Despite the optimism of a promising 2018, the year left no one in doubt both in Nigeria and the world over of the tragedies that would attend it with a few flashes of relief in its unfolding.
Different issues and political trends characterised the year, with some featuring pomp and ceremony while others showcased the weird, tragic and the unsavoury .
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But the year cannot be said to have lived up to its billing as a true pre-election year. There were lots of instances that saw contemporary history repeat itself, especially when frontline leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) dumped the party for the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), a repeat of the 2014 drama that happened the other way round; the letter writing acumen of the former President Olusegun Obasanjo, which were also repeats of similar scenarios under immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan, the refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Electoral Act Amendment bill 2018 in record four instances and the heckling of the president on the floor of the National Assembly during the 2019 budget presentation.
Besides the above, there were no dull moments through the year; the theatre of war at the frontlines of the Military/Boko Haram battles in the North-East provided some weird headlines as the insurgents changed gears from kidnapping of female school students to daring attacks on military installations, the Senator Bukola Saraki versus the police saga as well as the police versus the Senate and then Dino Melaye. Some of those occurrences provided amusements and indignation at different proportions. We highlight some of the key instances in the year.
This is a periscope of some of the events that would make the year, painfully or otherwise, unforgettable.
Blood, death every month
The signals that the year would be a troubled and troubling one started with reported killings in January. The North-Central, North-West and North-East became the hotbeds of violent deaths and unrestrained killings. These states continued the orgy of mindless bloodletting well into the end of the year. From Zamfara, Benue, Borno, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kogi, Kaduna, Taraba to some other states, it later became obvious that a major humanitarian crisis was in the offing. Today, the casualties of these ‘unconventional war’ are spread beyond the borders of the country, with many still fleeing to neighbouring countries for safety. These deaths include the killings of both civilians and security agents while in line of duty.
In January, about 676 deaths were recorded; February saw the killings of 517 people; in March, no fewer than 485 people were killed; 670 people died in April; May recorded 508 deaths; June saw 639; July was not spared as 357 people were killed; in August alone, 363 people died; September had 926 deaths; October recorded a disturbing casualty figure of 1,033; in November, 388 Nigerians died; of course December was not spared.
These deaths not only received international condemnation, they equally escalated the disturbing trend of insecurity across the country.
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Over 100 dead following severe flooding across states
The year equally marked a painfully disturbing record of deaths as a result of flood across about 10 states in the Nigeria. Over 100 people were reported dead thereby increasing the humanitarian disaster in the country. Many became homeless; livelihoods were affected; many farmlands and farm produce destroyed.
Niger and Benue rivers reported burst their banks following very heavy rains with many communities submerged by the rampaging flood.
Head of Media and Public Relations, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Sani Datti, had told newsmen that “We have declared a national disaster in four states — Kogi, Delta, Anambra and Niger.
“Eight other states are on the watch list. All these states have been the worst hit by the flooding. About 100 people have lost their lives in 10 states.”
A worried President Muhammadu Buhari approved the release of about N3 billion for the purchase of medical and relief materials. As the year closes, many are still to grapple with the devastation left behind by the flood.
795 million people malnourished, hungry
In 2018, records indicate that no less 795 million people globally were suffering from malnourishment and hunger. There have been repeated calls by world organisations to push for the minimal presence of malnourishment and hunger.
185 million people under grip of substance abuse
After a series of research, the United Nations stated that substance abuse by persons over the age of 15 reached a traumatizing height with well over 185 million people consuming drugs globally. The drugs commonly used are marijuana, cocaine, alcohol, amphetamine stimulants, opiates and volatile solvents. Different classes of people, both poor and rich, partake in substance abuse, and it is a persistent issue throughout the world. Petitions and projects are in progress to end the global issue of substance abuse.
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Out-of-school children reach 72 million globally
More than 72 million children throughout the globe that are of the age for primary education are not enrolled in school. This can be attributed to inequality and marginalisation as well as poverty. Fortunately, there are many organisations that work directly with the issue of education in providing the proper tools and resources to aid schools.
Death of Jamal Khashoggi
On October 2, Jamal Khashoggi, a well-known journalist and critic of the Saudi Arabia’s government, walked into the country’s consulate in Istanbul, where he was murdered.
Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor had said Khashoggi was killed inside the building on the orders of a rogue intelligence officer.
Turkish officials however said they have evidence, including gruesome audio recordings, that the journalist was killed by a team of Saudi agents on orders that came from the highest levels. His body has not yet been found.
OAU sex-for-mark scandal
An audio recording had gone viral indicting a lecturer of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Professor Richard Akindele, who eventually faced trial for demanding sex from his student, Monica Osagie. He was sentenced to six year-imprisonment by the Federal High Court in Osogbo.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) had arraigned the lecturer and secured his conviction at the court after he was sacked by the university.
Akindele, who was remanded in prison after his first arraignment in court, admitted that he was guilty as charged by the commission.
In his ruling, Justice Maurine Onyetenu sentenced the lecturer to six year-imprisonment for the four charges against him.
The judge pronounced two years each for two out of the four counts and one year jail term for each of the remaining two charges against the lecturer.
