2024: Nigeria’s Year of Many Tales
With over one week to the end of 2024, attention is being shifted to issues and developments that shaped the outgoing year. The year was marked by significant political and economic turbulence, as well as some breakthroughs, underscoring the nation’s resilience and adaptability. Politically, the nation grappled with heightened tensions as governance challenges intensified following contentious elections in Edo and Ondo states and the unending crises in Rivers State. Other issues include the Kano Emirship tussle, the dramatic return to the old National Anthem, the financial autonomy for local governments, the appointment of a new Chief Justice of Nigeria, Donald Trump’s historic presidential victory in the US, among others.
Financial Autonomy for Local Governments
One of the major issues that challenged the judiciary in 2024, was the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court, which on July 11, ordered the direct payment of federal monthly allocations due to Local Government Areas (LGAs).
This was because the state governments had over two decades disbursed the funds paid into a joint account at their whims and caprices, contrary to the constitutional provisions.
This development has marked a turning point in council administration, even though not all the governments had complied. This certainly is one of the issues that will be carried over into the new year.
Rivers Political Crisis
For the better part of the outgoing year, the battle of supremacy between the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, and his estranged political mentee, Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, dominated the political scene, beyond the creeks of the Niger Delta.
Following the disagreement, 27 pro-Wike lawmakers who had initiated impeachment proceedings against the governor, later announced their defection from the PDP to APC.
President Bola Tinubu intervened when the matter got to a head and a peace pact was drafted for both parties to sign. But Tinubu’s intervention failed to bring permanent peace as both Fubara and Wike later returned to the trenches. Today both parties are in court with the state and the nation divided in camps. Here is another issue that is definitely crossing over to the new year..
Kano Emirate Crisis
The crisis rocking the Kano Emirate started after the death of the former Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, 15 years ago. After his demise, Rabiu Kwankwaso, who was the governor of the state at that time enthroned Mohammed Sanusi II as the Emir of Kano.
But Sanusi was removed from the throne in 2020 by a former governor of the state, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, now National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). It was not going to end there.
Thus, after Governor Abba Yusuf’s governorship victory was declared in the 2023 elections, it was evident Sanusi was coming back and indeed, his return to the highly respected throne, was perfected by the state House of Assembly.
Yusuf also signed another bill, the Kano State Emirate Council Establishment Bill 2024 into law. The law re-established three of the previously dissolved emirates of Rano, Gaya, and Karaye while excluding the Bichi Emirate.
But Emir Aminu Ado Bayero, who was installed after the removal of Sanusi, refused to vacate the throne based on court order, creating serious scenes that almost denigrated the throne, allegedly on the backing of some federal security agencies. But as far as this matter is concerned, it has yet to come to a final close..
Return to Old National Anthem
In 2024, a bill to restore the old national anthem was introduced at the federal parliament and passed within one week — exceptionally fast-paced in Nigeria, where most bills take several months to be considered. Nigeria replaced its national anthem, “Arise, O Compatriots” with “Nigeria, We Hail Thee”.
President Bola Tinubu said the old anthem represented the beauty of Nigeria’s diversity. He also teased critics, who objected to the old anthem being written by a British expatriate, saying it was Britain, who named the country, Nigeria, yet the country’s identity remains.
Between the Governors and the EFCC
On November 15, the Supreme Court delivered a remarkable judgment, where it declared that the anti-corruption agencies such as EFCC, ICPC, and NFIU, had legal powers to investigate and prosecute alleged corruption cases of states and local governments. This followed attempts by some governors to stop the anti-graft body from trying them. For the umpteenth time, however, the court has spoken. This matter is concluded.
Emergence of Justice Kekere-Ekun as CJN
The outgoing year witnessed the swearing-in of Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the second female Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) on August 23.
Born May 7, 1958, Kekere-Ekun, barring any unforeseen circumstances will also be one of the longest-serving CJN, as her tenure is expected to end by May 7, 2028, when she attains the compulsory retirement age of 70 years.
Aside from Justice Uwais, who spent 11 years as CJN from 1995 to 2006, all others had since spent between one, two, and three years, with some not even completing their tenure because of resignation or sicknesses.
