100 Most Influential Creatives, 2021.
Arsenal’s 5 finest Academy Graduates Who Are Still With The Club
December 7, 2021
100 Most Influential Creatives 2021: Nnamdi Kanu.
December 15, 2021
The last one year has posed an enormous challenge to humanity in a way the world has not seen in decades. The threats that these times have brought are not just scary but are capable of wiping out humanity. The threat of diseases and infections, the threats of corrupt governments around the world, the threats of hunger and poverty, the threats of climatic instability, the threat of insecurity, wars and insurgency.
In the face of all of these threats, some continue to stick out their necks to resist and stand firm in the way of these threats to human existence as we have witnessed this past year. Whether you agree with them or not, what remains common with these creatives; leaders, artists, activists, writers, lawyers, creators, teachers, community leaders, scientists, speakers, etc, is their passion and resilience in fighting for that they believe in, even if it means putting their lives and careers on the line.
Year-on-year, C. Hub Magazine continues to recognize these formidable individuals as they continue to bring real impact to real people in real time, pushing for and bringing about real change. The 100 most influential creatives is not about popularity, position or power, but about impact that these individuals bring to their core communities and followers.
Putting all that we’ve seen through 2020 and 2021, we bring to you, in no particular order, our most impactful creatives of 2021:
| No. | Name | Brief backgrounds. |
| 1 | Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye and Dr. Darrell Cass | Famous for performing an in-utero surgery at a Texas Children’s on a 23 weeks pregnant mother to remove a sacrococcygeal teratoma, a large tumor from the baby’s tailbone. |
| 2 | Eric S. Yuan | Eric S. Yuan is a Chinese-American billionaire businessman, engineer, and the CEO and founder of Zoom Video Communications. |
| 3 | Ugur Sahin | Scientist – German oncologist and immunologist. He is the CEO of BioNTech, which developed one of the major vaccines against COVID-19. |
| 4 | Jacinda Arder | Politician, Prime Minister of New Zealand. |
| 5 | Prof. Rotimi Jaiyesimi | Professor Rotimi Jaiyesimi is a transformation agent described by his peers as an asset to the UK National Health Service. Professor Rotimi Jaiyesimi is an innovative and award-winning consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist based at the Nuffield Health Brentwood Hospital. He has acquired vast experience in a wide range of obstetric and gynecological disorders. His areas of expertise include heavy periods (menorrhagia), pelvic pain, endometriosis and menopause. |
| 6 | Emmanuelle Charpentier | Scientist, inventor of Gene Scissors “CRISPR/Cas9” and “Revolutionized the medical |
| 7 | Rihanna | Singer, ‘self made’ businesswoman. Recently honoured as a national hero as Barbados becomes a republic. |
| 8 | Prof. Ravindra Gupta | Clinical Microbiologist at the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease.Member of faculty of the African Research Institute. |
| 9 | Marcus Rashford | Marcus Rashford MBE is a 24 year old English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team. |
| 10 | Dawn Butler MP | Dawn Petula Butler is a British Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament for Brent Central since 2015 |
| 11 | Jeremy Corbyn MP | Jeremy Bernard Corbyn is a British politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2015 to 2020. The veteran politician is a lifelong humanitarian and activist who has throughout his career fought for global disarmament, peace and against poverty and homelessness. |
| 12 | David Adeleke | Artist, Musician and Philanthropist.He once held a music event and donated the N250 Million he made to orphanage homes across Nigeria. |
| 13 | Reed Hastings & Marc Randolph | Netflix co-founders |
| 14 | Sunday Igboho | Sunday Adeniyi Adeyemo, also known as, Sunday Igboho is a Human rights activist, Yoruba self determination activist and philanthropist from Nigeria |
| 15 | Reno Omokri | Nigerian Lawyer, Bestselling author and human rights activist. He is also the star of a travel documentary series; Reno Around The World. Motivational speaker and youth mentor. Reno is well known and respected in nigeria for his fearlessness in challenging the incompetence of the current government. He was a former aide to President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria. |
| 16 | Aurora James | Fashion Designer Canadian creative director, activist, and fashion designer. In 2013, she founded the fashion label Brother Vellies, with the goal of promoting traditional African design practices and techniques |