The judge said the punishment would serve as deterrence to other lecturers in the habit of demanding sex from students.
Kemi Adeosun and the NYSC certificate scandal
Perhaps one of the biggest unraveling in the year was the scandal Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, had to face, eventually leading to her resignation from the Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet. The Premium Times online news platform reported a little past the middle of the year that the foreign trained finance expert not only skipped the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) but also falsified an exemption certificate to that effect. Adeosun’s curriculum vitae including soft copies of her credentials were placed online which eventually led to a media uproar with many calling for the sack and trial of the ex-minister.
It was gathered that she had skipped the scheme despite graduating at 22 in a foreign university. Her eventual resignation put to rest the whole brouhaha that attended the report.
Ex-President Shehu Shagari passes on
Nigeria’s former president, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, passed away at the National Hospital, Abuja. He was 93 years old.
Shehu Usman Shagari was born in 1925 in Shagari village founded by his great-grandfather, Ahmadu Rufa’i, who was also the village head, and took the name Shagari as his family name. His father’s name was Aliyu and his mother’s name was Mariamu.
The late ex-president joined politics in 1951 when he became the secretary of the Northern Peoples Congress in Sokoto, , a position he held until 1956.
General Olusegun Obasanjo, who was military Head of State, handed over to Shagari in 1979, and he was in office till 1983.
Shagari ran for a second four-year term in 1983 and won the general election. However, on 31 December 1983, he was overthrown by then Major General Muhammadu Buhari.
Frederick Fasehun’s death
Elder statesman and founder of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) died in the year under review.
Until his death, he was both a political and cultural activist who sought the interest of various ethnic nationalities—especially the Yoruba people.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s exit
She was an anti-apartheid activist and wife of Nelson Mandela. Born in Transkei, Madikizela-Mandela’s given name was Nomzamo, meaning “she who must endure trials.” She attended the Hofmeyr School of Social Work in Johannesburg. She was awarded a scholarship to attend school in the United States, but turned it down. She met Mandela at a bus stop in 1957.
As the anti-apartheid struggle intensified in the 1980s, Madikizela-Mandela championed a more militant path. That militancy included encouraging, if not directly ordering, the killing of those deemed traitors to the anti-apartheid cause. In 1991, she was convicted of the kidnapping of four young men in Soweto—one was found with his throat slashed—but sentenced to just a suspended one-year jail term.
In the final days of apartheid, she was pushed out of the political picture and her marriage unraveled. She resented that her contributions to the anti-apartheid fight were diminished, insisting that “I am not Mandela’s product.” In 1997, Madikizela-Mandela apologised for the violence of the 1980s, saying that “Things went horribly wrong.” Six years later she was convicted of corruption charges, but again avoided jail.
Kofi Annan: Exit of a rare diplomat
He was the seventh secretary general of the United Nations (UN), serving two terms in the position. Born in what is today Ghana to an aristocratic family, Annan studied Economics in Ghana, at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and at the Sloan School of Business at M.I.T. both in the United States.
The Bill Clinton administration, which blocked Boutros Ghali’s appointment to a second term as secretary general in 1997, championed Annan as his successor.
The first black African to be secretary general, Annan sought to strengthen the UN’s institutions. In 2001, he and the UN were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “their work for a better organised and more peaceful world.” Annan called the 2003 US invasion of Iraq “illegal,” which cost him support in Washington.
After stepping down as secretary general in 2007, he established the Kofi Annan Foundation, which seeks to strengthen global governance, and worked to end disputes in places like Kenya, Syria, and Myanmar.
Dapchi schoolgirls kidnap
Boko Haram kidnapped 110 schoolgirls from the Government Technical Girls College in Dapchi, Yobe State, on 19 February 2018. Boko Haram reportedly released all but one of the girls by 21 March.
The girl, Leah Sharibu, has remained with her captives with global condemnation trailing her non-release.
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The Thai boys’ rescue
In June and July 2018, a widely publicised rescue efforts successfully extricated members of a junior football team trapped in Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Twelve members of the team, aged 11 to 17, and their 25-year-old assistant coach entered the cave on 23 June after football practice. Shortly afterwards, heavy rains partially flooded the cave, trapping them.
Rescue organisers discussed various options for extracting the group, including whether to teach them basic diving skills to enable their early rescue, wait until a new entrance was found or drilled, or wait for the floodwaters to subside at the end of the monsoon season months later. After days of pumping water from the cave system and a respite from rain, the rescue teams hastened to get everyone out before the next monsoon rain, which was expected to bring a potential 52 mm of additional rainfall and was predicted to start around 11 July. Between 8 and 10 July, all of the boys and their coach were rescued from the cave by an international team.
The rescue effort involved more than 10,000 people, including over 100 divers, many rescue workers, representatives from about 100 governmental agencies, 900 policemen and 2,000 soldiers, and required ten police helicopters, seven police ambulances, more than 700 diving cylinders, and the pumping of more than one billion litres of water out of the caves.
There was one fatality, Saman Kunan, a 37-year-old former Thai Navy SEAL who died of asphyxiation on 6 July while returning to a staging base in the cave after delivering supplies of air.