The Edo and Ondo Elections
The gubernatorial elections in Edo and Ondo states attracted considerable attention as political parties fiercely contested for state control. It was also an exercise that may have reckoned would cue in on 2027, revealing the level of preparedness of the electoral body, INEC.
The outcome of the exercise in Edo saw the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Monday Okpebholo pull the highest votes to defeat his closest challenger and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Asue Ighodalo. Labour Party (LP)’s Olumude Akpata, came a distant third.
In Ondo, the incumbent, Lucky Aiyedatiwa clinched the victory with a wide margin. Aiyedatiwa polled 366,781 to defeat his closest rival, Hon Agboola Ajayi of the PDP, who got 117,845. Political analysts said it was the biggest electoral defeat since the state was created in 1976. The PDP in both states is in court challenging the results declared by INEC.
Above all, reports from observers have shown that INEC has learnt nothing as much as the security agencies, a majority of whom were lampooned for their role in both exercises. How these events would shape the coming staggered elections is yet to be seen.
EFCC and the Yahaya Bello Debacle
After former Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State handed over power to his successor, Usman Ododo, in April 2024, the EFCC made futile efforts to prosecute him as the former governor went into hiding.
The ensuing drama had led the commission to declare the former governor wanted. Nevertheless, the EFCC went ahead to file theft and money laundering charges against the Bello at the Federal High Court and Federal Capital Territory High Court both in Abuja over N110 billion fraud.
On November 29, Bello eventually surrendered to the anti-graft commission after eight failed appearances at the court. He is currently on bail, and his case is expected to continue in the new year.
The National Grid Nightmare
The Nigerian power sector suffered frequent grid collapses this year, which plunged the entire nation into darkness at every incident. Since January 2024 till date, the power grid solely in the hands of the federal government recorded 12 collapses.
Stakeholders in the sector have always blamed the frequent grid collapses on a multiplicity of factors, including aged and ageing infrastructure, lack of the required investment, gas supply constraints, huge government indebtedness to generation companies (Gencos), gas suppliers, and distribution companies.
Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which is the sole grid manager has also attributed the rampant grid breakdowns to a lack of SCADA as well as sabotage by vandals.
Dangote Refinery to the Rescue
In the oil and gas sector, the coming onstream of the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery located at the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, greatly shaped the downstream sector.
The refinery built by Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, started production of petroleum products in January this year, producing high-quality products, starting with Naphtha and jet fuel. The $20 billion facility later progressed into the production of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) commonly known as petrol in September.
The refinery has significantly helped Nigeria in that it has reduced the volume of products imported into the country with associated benefits in foreign exchange earnings and availability of products as well as employment generation.
…The Port Harcourt Refinery, Too!
During the year, the 60,000 bpd old Port Harcourt refinery eventually roared back into life after many years of shutting down and after several delays and timeline missed. The refinery, together with the new 150,000 bpd facility, both owned and run by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), had been under rehabilitation since 2021 following the approval of a $1.5 billion contract by the federal government.
Bank Recapitalisation
On March 28, 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a circular announcing a new recapitalisation policy for commercial, merchant, and non-interest banks in Nigeria, effective from April 1, 2026.
Regional commercial banks are to increase their regulatory capital to a minimum of N50 billion; national banks, N200 billion; and banks with international authorisation, N500 billion. The minimum capital requirement for merchant banks has been reviewed upward to N50 billion, regional non-interest banks are to have N10 billion or more, and national non-interest banks are to raise their capital to N20 billion at the minimum.
As of October 22, 2024, five Nigerian banks had raised a combined sum of N1.27 trillion in capital as part of the recapitalisation drive. These are Guaranty Trust Holding Company, which raised N400.5 billion; Access Holdings, N350.1 billion; Zenith Bank, N289.1 billion; Fidelity Bank, N127.1 billion; and FCMB Group, which raised N110.9 billion.
The Controversial Tax Reform Bills
President Bola Tinubu, on October 3, 2024, transmitted some tax reform bills to the National Assembly for their consideration. The bills were the Nigeria Tax Bill, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, and Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill.