| 17 | Phyllis Omido | Environmental Activist |
| 18 | Olimpia Coral Melo Cruz | Women’s-Rights Activist |
| 19 | Allyson Michelle Felix | Track and Field Athlete – is the only female track and field athlete to ever win six Olympic gold medals. |
| 20 | Tobore Ovuorie | Is a Nigerian journalist, the seventh (and second female) laureate of the DW Freedom of Speech Award. Despite threats to her own life, Ovuorie has been investigating human trafficking from Africa for years. |
| 21 | Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala | Director of World Trade Organisation, Economist, Environmental Sustainability Advocate, Human Welfare Champion, Sustainable Finance Maven and Global Development Expert. |
| 22 | David Hundeyin | Nigerian investigative journalists have been instrumental in exposing dodgy phenomena in the Nigerian political arena. He was named the winner of the People Journalism Prize for Africa this year. |
| 23 | Milton Allimadi | Milton Allimadi is a Pan- Africanist and Activist, a publisher at Black Star News. He is not only critical of corrupt African leaders but their monopolisation of power. |
| 24 | Julius Malema | Julius Malema is a firebrand South African politician and activist. |
| 25 | Wiz Kid | Musician, Model |
| 26 | Jennifer Doudna | Biochemist |
| 27 | Simone Biles | Artistic Gymnast |
| 28 | Prof. PLO Lumumba | PLO Lumumba is a kenyan Lawyer who is very outspoken on a long running mental enslavement of Africans and their inability to shape a better future for themselves and future generations. |
| 29 | Aisha Yesufu | Yesufu is a Nigerian activist and businesswoman, cofounder of the #Bringbackourgirls movement. SheWas also a prominent member of the End SARS movement, which began in 2017 and drew attention to police brutality in Nigeria. The movement which took its name from a controversial police unit in the Nigeria Police Force called the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), escalated in 2020 when Nigerian youths decided enough was a enough, staging one of the most prominent protests Nigeria has seen in recent times, before it was ironically crushed by the same Police force it was protesting against. . A photograph of Aisha wearing hijab at an End SARS protest became an iconic symbol of the movement. |
| 30 | Bobi Wine | Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, also known as Bobi Wine, is a Politician, Singer and Actor from Uganda. He is the leader of the National Unity Platform Political Party. He was the strongest opposition contesting against the incumbent longtime president Museveni of Uganda. After the January 2021 election which he argued that he won, he was arrested and put under house arrest for weeks by the military. |
| 31 | Greta Thunberg | Environmental Activist |
| 32 | Thandiwe Abdullah | Black Lives Matter Activist |
| 33 | Dr Brighton Chireka | A GP Partner and GP Clinical Lead. A prolific writer and health campaigner. Dr Chireka continues to deliver talks on various health issues including men’s mental health, Covid19 awareness, diabetes and more. |
| 34 | Kenidra Roshay Woods | Activist via Film and Writing |
| 35 | Pastor Tobi Adegboyega | A Nigerian Pastor who founded the Salvation Proclaimers Anointed Church – a Pentecostal Church based in London. He is a Yoruba by tribe. |
| 36 | Khaby Lame | Online content creator, comedian |
| 37 | Nnamdi Kanu | Nnamdi Kanu is a Nigerian pro-Biafra political activist, the founder of IPOB (Indeginous People Of Biafra), leading the largest separatist movement since the Nigerian civil war. |
| 38 | Bushra Nasir | Bushra Nasir became one of the UK’s first female Muslim Headteachers of a state secondary school in 1993 when she became head of Plashet School for Girls in Newham. |
| 39 | Kayla Jane Barron | Submarine Officer, Engineer, NASA Astronaut |
| 40 | Caroline Popoola | An entrepreneur and CEO of Alpha Childcare Limited, a leading UK childcare provider. She is a Columnist, Speaker and Leadership Coach. Caroline currently runs over 13 childcare settings in the UK, leading a team of 75 childcare experts and helping over 500 children a day. |
| 41 | Diana Benskin | Diana Benskin is an American Award-Winning Author, Poet and Motivational Speaker.Benskin is a living example of channelling one’s emotions and experiences into writing. Diana has openly spoken about her abandonment from her parents, her troubled upbringing and her lifelong dream to be a journalist and writer. |
| 42 | Geeta Nargund | Professor.Dr Geeta Nargund is a global pioneer of Natural,Mild IVF and Advanced ultrasound in Reproductive Medicine. Acknowledging that infertility is a disease, she advocates that the NHS pays for women to freeze their eggs as well as advocates for the extension of the 10 years egg freezing limit. |