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The Imam who saved Christians in Plateau
In Plateau State, when an imam saw hundreds of desperate, frightened families running into his village, he decided to risk his life to save theirs.
Some of those who managed to escape ran towards the mainly Muslim neighbourhood nearby where the imam lived, arriving over the next hour.
The cleric immediately came to their aid, hiding in total 262 men, women and children in his home and mosque.
When the attackers heard that the villagers had fled towards the mosque, they demanded that the imam bring out those he was hiding.
But the defenceless imam refused to comply – and also refused to allow them entry to the mosque. He began to plead with the herdsmen, who were threatening to burn down the mosque and his house. He then prostrated himself on the floor in front of the armed men.
Along with some others in the Muslim community, he began to cry and wail, asking them to leave. And to their amazement, the herdsmen did go – but then set two nearby churches on fire.
Killings of soldiers at Metele
Boko Haram insurgents overran a Nigerian army battalion at Metele Village in Guzamala Local government in Borno State, reportedly killing soldiers with many still missing.
HIjab controversy
The year 2018 also saw arguments for and against the wearing of Hijab by female Muslims in educational institutions. The case of a graduate of the Nigerian Law School, Amasa Firdaus who was denied her call to bar for wearing a Hijab to the ceremony set the tone for various Hijab wearing controversies. While the controversy raged, various Muslim groups and associations sued the Nigerian Law School for banning Firdaus from the ceremony. Reprieve did come afterwards with the body of benchers responsible for calling law graduates to bar approving the use of hijab and Firdaus called to bar. In Lagos, members of Muslim Students Society of Nigeria had also protested alleged victimization of secondary school students using Hijab by principals in Lagos. The case became a issue of litigation as various Muslim associations sought the courts’ reprieve against an Hijab wearing ban of the state government. While the case got to the Supreme Court, the Lagos State government, in a November circular, approved the use of Hijab in public schools in the state. The issue of the wearing of Hijab by female Muslims in schools also generated comments for and against in the International School, University of Ibadan. While some Muslim parents argued that female Muslim students should be allowed to wear their Hijab as guaranteed by the nation’s constitution, the school’s authorities had argued that the status quo where Hijab wearing was not permissible in the school be maintained. The controversy did assume a threatening dimension with protests by Muslim parents’ forum, temporary closure and litigations against the school’s authorities. The parties however resolved that the status quo should remain.
Olusegun Obasanjo’s statements against Buhari
In typical fashion, former President, Olusegun Obasanjo issued various statements to condemn the current government. Obasanjo kicked off his series of statements with a special statement tagged, “The Way Out”: A Clarion Call For Coalition for Nigeria Movement” released in January.
Obasanjo had further noted that President Buhari was weak in his knowledge and understanding of the economy, asking Buhari to consider having rest than running for a second term.
In subsequent statements, Obasanjo endorsed Buhari’s main challenger, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for the forthcoming presidential election. Prior to this endorsement, Obasanjo had repeatedly castigated Atiku.
Since this endorsement of Atiku, Obasanjo continued to attack Buhari, describing him as confused, incompetent and a failure. Every rebuttal by the Buhari government has been met by another critical statement by Obasanjo.
Herdsmen crisis
One sore part of the year 2018 was the death of several people resulting from herdsmen/farmers clashes. Hardly did any week pass without reports of killings of Nigerians by herdsmen. States which were hotbeds of this violence included Benue, Taraba, Plateau and Zamfara.
Some reported cases were the killing of 42 people, mostly women and children in Taraba, in July; the killing of two Catholic priests and 17 others in April, in Benue; the death of 36 people in Zamfara in April from herdsmen attacks, while about 100 were reported killed in series of herdsmen attacks in Plateau between June and September.
Following the killing of 73 people by herders in Benue, President Buhari ordered the Inspector General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, to relocate to Benue in January only for the president to subsequently admit that he was not aware that the IGP did not comply with his order.
However, criticisms followed the failure of the president to reprimand the IGP for not carrying out an order to relocate to Benue. In spite of various efforts by the Federal Government to stem the tide of killings, herdsmen/farmers clashes have continued.
Cattle ranching/colony
To quell farmers/herdsmen clashes, the Federal Government proposed the establishment of cattle colonies in different parts of the country. The cattle colony project was expected to take off with 16 states donating five hectares of land with the Federal Government providing funding for facilities needed by herdsmen to settle in a place and take care of their cattle.
Consequently, the term, “ranching” was promoted while the term, “cattle colony” relegated to the background. Herdsmen groups like Miyetti Allah argued that Nigerians must embrace ranching as a way to stem clashes with farmers. Cattle owners, however, have continued to lament the unwillingness of farmers and landowners to sell, lease or let out their land to herdsmen for ranching.
These herdsmen groups and the federal group have however held that ranching is a solution to farmers/herdsmen clashes which should be embraced.
Poverty capital
Nigeria was last year ranked as the poverty capital of the world. The Brookings Institution, a Washington based economic think-tank, had in October published a report of its latest projections where it stated that Nigeria had overtaken India as the country with the largest number of extremely poor people.
The Brookings report suggested that Nigeria had about 87 million people in extreme poverty by May 2018 compared to India’s 73 million. The report corroborated that of the National Bureau of Statistics which in 2016 reported that no fewer than 112 million Nigerians live below the poverty line.
