they constantly evolve. They’ll get replicas in a matter of weeks or months.
Dee*
Mine is quite a poem. A five-line nursery rhyme that I learned from watching a video of a street guy in Lagos on IG. The rhymes go like this:
“2 x 1 = 2 ni, asiri wa o ni tu o
2 x 2 = 4 ni, ori wa o ni fo o
2 x 3 = 6 ni, ibi tati n rowo wa o ni cease o
2 x 4 = 8 ni, awon to nifewa ko ni hate wa
2 x 5 = 10 ni, o ni te loju aye.”
It’s a play on the arithmetic table in a ploy to get people impressed so that they’d drop money. Everything about the streets is dropping money. I see this as something people far removed from the streets would jack for themselves. As with the music and slang, Lekki jacks every original thing that comes out of Mushin and this slang is sitting duck. We need to protect it with our lives.
Eunice
“Na me get you”
I can’t remember the specific place I heard it or picked it up. I say it to my very close folks. Whether we’re talking or gisting, I’d say “Na me get you.” It basically means “You’re my person and anything you want to do, you have me, and I’ll do the same for you.” I tell my family members, my boyfriend and close friends. Most times, they’d retort with “No be you get me o. Na God get me.”
Philemon
“Omoooooo”
I use the “F word” a lot, but “Omooooo” takes the cake. It expresses whatever I’m feeling. I can use it to express joy, frustration, any emotions. Plus, this year has been a more frustrating one. So, “Omooooooo.”
Betty
“NGMI (Not Gonna Make It)”
It’s NGMI (Not Gonna Make It) for me. I picked it up on tech Twitter threads. It’s a reminder every time I see Nigeria(ns) involved in prime fooling: How can you make it when you aren’t serious about anything? “Not Gonna Make It” creates a fearful reaction.
Francis
“Type Shit”
It’s a song from Future and Metro Boomin’s We Don’t Trust You album. “Type Shit” is my default response to anything I agree with. One can interpret the slang as “Dat kai tin.”
Daniel
“Go warm Eba”
I heard the slang this year on Twitter. I just like the way it’s used to tell people off when they have unrealistic ideas.
Muna
“No wam”
I can’t place this slang to a certain time, place or person, but I began using it this year. It simply means “No problem.” Even when someone disappoints me, and I have nothing else to say or add, it’s “No wam.” It can be sarcastic too, like: “Nice one” when there’s nothing that’s in fact nice.
Chikez*
“Wamless”
You know “Wam” means problems or having issues. The “less” signifies that there’s less or no problems. “Wamless” is an upgrade of “No wam”.
Chigor
My most used slang has to be “E be things” (“That’s quite something” or “Things are happening”). I learnt it from a friend. We noticed we weren’t keeping in touch as much because adulthood was kicking our asses so we came up with a plan to schedule calls every Sunday. The calls are pretty lengthy so we talk about anything and everything. She usually sprinkles “E be things” to our gist, so I sort of picked it up from there. It feels special and I picked it up the way you subconsciously pick the mannerisms of people you love and stuff.
Kunle
“Washere”
In Yoruba, it literally means “You’ll do great things.” But in the popular context, it translates to “You’re doing well,” “Well-done,” and “Good job.”
Dipo
“Oya nau”
It simply means “Alright” or “Let’s go”, depending on the situation.
