If you’ve been in the Nigerian social media space in recent days, you will have come across the phrase “Na dem dey rush us” – at least twice. Everyone is using it! Comedians are making skits with it, slay queens & fine boys are using in it their captions, and even Wizkid is on it.

So where did “Na dem dey rush us” originate from?

Simply put, the phrase “Na dem dey rush us” originates from a scene extracted from an old Nollywood movie. As at the time of composing this article, I was unable to identify the title of the movie in question; however judging by it’s picture quality, I assume it was released in the early 2000s.

The scene stars veteran Nollywood actor Charles Inojie, as a local playboy making romantic advances to a potential love interest – who he eventually mocks for being unmarried at her age.

When she questions he playboy reputation, he proudly rebuffed her saying…

Fine boy like us…we no dey too look for women…Na dem dey rush us

What does “Na dem dey rush us” mean?

The phrase as delivered in Nigerian pidgin, is loosely translated to mean…

As a fine boy, I don’t chase women. They chase me.

How did “Na dem dey rush us” become a social media trend?

According to Kraks TV, the clip was brought to twitter by @ChefEneSoulfood on the 12th of June 2018.

It was an instant hit! From that moment, it became the hottest trend in the Nigerian social media space. According to Google Trends, the phrase rose to national prominence almost immediately.

Data source: Google Trends (https://www.google.com/trends).

The phrase popularity was further fuelled by Charles Inojie‘s #NaDemDeyRushUs Instagram competition.

How to use “Na dem dey rush us”?

According to an author on gltrends.com.ng

Actually, any scenario works. All it needs is creativity and a bit of tweaking to spin it perfectly. For instance, an up and coming artist can remind haters that he or she doesn’t seek out brands for money, #NaDemDeyRushUS. It would work if the artist can post pictures of the brands he/she endorses their products.

So there it is. All you need to know about the “Na dem dey rush us” trend. I’ll leave you with a few interesting #NaDemDeyRushUs tweets.

Credits: Some sections of this article have been adapted from articles previously published on Kraks.co & GLtrends.com.ng