The latest projection casts doubt on the ability of Nigeria to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to end extreme poverty by 2030. The report also affirmed the failure of government over the years to provide employment and lift out its citizens out of extreme poverty.
Nigeria Air
In July, the Federal Government through the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, unveiled the branding for a new national carrier to be called Nigeria Air at a press conference during the Farnborough Air Show in London and stated that the airline would be inaugurated at the end of this year.
He had stated that they obtained the Certificate of Compliance from the Nigerian Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, adding that the branding and naming of the national carrier came after a social media campaign undertaken by his ministry.
The government had stated that it will support the launch of the new flag carrier with viability gap funding in the public private partne3rship arrangement to deliver a national flag carrier guided by international standards and had selected 81 routes for the commencement of operation of the Nigeria Air.
However, in September, the government announced immediate suspension of the widely publicised national carrier on the ground that the Economic Management Team (EMT), chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo did not approve it when it launched. The cancellation announcement came barely two months after it was unveiled on July 18. But the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed had disclosed that Nigeria Air was suspended due to investor’s apathy, adding that investors who were supposed to partner with the government on the project backed out.
President Buhari cloning controversy
For the better part of the year, there had been rumours that President Muhammadu Buhari had died while getting treatment in London and the man in Aso Rock is a clone; Jubrin from Sudan.
The leader of the defunct Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Front, (NDPVF), Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo Asari, sparked the rumour when he alleged that the president was cloned in London, where he spent 103 days on medical vacation, predicating his assertion on the manner the President delivered his Independent Day speech, claiming that the person that delivered the speech was trying to mimic the president.
And till November, the controversy surrounding the alleged cloning of the president did not abate as the opposition also jumped on it.
The allegation reared up again during the National Executive Committee meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party when there were screams of Jubrin must go on as the PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, was about to deliver his speech and he had asked, “Which Jubrin? Is it the one in Sudan or the one in Abuja?”
But a lot of people criticized the allegation; a cross section of Nigerians under the auspices of Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group (NDMG) had condemned the trending claims in some quarters suggesting that the incumbent President of Nigeria is an impostor known as Jubrin from Sudan, describing the rumor mongers as a group of mentally derailed fellows who urgently needs the attention of a psychiatrist.
But the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, on his part maintained that he never said President Muhammadu Buhari was cloned but that he is dead and replaced by another individual, Jubril Aminu Al-Sudani, as a double.
Internally Displaced People (IDPs)
Since May 2013, the Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria destroyed infrastructure, provoked dramatic livelihoods erosion and triggered the displacement of over 2 million people. But the figure of people displaced rose in 2018; the National Population Commission (NPC) says the number of displaced people in the country increased by 4.5 percent as at January 2018.
However the figure further skyrocketed as many also became displaced as a result of flooding. ACAPS Nigeria Floods Briefing Note in September stated that river levels in most of the 12 affected states remain high due to flooding; has affected 441,251 people and displaced 141,369 people between late August and 24 September. A total of 108 deaths and 192 injuries have been reported as of late August.
Flood disaster in 2018 is the worst in the last six years after the 2012 floods that killed 363 people, displaced 2.1 million people and affected seven million people in 30 of the 36 states of the country; at least 19,369 persons were displaced on account of about 5,732 houses and sources of livelihood destroyed.
On May 11, 2018, the Nigeria Hydrological Agency, NHSA, released the 2018 flood outlooks in 35 states of the country. The outlook projected that Sokoto, Niger, Benue, Anambra, Ogun-Osun, Cross River and Yobe states would have high risks of river flooding. It also indicated that Lagos, Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, and Ondo states may experience coastal flooding.
Floods wreaked heavy damages in many parts of the country rendering many homeless and sending them to IDP camps; wind storm wrecked 321 houses and rendered 5,000 homeless in North and South Ukelle in Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State. In March, rainstorm ravaged Uhuowerre community in Igbo Eze South Local Government Area of Enugu State and another three-hour rainstorm destroyed houses and rendered hundreds homeless in Ganmo, Gaa Saka, Alore Guniyan, Agbooba, Adewole, Kuntu, Magaji Ogidi compound and Okelele in Ilorin, Kwara State.
In April 11, over 500 people in Iffe- Ijumu under Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State were displaced after a heavy rainstorm that completely destroyed more than 40 houses and public institutions, leading to homelessness for over 100 households and wind storm destroyed 100 houses, injured seven people in some communities in Dutse Local Government Area of Jigawa State. In July, flood killed 12 people in Jigawa State and destroyed 120 houses. This went on in many communities and thousands were rendered homeless.
Fire outbreaks
Over N5 trillion worth of properties were lost to fire outbreaks in the country. Commandant-General of the Federal Fire Service, Mr. Joseph Anebi, confirmed this while marking the 2018 Fire Fighters Day. He said N3.3 trillion worth of properties was lost to fire outbreaks in Kano alone while over 3,800 people were displaced.