The fiscal legislation has passed a second reading on the floor of the Senate amid tension while deliberations on them had been put on hold in the House of Representatives.
The Senate Committee on Finance, which was given a six-month mandate to work on the bills by organising a public hearing has not been able to achieve meaningful progress, three weeks after the panel started work.
The development is currently generating tension in the upper legislative chamber as the Northern and the South-east senators had demanded more time to enable their members to carry out wider consultations with their constituents.
At the moment, senators from the South-west and South-south geopolitical zones have said there was no need for further consultations since the Finance Committee would provide a forum for interested stakeholders to air their views during the public hearing.
#Endbadgovernance Protests
Rising costs of living, insecurity, dissatisfaction with government policies, and pervasive poverty engulfed the nation in 2024 and also stoked nationwide protests.
The protest that was held countrywide in August was dubbed #EndBadGovernance. The widespread demonstrations, especially among youth, were driven by concerns over economic mismanagement and the removal of the fuel subsidy, alongside calls for greater accountability and social justice.
New Minimum Wage
The federal government formally approved the implementation of the N70,000 new minimum wage for federal public servants during the year under review. However, its implementation has been gradual across the states, and some states still have not adopted it. The legislation increased the country’s minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000. The law also provided for a review of the minimum wage every three years.
The last minimum wage of N30,000 was signed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019. Before the enactment of the new minimum wage act, the federal government and organised labour held a series of meetings.
Labour’s National Strike
After many warnings, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) launched an indefinite strike in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), including Abuja, and several other states from Dec. 1, 2024, demanding the implementation of a new minimum wage.
Other affected states were Abia, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Yobe, and Zamfara. Some states withdrew from the strike, including Akwa Ibom, Ekiti, Imo, Katsina, Oyo, and Sokoto. The strike was initially planned to start on December 2. But the threat of strike might have yielded as many states had started implementing it while others had been pleading for more time to work out the details. The new year should witness some bits of this, too.
Avoidable Deaths from Stampedes
Since the removal of petrol subsidy and the floating of the naira by President Bola Tinubu upon his assumption of office on May 29, 2023, poverty has become a scourge threatening the survival of many Nigerians.
As the economic hardship continues to linger, many Nigerians who have been pushed to the wall by the skyrocketing prices of commodities, are left with no option but to throng the palliative distribution centres put in place by government officials or other stakeholders.
In Sokoto, Lagos, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Anambra and FCT many have died while trying to scramble for food items.
In Ibadan last week, 35 children lost their lives in a stampede that occurred during a private children’s funfair at Basorun Islamic High School on December 18, 2024, while six others were critically injured and on various medical interventions.
Israel-Hamas War
After Hamas, a Palestinian armed group and political movement in the Gaza Strip, on October 7, 2023, attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, Israel launched a massive military offensive against the militant group.
It started with air strikes and was followed by a ground invasion. Since then, the two sides have been at war. The sympathy extended to Hamas by Hezbollah has also extended the war to Lebanon, which is under attack by Israel.
More than 43,600 people in Gaza – mostly civilians, the majority of whom were women and children – had been killed in the fighting, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The UN said most of the 2.3 million population had been forced from their homes and that there were “catastrophic” levels of food insecurity.
On November 21, 2024, the UN-backed International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants on the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, together with a former Hamas commander, citing allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Trump’s Historic Comeback
Despite assassination attempts, criminal convictions, and a change in political opponent, Republican Donald Trump, was unstoppable as he went on to win the 2024 presidential election.
Trump swept to a decisive victory after winning several crucial battleground states, to defeat his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, even in the popular votes.
In less than a month from now, the 45th president of the US will become the 47th at his inauguration at the US Capitol, on January 20.
Russia-Ukraine War
All through 2024, the Russia-Ukraine War never left the pages of the newspapers and other media outlets.
The war, which started on February 22, 2022, has led to massive loss of lives and destruction of property. With no end in sight, the war is still raging with both sides massively getting assistance from other countries to prosecute the battle.