| 43 | Simran Randhawa | Simran, 24, is a Journalist, Creative Consultant and Digital Influencer who uses her platform to explore the intersection of identity through fashion. |
| 44 | Bozoma St John | The fastest rising profile of an African woman in the USA business sphere. Bozoma is a business woman, the chief marketing officer at Netflix having served as CMO at endeavor and chief brand officer for Uber. |
| 45 | Raphael Warnock | Pastor, Politician (First Black Senator of Georgia)Raphael Gamaliel Warnock is an American pastor and politician serving as senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta since 2005 and the junior United States senator from Georgia since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he assumed office on January 20, 2021 |
| 46 | Shah Rukh Khan | Bollywood Actor, Philanthropist |
| 47 | Dr. Stella Nyanzi | Award Winning Poet – a Ugandan activist, academic, writer and politician. She has also worked to raise awareness on period poverty. was released from prison. The feminist academic and writer spent almost 16 months inside Luzira prison in Uganda for writing a poem on Facebook about Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni’s mother’s vagina. This year she reportedly fled to Kenya to seek asylum with her three children on a political asylum. |
| 48 | Dr. Jimmy Spire Ssentongo | Philosopher, Writer, Cartoonist – Jimmy teaches Ethics and Research at Uganda Martyrs University and, on part-time basis, at Makerere University. He currently heads research and publication in the School of Postgraduate Studies and Research at Uganda Martyrs University and is the Chair of the Center for African Studies at the same university. As a self-trained artist, he also works as an editorial cartoonist for The Observer – |
| 49 | Chris Ogon | Cartoonist – Uganda · Editorial Cartoonist · Ogon. is a full-time cartoonist, published in several newspapers since 2013. Ogon came under fire after drawing an iconic cartoon of Alaa Salah, a 22-year-old woman who the liberal media attempted to make the face of the uprising following the successful Sudanese rebellion in 2019. Critics say his cartoon creates ‘the impression that the Ugandan woman, unlike Salah, is engaged in listening to music and ‘stunting for the gram’ |
| 50 | Arao Ameny | Poet and journalist – Arao Ameny is Ugandan-born from Lira, northern Uganda. She is a trained print and online journalist covering African communities and African immigrants. Arao Ameny is the Founder and Executive Director of the Association of African Journalists and Writers (AAJW), a unified platform for African journalists to connect, network, collaborate, and promote better reporting and understanding of Africa and African immigrant communities living in North America. |
| 51 | Harriet Anena | Award Winning Poet |
| 52 | Kakwenza Rukirabashaija | Lawyer and Novelist – Kakwenza Rukirabashaija is a Ugandan Novelist and Human Rights activist born on 1st November 1988. A tough critic of Museveni’s government of Uganda. He was arrested, detained and tortured severally by the Ugandan government for his satirical book – Greedy Babarian which depicted the dictatorial style of the President. |
| 53 | Lynn Ngugi | Community Journalist |
| 54 | Prince Eze Ihenacho | Prince Ezem Ihenacho is an Approved Mental Health Professional, an Advocate for Humanity, a Humanitarian and Broadcaster. The prolific and thought-provoking writer from 2010, has written the following books: Hard Hitting! The real truth about men, marriage & infidelity, published in 2010; Your Child, My Child, Whose Child, published in 2012; and ‘Humility of the brain’ in defence of humanity, which was published in 2014. In his recently published book, Our World In Metaphors, he included his funeral oration signifying his readiness to die for what he believes in and his advocacy for humanity. |
| 55 | Samuel Etoo | Samuel Eto’o Fils is a former world renowned footballer, currently the Cameroonian football administrator, recently elected president of the Cameroonian Football Federation. |
| 56 | Tomi Adeyemi | Novelist: a Nigerian-American novelist and creative writing coach. She is known for her novel Children of Blood and Bone, the first in the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy published by Henry Holt Books |
| 57 | Nathan Law | A Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and author. The 27-year-old activist was forced to flee the city by Beijing’s crackdown. He has vowed to continue the fight for freedom.Law began planning to run for office in Hong Kong in 2020 but instead has had to end it as a political refugee in exile in Britain. |