In November, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had to relocate its Data Centre and office of the combined inter agency task force following a fire outbreak that damaged items a great percentage of which include ICT consumables that were worth millions of naira
In June, lives and properties were lost to a fire outbreak when a tanker fell and spilled its content on Otedola Bridge in Lagos. A similar event occurred in October on the Lagos-Badagry road.
In December, 63 vehicles and 98 shops were lost to a pipeline fire at Abule Egba in Lagos while properties worthy millions of naira were also destroyed when fire from a petroleum pipeline ravaged the area.
The explosion was said to be the result of activities of suspected petroleum product thieves and vandals
End SARS Campaign
In 2017, the public outcry that the government should scrap the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) commenced but it gained momentum in 2018 with many celebrities joining the outcry as a result of allegations of loss of life and properties to the high handedness of the SARS.
Numerous Nigerians have taken to social media to accuse officers of the unit of several misconducts ranging from harassment, extortion, assault to extra-judicial killings. This has led to relentless calls for the unit to be completely scrapped to ease the fears of Nigerians who live in dread of the unit.
Nigerians in their thousands took to social media to accuse officers of the unit of several misconducts ranging from harassment, extortion, assault to extrajudicial killings and continued to call for the unit to be completely scrapped.
This went until Vice President Yemi Osinbajo while acting as president ordered the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to close down the unit with immediate effect following persistent complaints and reports on the activities of the SARS which bordered on allegations of human rights violations.
He further directed the Inspector General of Police to, with immediate effect, overhaul the management and activities of SARS and ensure that any unit that will emerge from the process, will be intelligence-driven and restricted to the prevention and detection of armed robbery and kidnapping, and apprehension of offenders linked to the stated offences, and nothing more.
He also directed the National Human Rights Commission to set up a Committee that will conduct nation-wide investigation of the alleged unlawful activities of SARS in order to afford members of the general public the opportunity to present their grievances with a view to ensuring redress.
And after this, the Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, released a statement where he detailed the steps the Force has taken to heed Prof Osinbajo’s overhaul directive; stating that SARS will now be known as Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) and all teams have been collapsed under FSARS while a new Commissioner of Police has been appointed as the overall head of FSARS nationwide. And rather than operate under the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department (FCIID), it will now operate under the Department of Operations, Force Headquarters Abuja.
Offa robbery
No fewer than six policemen and six others people were killed after some robbers stormed about five banks in Offa, in the Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State in a daylight robbery of terror.
The aftermath of the robbery operation became what many described as a political war as the police ensured that it arrested the men that were responsible for the robbery and in the process, one of them mentioned that they were given ammunition by the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki during the 2015 election as they worked for him and the governor.
This led to the police inviting the Senate President o9nn the matter; an invitation that became the source of bickering and mudslinging. In November, one of the arrested suspects died in police custody
The resurgence of Lassa/Yellow fever
In 2018, there was an upsurge in the cases of Lassa fever. This is not a strange occurrence because Nigeria is one of several West African countries in which Lassa fever is endemic with seasonal outbreaks occurring annually between December and June.
In January, four cases of Lassa fever among health care workers in Ebonyi State were reported at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Three of the four cases; two medical doctors and a nurse passed away despite efforts to save their lives. At that time, the University Graduates of Nursing Science Association (UGONSA), said more than 40 health workers had died as a result of Lassa fever in Ebonyi alone in the past 13 years.
In other states, there were reports of more cases in Kogi and Ondo states. Also, Abuja and about 18 states were affected by the disease in 2018.
Also, there was outbreak of Yellow Fever in 2018, 68 deaths were linked to the disease in Kwara, Kogi, Kano, Zamfara, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Niger, Katsina, Edo, Ekiti, Anambra, Abuja and Benue states. Between October 5 and November 11, 85 suspected cases were reported indicating that Yellow fever outbreak is still active in Nigeria.
Dino Melaye’s travails
Dino Melaye, the senator representing Kogi West in the eighth National Assembly was a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and was one of the outstanding figures in 2015 during the campaign that brought President Muhammadu Buhari to power. In 2018, he was involved in many controversies; from his certificate saga to the launching of an anti-corruption book revealing an alleged fraudulent practice by MTN, escaping alleged assassination, jumping off a moving police van at Area One Roundabout, Garki, in an attempt to prevent the police from taking him to Lokoja.
The highlight of his year was the 11 hours in the wilderness stunt. Initially, there was news that he was abducted after his associates claimed he ran into unknown assailants as he travelled towards Kogi state for a third appearance in his ongoing trial for alleged criminal conspiracy. But while the police were trying to get to the root of the matter, the senator appeared back on social media to announce that he had escaped from the attack and thanked the public for their concern.
He stated that he jumped into the bush to outsmart his assailants, adding that he climbed a tree where he hid for 11 hours in the bush
OBJ part ways with PMB
One of the key issues that shaped the politics of 2018 is the January 23 letter by former President Olusegun Obasanjo titled “The way out, a clarion call for coalition for Nigerian Movement.”
He advised Buhari to ignore advice of his hangers’ on and yield the clarion call not to seek re-election in view of what the former leader called his obvious failures in power.
Though Buhari has refrained from directly joining issues with Obasanjo, preferring some feeble jabs at the former President through surrogates, the former President has refused to back down in the opposition against one of his successors.
