The Year Nigerians Will Not Miss

Apart from being the year Nigerians will not forget in a hurry, Segun James writes that 2021 is a year that Nigerians were subjected to harrowing economic and political conditions

2021 was a year never to be seen again. It has certainly been a tough one. With COVID-19, murders, riot, kidnappings, terrorism, looting, financial loses and inability to move freely across the country, it may seem that there’s much to be thankful for, just for being alive!

For much of the year, the country was plunged into economic quagmire with President Muhammadu Buhari traveling the world in search of whatever he’s yet to find. He has since earned the unenviable moniker of the most travelled president that Nigeria has ever had and yet, has nothing to show for it.

Typically, a few events defined the outgoing year, and whether positive or negative, the year will be assessed by the colours of those events. There are legions of them, here’s a review of some events that shaped 2021.

January

President Muhammadu Buhari shakes up the top military command. Leo Irabor is named Chief of Defence, Ibrahim Attahiru became commander the Army, A. Z. Gambo became commander of the Navy, and I. O. Amao became commander of the Air Force.

February

One student is killed and 41 people (students, teachers, family members) are kidnapped by bandits in Kagara, Niger State. Seven were killed when a military plane crashes in Abuja. Gunmen kill 36 people and burn down houses in attacks in Kaduna and Katsina States.

Zamfara saw the kidnapping of at least 317 schoolgirls, while another 42 hostages kidnapped from a school in Kagara, Niger State, on 17 February are freed. The level of killings, abductions and state of the nation called the security situation in the country to question.

June

June started on a sad news as the demise of charismatic preacher, Prophet Temitope Joshua jolt the nation. The death of Joshua started a successionist battle between his wife and some elders of the church.

November

November came with a damning report on the Endsars protest of 2020. It created a crisis for the Lagos state government which promptly reject the report as it indicted both the state government and the security agencies. The fact that it called attacks by the military on unarmed protesters at the Lekki toll gate a genocide provoked serious reaction.

The report was preceded by the collapse of the 21 storey high-rise building on Gerrard Road in Ikoyi, a situation which triggered fears about the state of high-rise buildings in the country.

The month also saw the election in Anambra state which recorded the lowest turnout of voters for any election in the nation’s history. Professor Chukwuma Soludo was elected by a paltry 4.5 percent of all registered voters in the state. However, the election was devoid of violence despite such expectation.

December

In December, it was the launch of the autobiography of Chief Bisi Akande that rocked the polity. Every one indicted by the former Governor of Osun state who was the only Nigerian that was ever the chairman of four political parties at various times have come out roaring against his version of events.

Politics in 2021

The year saw the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) coming back from the bricks. It is the year that was the rebirth of the party from the troll of death. With two state governors defecting from the party to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), it looked like the party was breaking up, but the national convention in October and the election of new leadership triggered the rebirth.

COVID 19

COVID 19 slammed into the nation’s healthcare system like a hurricane in 2020, but it was in 2021 that its most destructive consequence was most felt. But surprisingly, Lagos, of all the states of the federation has continued to weather the storm, albeit modestly. The pandemic exposed a lot of the weaknesses in the nation’s healthcare system. Several prominent Nigerians died from the disease.

The economic recession induced by the pandemic cost many Nigerians their livelihood. Even state governments had to resort to the federal government for bailouts. The situation was that bad.

As government struggles to satisfy increasing demands with diminishing resources amidst the pandemic, key public services such as transportation, healthcare and education took a plunge in the year.

Justice

Nigerians started 2021 with crisis and scandals, but in the judiciary which had faced much onslaught in recent years, the most scandalous was the invasion of the residence of Justice Mary Odili, a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. It was never known who ordered the invasion as every authority denied responsibility, but the action may have dashed the credibility of the government and shook the confidence of Nigerians that the judiciary which is considered the last hope of the common man has gone through many tribulations in the hand of the Buhari’s government. Since the invasion, Nigerians now believe that justice is on trial in the country.

Insurgency

Whenever the story of 2021 is told, the story of Biafran agitation leader, Nnamdi Kanu would be prominent. Kanu was spirited out Kenya by security operatives for crimes allegedly committed against the Federal Republic of Nigeria. A situation which triggered crisis in the south-eastern states. Several prominent individuals were murdered in the year by alleged members of the Independent Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) under the control and command of Kanu. Sit-at-home orders were issued by the dreaded group as anyone who defied it pay heavily for it. A situation which called to question, who controls the southeast, IPOB or the governors?

Also, Yoruba Nation’s Agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, a k a, Sunday Igboho who ran to exile remained in prison custody in the Republic of Benin as his movement’s activities went into the background.

The insurgence in the northeast continued to defy solution as the dreaded Boko Haram terrorist group wrecked havoc in the region and many parts of the north. Plateau and Benue States remained as killing fields even as Niger State which until recently had been mainly peaceful become the kidnapping capital of the country.

Hundreds of school children were kidnapped, and their parents forced to pay cash ransoms for their released. Kaduna state where most of the nation’s military facilities and installations are located saw rising security threats. The Boko Haram insurgence also became very prominent in the president’s home state of Katsina. Sokoto state also saw the insurgency close to him.

All over the country, jailbreaks became rampant and attacks on security operatives continued unabated. Even the nation’s highest military school, the Nigeria Defence Academy was siege as it invaded by daredevil militants who also succeed in abducting some senior military officers.

However, security agencies for the first time in years became very proactive despite the limitations strewn in their paths. They scored a lot of victories against the terrorists in the northeast, even though they lost a number of men and officers in the process.

But surprisingly, all was quiet in the Niger Delta region, the part of the country that produces the crude oil that is the mainstay of the nation’s economy. This allowed for a steady revenue generation.

Economy

The Naira took a dive southward in the year triggering a panic as inflation crossed to over 33 percent. Once lauded as an emerging star and as the biggest economy in Africa, the country suffered a reversal of fortune as global appetite for oil wanes. The road to the economic future of the country has remained bumpy.

As inflation rises, so has the price of goods and services. The government also hinted that the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) will double in the new year as the Naira took it’s worse plummeting in the history of the currency.

Loss of employment became the order of the day as companies closed and workers were sent to the labour market.

Leadership

The leadership style of President Muhammadu Buhari continued to be contentious, especially on the political turf. In the outgoing year, he provoked the southeast when he said that the agitation for Biafra is dead on arrival. The President said that Biafra would be like a dot in a circle if it were to be created, provoking a huge outcry.

On the political turf, most Nigerians believe that the President lacked the required leadership capacity to lead the country out of the present political and economic quagmire that the nation is in presently. The president was also most absent in the year as he travels the world, especially to the United Kingdom for medicals without transmuting power to his deputy.

Legislature

2021 was a year in which the executive finally succeeded in cowing the legislature. Every demand of the President was acceded to with little resistance. Since the coming of the fourth republic, the year was the worst for the National Assembly.