AS A NEW YEAR DAWNS …

The year, 2023, straddled between annus horribilis and annus mirabilis in that the troubles we encountered in the year did not consume us. And God, the sovereign of our universe, spared our lives, which offered us the opportunity to continue striving to realize our goals both as individuals and as a country. 

In 2023, the geographical contraption, which was christened Nigeria, did not shed her oxymoronic description: a man-child. The man-child is a fitting descriptive epithet for Nigeria in that she has not realized her potential in spite of her possession of abundant human and material resources. Since her attainment of political freedom in 1960, Nigeria is mired in national underdevelopment. 

Today, Nigeria is hobbled by economic recession, the rape of her democracy, infrastructural deficit, violent secessionist agitations, technological backwardness, dysfunctional educational system, and comatose healthcare delivery system.

In 2023, Nigeria had a lot of troubles. She tottered near the precipice of descending into political conflagration, which could have made the year an annus horribilis for Nigeria. And we all witnessed the problems that beset our country. That Nigeria survived those problems should be attributed to providential intervention. 

For example, in the run-up to the 2023 general election, our politicians’ electioneering deepened our ethnic and political fissures. The Igbo people of southeast Nigeria were pitted against the Yoruba people of southwest Nigeria. And the age-long ethnic animosity, which has existed between the Hausa/Fulani people and the Igbo people, exacerbated during the 2023 electioneering. 

Again, the implementation of the redesigning of the naira notes caused scarcity of naira notes, with its devastating consequences for us. The change of the old naira notes, which was later stopped, increased the economic hardship of Nigerians.

As Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief, following the easing up of the scarcity of the old naira notes, the release of the 2023 presidential election result, which showed that Bola Ahmed Tinubu won, increased the political tension in the country. The Obidients- the supporters of Mr. Peter Obi- registered their displeasure with the presidential election result, saying unequivocally that the presidential election was rigged by INEC officials and APC honchos in favour of Bola Tinubu. 

And Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who was the runner-up in that divisive presidential election, went further. The release of Bola Tinubu’s certificates by the Chicago State University to Atiku Abubakar, which was to be tendered as evidence at the Supreme Court, failed to tilt the presidential election litigation in favour of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. 

Now, Bola Tinubu has led Nigeria for months, executing policies aimed at remaking Nigeria and ameliorating our economic hardship. Bola Tinubu, who governed Lagos state for eight years and fought for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria, is well-acquainted with Nigeria’s multifarious and hydra-headed problems. So he is in position to tackle our country’s many different problems. 

But has his withdrawal of oil subsidy shored up our economy? The answer to this question is a categorical no. Millions of unemployed university graduates still pound the pavement on a daily basis in search of the non-existent white and blue collar jobs. 

And our security challenges have not abated. So it is imperative for him to rejig our security architecture and think out new ways for tackling the prevailing monster of insecurity of lives and property in Nigeria.

Chiedu Uche Okoye,

Uruowulu-Obosi,

Anambra State