Obasanjo’s men, who eventually pulled out of the ruling APC later adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a political vehicle. Today, the ADC is part of the Coalition of United Political parties (CUPP), which is seeking Buhari’s ouster.
Passage of Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2018
In February, the National Assembly passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2018 into law. Its intendment was to amend the 2010 and 2015 Electoral Act currently in use and ensure the Electoral Act recognises the Card Reader. The lawmakers however inserted the Order of Elections in new Section 25(1).
The order of elections completely negates the one adopted by the Independent National Electoral Commission in 2015 by ensuring that the National Assembly elections come first, flowed by the State elections (including the House of Assembly polls) and then the Presidential election.
Pronto, reports emanated that the presidency was the target of the decision to reorder the elections and a suit was instantly filed against the decision. The High Court sitting in Abuja actually ruled to oust the power of the National Assembly to reorder elections. But the President had already rejected the bill, citing usurpation of the powers of INEC.
Not long after, the Court of Appeal in Abuja nullified the ruling of the High Court which ousted the powers of the National Assembly to re-order elections. Even though the ruling was in favour of the powers of the National Assembly to re-order elections if it so wishes, the National Assembly refused to follow that track anymore.
But the Electoral Act amendment procedure emerged one of the most talked about issue in the year. The electoral act amendment bill was amended on four different occasions and on each occasion, the president refused assent.
After the first veto in March, the National Assembly passed the bill again in June, the President only allowed that to lapse after the 30-day constitutional window. The lawmakers again in July passed the bill and it was rejected on August 31.
Again in November, the lawmakers passed the fourth copy to President Buhari and on December 8, the President raised another issue to justify his refusal to assent the bill. The fact that the bill was turned down on four different occasions by the President got the bill special attention in year 2018.
The failed veto override and Akpabio’s defection
With the Assembly fast degenerating into a divided parliament, the leadership of the chambers toyed with the idea of an override of the veto on the Electoral Act Amendment bill 2018 as communicated to the lawmakers in March 2018.
Leaders of the PDP in the Senate had calculated that with half of the APC loyal to Saraki, the chamber might secure the required two-thirds majority needed to override the President.
But things changed swiftly. The APC had made surreptitious moves to secure the buy in of the Senate Minority Leader to slow down, if not eventually frustrate the bid to override the veto.
It was later in the day before the PDP and its leadership got wind of the underhand moves between its Minority Leader and the APC, which eventually saw to the defection of then Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio to the ruling party.
When Akpabio eventually announced he was leaving the Minority Party and relinquishing the position he fought tooth and nail to secure in 2015, the message appeared to have gone full circle.
Though it was the ruling party’s reaction to some monumental losses the weeks before, it, however showcased the detailed reasons for the failure of the planned override of the Electoral Act veto, as it was the same Akpabio that was mandated by the PDP to compile names for the veto overrode .
Budget Delay
The national budget has received some undue bashing under the Buhari administration as the government ran into some bad weather with the legislature early in the days. But the 2018 budget got more than the bashing it desired. The budget was delayed, the longest in history, and was only passed into law in May.
It became operational in June, just in time to prevent a government shutdown. Unlike the previous sessions, the National Assembly traded words with the executive over the failure of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to defend the budget before the Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Initially, it looked like the usual blackmail from the lawmakers but when the situation got clarified, the Presidency had to issue orders to the MDAs to ensure their budget defence at the National Assembly. It was the first time such would be happening since the restart of democracy in 1999.
In 2019, besides being an election year, the foundation appeared also to have been laid for budget delay. First the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) submitted to the lawmakers in November was not passed until December 19 when the lawmakers received the 2019 budget and subsequently went on recess.
That recess would last till mid-January 2019 when electioneering campaigns for Presidential and National Assembly elections would be at the head.
Birth of Parliamentary Support Group (PSG)
Sensing it was losing grip of the Senate and aware of the widening gulf between the tendencies led in the Senate by Senate President Bukola Saraki, the presidency moved to quell the tension and win over some lawmakers to its side. The same situation was also being replicated in the House of Representatives with Speaker Yakubu Dogara behaving like apparent Siamese twins of Saraki.
The Saraki-led leadership of the Senate was said to have hit back at Adamu by ensuring that the lawmakers stripped him of the leadership of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF) an influential caucus in the senate . The development further widened the cracks between the Saraki group in the APC caucus in the senate and the loyalists of the mainstream APC.
The removal of Adamu as NSF Chairman led to what was later known as the monkey tale stories in the senate as the Senator representing Kaduna Central, Senator Shehu Sani alleged thatAdamu’s removal bordered on the failure of the Nasarawa Senator to account for the sum of N70 million handed over to him by the previous leadership of the NSF. Senator Shehu Sani famously said that perhaps monkeys in Senator Adamu’s farm allegedly ate the said money. Senator Adamu however denied the sum of N70 million was handed over to him.
Suspension of Senator Omo-Agege
Senator Ovie Omo-Agege had defected to the ruling APC from the Labour Party. He suddenly became a vociferous member of the ruling party and a power broker of some sorts. After joining the Parliamentary Support Group, a caucus that was showing support for President Muhammadu Buhari.
