Time presented its annual list online on Thursday, naming the most influential people worldwide, including artists and leaders to pioneers, titans and icons. The list will appear in the April 27 issue of the magazine.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Malala Yousafzai have been selected amongst TIME magazine’s 2015 One Hundred Most Influential People in the World.
Chimamanda Adichie’s selection was based on her unique position as a literary success and an influential cultural voice. Adichie studied political science at Eastern Connecticut State University, and has a Masters degree in writing from Johns Hopkins University and a Masters degree in African Studies from Yale. She has held fellowships at Princeton – where she taught a writing course – and Harvard. She is the first Nigerian recipient of numerous prestigious literary awards, including the Orange prize, the National Book Critics Circle award, the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize and the Nonino Prize for fiction.
She has, most recently, been shortlisted for the Dublin IMPAC prize, the most lucrative literary award in the world. In addition, she was listed as one of the top 20 fiction writers under the age of 40 by The New Yorker magazine. She has been awarded a Macarthur Fellowship, popularly known as the Macarthur ‘Genius’ Award. Adichie has also been honored by the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the ‘Global Ambassador’ award. Her first TED talk, The Danger of a Single Story, is one of the most-watched TED talks and is a staple of school courses all over the world. Her second TED talk, We Should All Be Feminists, has been a major influence in the ongoing worldwide resurgence of feminism, and inspired Beyonce’s popular anthem Flawless. Her books have been translated into more than 30 languages and have sold over a million copies worldwide. The film adaptation of her most recent novel Americanah will be co-produced by Brad Pitt and Lupita Nyong’o.
Malala Yousafzai made it to Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential List for the second time.
Malala came under international spotlight after Taliban attacked her in Swat for campaigning for girls’ education. She received a bullet injury to her head but successfully recovered after undergoing surgery in Britain.
The 17–year-old was once again listed in the ‘Icons’ category of the list with other renowned personalities, including Pope Franics, writer Haruki Murakami, designer Diane von Furstenburg and others.
In October last year, Malala became the youngest ever Nobel Prize winner, jointly winning the prestigious annual prize with Indian activist Kailash Satyarthi.
Other Nigerians on the TIME 100 list are activist Obiageli Ezekwesili, president-elect Muhammadu Buhari and artist Chris Ofili.