| 58 | Christina Koch | Engineer, NASA Astronaut |
| 59 | Jessica Meir | Marine Biologist, Physiologist, NASA Astronaut |
| 60 | Afua Sam | Ghanian Fashion Designer based in the USA. The creative director of the fashion brand – DMaxsi and A Concept. An activist, and philanthropist raising awareness and funding for various charities and women led organisations. |
| 67 | Abubacarr Marie Tambadou | Abubacarr Marie “Ba” Tambadou, 49, is a Gambian lawyer and politician. In July 2020, he was appointed the Registrar of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, an international court founded by the United Nations Security Council.Mr. Tambadou has been the Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Republic of The Gambia since February 2017, where he spearheaded important human rights and justice reforms. Before then, he was the Special Assistant to the Prosecutor of the Mechanism between 2012 and 2017, where he was involved in the operationalization efforts of the Mechanism’s Arusha and The Hague branches. Prior to this, he served as Trial Attorney in the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) between 2003 and 2008, and as ICTR Appeals Counsel between 2008 and 2012. |
| 62 | Ben Okri | A Nigerian writer, a Booker prize winner, and a long-time advocate for conversations on climate change. Ben Okri is a poet, novelist, essayist, short story writer, anthologist, aphorist, and playwright. He has also written film scripts. His works have won numerous national and international prizes, including the Booker Prize for Fiction.He has also received many honorary doctorates for his contributions to Literature. His forthcoming children’s book Every Leaf a Hallelujah, illustrated by the Nigerian-Italian illustrator Diana Ejaita, engages pressing issues relating to the environment, through the eyes of a young girl on a precarious journey to find a life-saving plant for her ailing mother. |
| 63 | Shi Zhengli | Virologist, Director at the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Wutan Institute of Virology.She has identified more than a dozen deadly SARS-like viruses and has dedicated her to continue the search. She has been dubbed “China’s Bat Woman”. |
| 64 | Abel Makkonen Tesfaye AKA The Weeknd | Singer, Songwriter, Record ProducerIn 2020, it was founded that The Weeknd had been quietly donating approximately $2Million to various causes, such as a Global Aid in Lebanon, |
| 65 | Marley Dias | 16 year old Activist behind “ #1000BlackGirlBooks “ |
| 66 | Emma González | 21 year old Co-Founder of ‘Never Again MSD’ (against gun violence) |
| 67 | Jaylen Arnold | 20 year old Founder of “ Jaylen’s Challenge Foundation “ (tackling bullying against special needs via education and providing community services) |
| 68 | Jahkil Jackson | 13 year old Founder of “Project Am I” (The organisation of “Blessing Bags” for the homeless, containing essentials); Founded when he was 8. |
| 69 | Isra Hirsi | 17 year old Environmental Activist, Co-Founder of U.S Youth Climate Strike |
| 70 | Steven Bartlet | Entrepreneur, Founder of Social Chain. The youngest investor on British Entrepreneurship show – Dragons Den. |
| 71 | Jazz Jennings | 20 year old Activist for LGBT rights. Jazz Jennings is an American YouTube personality, spokesmodel, television personality, and LGBT rights activist. Jennings is notable for being one of the youngest publicly documented people to be identified as transgender. |
| 72 | Gitanjali Rao | 15 year old author, scientist, first ‘Kid of the Year by Time Magazine’. Developer of an app for prevention of cyber-bullying. Conductor of innovation workshops and hosted 3 TEDx Talks. |
| 73 | Jack Andraka | Inventor of the Early Signs of Pancreatic and Other Cancers S |
| 74 | Rev Fr Oluoma | Rev. Fr. Oluoma Chinenye John is a priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, Nigeria. He is an anointed Preacher, Teacher, Counselor and Musician. He is a technology savvy Priest dedicated to liberating men and women from the shackles of ignorance and evil manipulations through regular doses of the word of God, Prayer and Ministrations. He is a mentor who has a passion to see young men and women rise to their God given potentials. |
| 75 | Pastor Chris Oyakilome | Pastor Chris is the founder and president of LoveWorld Incorporated, also known as Christ Embassy, based in Lagos, Nigeria. One of the most highly influential Christian preachers from Africa. He is well respected and reverenced by his followers. He is a mentor, a leader and a philanthropist. Throughout the pandemic, Pastor Chris continued to teach and educate his congregation, although he got into trouble with government authorities because of some of his messages, he did not stop. |