His failure to withdraw the statement and his decision to head to court to prevent the Senate from sanctioning him led to his trial at the Public Petitions Committee, which originally recommended him for suspension for 181 days.
The Senate, however, ratified 90 days suspension, a situation that apparently had roots in the next development in the senate on April 19.
Mace theft
Just as the year witnessed a divided parliament on party lines, the decision soon orchestrated the sad and the ugly. The first of the shenanigans was the theft of the Mace of the Senate in broad daylight, while the lawmakers were seated.
The lawmakers were seriously perturbed but they were courageous enough not to scamper for safety after the invasion.
A historic joint sitting of the Senate and the House of Representatives was held after the incident which was the National Assembly condemning the incident and passing a strong message to security agencies to track the perpetrators.
Some 24 hours after the incidence, the Police announced it has recovered the stolen mace under a bridge around the Abuja National Stadium.
June 12 blues
The government of President Muhammadu Buhari announced it was recognising the late winner of the annulled June 12 1993 presidential election, Bashorun MKO Abiola with the highest honour in the land, Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR), which is usually reserved for Presidents and Heads of State.
The only other Nigerian, who was not head of the Federal Government to receive the honour was the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, SAN.
The Federal Government also named June 12 as Democracy Day. The government also honoured the late human rights lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, with the second highest honour in the land the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).
Subsequently, the awards were posthumously received by the Abiola and Fawehinmi families at the ceremony in Abuja.
Saraki’s triumph at Supreme Court
The asset declaration saga involving Senate President Bukola Saraki and the Federal Government at the Code of Conduct Tribunal had been an unwinding trial.
The Federal Government however appealed the case at the Court of Appeal in Abuja. The appellate court found that Saraki should face trial on three of the 16 charges and the matter then was referred to the apex court of the land.
That was the scenario ahead of July 2018 when the apex court ruled on the matter. It was a defining moment for Saraki’s political life. It was already being speculated that an impeachment bid was awaiting Saraki if he had lost the matter at the Supreme Court.
But the apex court of the land affirmed the earlier ruling of the Code of Conduct Tribunal and set Saraki free. With that freedom came another warfront at least for the front liners in the APC.
First, Saraki has to decide his political future and then the Presidency, which had pursued his trial all along would have to prepare for an onslaught if Saraki decides to chart another political course.
Saraki’s defection blues
Following the victory at the Supreme Court, it was learnt that the influential members of the administration in Abuja called Saraki to offer a hand of fellowship but that the Kwara Senator believed that the battle had gone too far for a retreat.
With a broken down relationship, Saraki had not little delay in effecting his defection to the PDP. His defection also witnessed a frenzy in the ruling party as a quake was orchestrated so to say, as a number of Senators were suspected to have signed up to follow Saraki to the PDP.
The development, if not checked could tilt the leadership structure in the Senate in favour of the PDP, with a similar development expected at the House of Representatives.
The President was named as the arrowhead of the team that thwarted the moves by many of the Senators to defect as he and members of his team were said to have worked the phones spiritedly in those August days.
At the end of the day some 14 Senators announced their defection to the PDP alongside Saraki. Initially, it was learnt that 25 Senators had signed the defection letter but some 10 lawmakers were said to have yielded to talks by the President’s men to stay back.
Blockade of Saraki and siege on NASS
In August, while the lawmakers were still on recess, some deafening calls for resumption of the chambers had rented the airwaves. The proponents of the recall of the senate and the house were largely members of the APC who were raising the need to pass the budget for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the 2018 national borrowing plans. But the other side continued to insist that the lawmakers were undergoing the annual recess and cannot just be recalled.
On August 31, Saraki announced his defection to the PDP, and days after, his convoy was blocked by security men allegedly acting on orders from above. The insinuations were that the Senate President and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, who was also blocked from leaving his residence in Apo Quarters would not make it to the chamber while the lawmakers would be presented with a fait accompli to appoint a Senate president Pro-Tempore. The interim Senate President would according to the promoters of the story signal the end of the tenure of Saraki and Ekweremadu in the chamber.
But Saraki was able to sneak into the chamber despite the cordon on his vehicle. He conducted the day’s sitting to the chagrin of his political enemies. The development, which gained international traction led to the sack of the Director General of the DSS, Lawal Musa Daura. The announcement was made by the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo following the embarrassing blockade to the National Assembly.
Tambuwal, Ortom and the gale of defections
Like Senate President Bukola Saraki, former Speaker of the House of Representatives and Governor of Sokoto state, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal also in August announced his defection to the PDP and also named himself a presidential contender on the ticket of the party.
In a similar fashion, the Governor of Benue state, Samuel Ortom also defected to the PDP, in a manner reminiscent of the political happenings of 2014, when the PDP lost five governors and other bigwigs to the APC.
Governor Abdufatah Ahmed of Kwara state also joined the PDP train aside Senators, members of the House of Representatives and other APC chieftains who left the party to join the PDP.
PDP convention and Atiku’s emergence
Against widespread expectations, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar emerged the presidential candidate of the PDP at the Presidential primaries held in Port Harcourt, Rivers state.
Before the national Convention, it was largely speculated that with the Governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike solidly backing Tambuwal, his emergence was a fait accompli.
It was also believed that since the PDP needed the buy-in of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to boost its campaign, going for Atiku, who was seen as a sworn enemy of the former President would be the last thing.
But delegates at the national convention of the PDP gave a resounding victory to Atiku ahead of Tambuwal and Senate President Bukola Saraki.
Equally against widespread calculations, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, at a public gathering at his Abeokuta, Ogun state Presidential Library, announced he had forgiven Atiku all his transgressions and equally endorsed him as the incoming Nigerian President.
Obasanjo, after the endorsement announced his readiness to do everything within his powers to ensure Atiku replaces Buhari at the Presidential villa in 2019.
Jonathan’s book launch
On his birthday in November, immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan presented a part of his memoirs detailing the last days of his administration: My transition hours. It was a well-attended event in Abuja which helped to throw lights into some events that signposted his last days of the administration, coming from the horse’s mouth.
Buhari and NASS travails
One other issue that signposted the year 2018 was the December 19 presentation of the 2019 budget by President Buhari. It was the first time the President was heckled at the joint sitting of the National Assembly since the restart of democratic governance in 1999, with voices of dissent dotting every paragraph of the President’s presentation. The incidence was a mark of the frosty relationship between the assembly and Buhari’s government since inception in 2015, more of a bottled anger that would almost certainly see through the president’s tenure.
APC’s gaffes
Some unprecedented moves saw the ruling APC at the verge of missing out in the political contests in Zamfara and Rivers state at the moment, while sharp divisions continue to threaten the successes of its candidates in Ogun, Kwara and Imo states. Right now, INEC had declared that the APC cannot field candidates in Zamfara state, while the courts are to determine the party’s fate in Rivers, it was the first time internal party feuds would deny a ruling party the chance of fielding candidates in a major election, this fourth Republic.
Ambode kisses the canvas
It’s only the third instance that a first term Governor would miss the chance to seek re-election on the ticket of his party in the Fourth Republic and that happened to Governor Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos state.
His party got him defeated at the primaries, an unusual occurrence which had only previously happened to Dr. Chinwoke Nbadinuju of Anambra state in 2003 and Governor Malla Kachala of Borno state in the same year.
Ambode was adjudged to have failed to service the APC structure in Lagos state and thus was shoved aside in a primary election.
In Lagos, it was the first time an incumbent Governor would lose out of the re-election bid this Fourth Republic.
Vote buying
One odd development around the election process is the incidences of vote buying at the polling stations.
Going forward into the next round of elections, INEC has been talking tough on its readiness to combat the scourge. The electorate can only wait for an effective measure to handle the growing scourge.
Restructuring
The year 2018 witnessed heightened campaign for restructuring of the polity. The South West, galvanised by the Pan-Yoruba socio-political Organisation, Afenifere, the South East, propelled by the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Middle Belt Forum and the Pan-Niger Delta Forum(PNADEF), all grouped together to adopt restructuring at different fora. It was a year the restructuring agenda had also become a political tool as the Afenifere adopted the candidate of the PDP for the 2019 presidential election on the basis of the commitment to restructuring. In 2018, the Southern, Middle belt and Niger Delta groups worked more in unity than ever seen in the years past.
It is expected that the Southern Middle Belt agenda would play significant roles in the political of 2019.
Osun and Ekiti elections
Vote buying became more pronounced in our electoral process with the Osun and Ekiti election as politicians and their followers openly induced voters to vote for their candidates for rates between N5,000 and N20,000. Parties and their agents bought votes at and around polling centres, even under the nose of security agents. The electoral process was more monetized than ever as voters in turn, sold their votes to the highest bidder. The election was also characterized by violence and intimidation of voters, including observers. With an estimated 30,000 security personnel deployed to each state, analysts noted that the elections were militarized, which may have dissuaded some voters from turning up at polling centres to exercise their franchise. Some analysts and observers argue that these circumstances influenced the outcome of the elections. The incumbent party at the centre, the All Progressives Congress (APC) upstaged the opposition and won the two states and many Nigerians fear that there may be a repeat of these scenarios in the forthcoming general election.
2019 going forward
The political foundation of 2019 had already been laid in 2018. The forces that would rule the New Year include that of the APC, the PDP and the emerging parties. Political actors including former Head of state, General Abdusalami Abubakar ( rtd ) who is leading the National Peace Committee, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is leading the onslaught against incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is leading the main challenge against Buhari and the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) are to play key roles in the New Year. Faces such as Engineer Buba Galadima, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the National Chairman of the ruling APC, and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who is leading the distribution of trade moni will also hit the airwaves in the New Year.
But one man whose name would be on the lips of many in the year is the chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmud Yakubu. He is already seeing the pressure for the conduct of free and fair election weighing on his neck with mounting influences from several fronts. Those close to him said he would want to leave a legacy of clean elections and imitate his kinsman, Prof Attahiru Jega, who has been celebrated for overseeing a successful 2015 transition. They say that Yakubu would want to walk the streets as a man who made good name in Nigeria’s elections. He would certainly need to work and pray that the Almighty grants him good fortune in that regard.
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