| 76 | Chika and Chidi Nwaogu | Brothers; Tech entrepreneurs, publishers and philanthropists. The Co-Founder of Playfre; Africa’s first and true answer to Spotify and Publisee. |
| 77 | Patrisse Cullors | Activist, Writer, Artist, Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter Movement. |
| 78 | Sister Lucy Kurien | Founder and Director of Maher (a community and interfaith organization for abused and destitute women and children). |
| 79 | Omoyele Sowore | Omoyele “Yele” Sowore is a Nigerian human rights activist, pro-democracy campaigner, former presidential candidate, and founder of an online news agency Sahara Reporters. On 3 August 2019 Sowore was arrested by the Nigerian State Security Service for alleged treason after calling for a protest tagged #RevolutionNow. |
| 80 | Christian Drosten | Virologist |
| 81 | Victor J. Glover | First Black Astronaut to live and work at the International Space Station. |
| 82 | Rashida Jones | MSNBC President, First Black Executive to run a major television news network. |
| 83 | Nicholas Johnson | First Black Valedictorian of Princeton. |
| 84 | Cynthia “Cynt” Marshall | First Black Woman CEO in the NBA |
| 85 | BTS | Record-breaking and arguably the most influential South Korean Boy-band. |
| 86 | DJ Nice | Derrick Jones, better known by his stage name D-Nice, is an American disc jockey, beatboxer, rapper, producer, and photographer.He was the first to take to instagram to create the viral virtual party which helped many cope through the darkest times of 2020. Jay Z said, “DJ Nice saved us all during quarantine, keeping us dancing through one of the most difficult years of our lifetime.” |
| 87 | Sydney Barber | U.S Naval Academy’s First Black Female Brigade Commander (21 years old). |
| 88 | Nia DaCosta | First Black Woman to direct a Marvel Movie. |
| 89 | Lewis Hamilton | The most successful Formula One Driver and Champion of all time. Lewis Hamilton was knighted just days after his controversial loss of the just concluded F1 championship, which fans continue to call for justice. He is a renowned philanthropist, and campaigner for human rights ; Women’s right, Black Lives Matter, and climate change. |
| 90 | Jerry Lorenzo | Fashion Designer behind the fashion line “Fear of God”. |
| 91 | Boniface Mwangi | 38-year old Kenyan photojournalist and activist involved in social-political activism. He is known for his images of the post-election violence that hit Kenya in 2007 and 2008. The exhibitions were shown around the country and viewed by over 600,000 people.In 2011, he launched Pawa 254 which is a hub space for artists and activists to work together towards social change and advancing human rights in Kenya. |
| 92 | Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice | Dean of Morehouse School of Medicine. |
| 93 | Mellody Hobson | Mellody Hobson, 52, is an American businesswoman who is President and co-CEO of Ariel Investments, and the chairwoman of Starbucks Corporation. She is the former chairwoman of DreamWorks Animation, having stepped down after negotiating the acquisition of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., by NBCUniversal in August, 2016. |
| 94 | Jennifer Obaseki | The Founding Director of Obaseki Solicitors. With over 20 years experience representing client on matters of immigration and human rights, Jennifer is one of most formidable Black women lawyers in the UK. Humanitarian and women’s right advocate. |
| 95 | Amanda Gorman | Youngest Inaugural Poet |
| 96 | Lauren Ridloff | Black, Deaf Actress and Advocate. |
| 97 | Obi Cubana | A Nigerian Entrepreneur and Businessman who chairs the Obi Cubana Group of Companies. With his wife, he started the KIEK Foundation, which is a non-governmental organisation focused on making better lives for the less privileged children in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.Obi is focused on sending over 1,000 children who have been out of school, back to school and encouraging them to get the best of life.His compassion for the less fortunate and passion for humanitarian work has also started other projects other than the KIEK such as Skill Acquisition, Talent Hunting and Sports Competitions. |
| 98 | Ryan Coogler | Film Director, Producer and Screenwriter. |
| 99 | Caroline Mutoko | Journalist, YouTube content creator. |
| 100 | Shaquille O’Neal | Former Professional Basketball Player and Advocate. |
Faustina Anyanwu
Faustina Anyanwu is a features writer focusing on people's stories, entrepreneurship, start-ups, social media marketing, and profiling.
Follow her on Twitter - @fauntee
Official Website: www.faunteebon.com
Mantra: Real Women Think Legacy.
Related posts
December 19, 2023
Comment