Year 2019 was a very eventful
year for Nigeria as a country. It was a year the country experienced
unforgettable events among which shook it to its very foundations. Some of the
events are here brought back to readers’ memory:
1. Vice
President Osinbajo’s copter crash: What would have been a day of national
mourning, by sheer providence, turned into a moment of excitement, singing,
dancing and praising of God by Nigerians when the number two citizen in the
country, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo survived an air crash for the second
time. Osinbajo and few of his aides were on election campaign visit to Kogi
State on February 3 when his helicopter crash-landed in Kabba. Undeterred, the
VP who was unhurt alongside his aides, continued the campaign trail for his
party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The first incident was in June 2017
when he went to Gwagawalada Area Council, Abuja FCT to attend graduation of 40
senior officers of the Nigeria Customs Service. The chopper he was traveling in
crash-landed shortly after take-off. He was unhurt. These two similar events
earned him the sobriquet “Ojabo koku” (One who fell from up without dying)
among his Yoruba kinsmen.
2. 2019 General Elections: The
elections were held across the country between February 23 and March 16, with
the presidential being expectedly the most acrimonious. As a matter of fact,
the kind of gang up against the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari overtly
staged by various categories of people mostly from the opposition camp, some
former leaders, religious leaders mostly from the Christendom, and corrupt
politicians who were choking under his anti-corruption crusades had never been
witnessed in the chequered history of Nigeria.
It started with former President
Olusegun Obasanjo, leading a revolt against the government, as he had done to
every government that has ruled Nigeria, except his own. Other disgruntled
elements who could not wait to see Buhari’s back, for various reasons, seized
the opportunity to join the wagon kick-started by the former President. Even
the main opposition party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar,
whose image, had in the past been ruined by Obasanjo, in his desperation to
clinch the position of number one citizen, swallowed all the bitter pills
Obasanjo had rammed down his throat and went back to his traducer like a
prodigal son, giving effect to the saying: ‘the enemy of my enemy is my
friend’. Obasanjo also reciprocated by going back to his own vomit, asking
Nigerians to vote for the same man he had warned the people to steer clear of.
Primordial sentiments capable of destabilizing the country such as ethnicity
and religion were employed by the opposition camp as tools of campaign. It got
to a point that fear that the country was going to break up was palpable.
In the end, Mr. Buhari triumphed
as he defeated his closest rival Atiku Abubakar with a wide margin of almost 4
million votes. Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won
15,191,847 votes, while Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
got 11,262,978 votes.
The legal tussle and razzmatazz
that followed the results’ announcement got finally settled by judgment of the
apex court on October 30 which affirmed Buhari’s victory.
3. EFCC’s onslaught against Yahoo
boys: An aspect where the country’s anti-corruption agency, the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) made record achievement to the relief and
excitement of majority of Nigerians aside catching some hitherto untouchable
big thieves such as former governors and making them to cool off in jail, was
busting of the most lethal industry of fraud- the cybercrime called ‘yahoo
yahoo’. Multitude of the yahoo boys, who on daily basis wrecked life out of
hardworking citizens and foreigners alike, were rounded up this year and made
to face the music.
The cases were too many that the year 2019 can correctly be
dubbed ‘yahoo gangs bursting year’, because hardly would a weak pass without at
least a gang being busted by operatives of the EFCC. Few of the major arrests published
at various times in the year are here catalogued:
– March 26 six suspected yahoo
boys were arrested in Ibadan, Oyo State, when operatives of the EFCC raided
their hideout at the Kolapo Ishola Estate, Akobo area of the ancient city.
Items recovered from the suspects include five different models of exotic cars,
laptops, mobile phones.
– In May, the United States
arrested 16 suspected internet fraudsters in several US cities, Canada and
South Africa, majority of whom are Nigerians.
– On Wednesday 3 April, the
Ibadan zonal office of EFCC arrested 11 suspected ‘Yahoo-Yahoo Boys’. Six of
them were arrested at 2nd Pipeline, Ologunerun, Ibadan, while the other five
were picked up at a location in Ijebu-Remo, Ogun State. Same day, the Oyo State
special security outfit, Operation Burst, paraded two suspected yahoo boys
after a woman jumped from a two-storey building in Ibadan, Oyo State to escape
from Yahoo Boys who wanted to use her for ritual.
– On April 19, Police rescued a
woman captured by Yahoo Boys for ritual in Asaba, Delta State.
– On April 25, Ibadan zonal
office of the EFCC arrested 32 Yahoo Boys. Items recovered from them include
six exotic cars, laptops, mobile phones, several documents containing false
pretences and fetish objects.
– On May 1, South-east Zonal
Office of the EFCC arrested 37 suspects in Owerri, the Imo State capital. The
arrest followed a raid on some targeted residences in Okwu Urata, Aladinma and
Egbu areas. Items including 25 exotic cars of different brands such as
Mercedez-Benz, Lexus, Toyota and expensive mobile phones and laptop computers
were recovered.
– On May 8, fifteen suspects
between the ages of 18 and 30 were nabbed by the Port Harcourt Zonal Office of
the EFCC in a late-evening raid on Blue Chip Hotels, Rumuigbo in Port Harcourt,
Rivers State. Many laptop computers and phones were recovered from them.
– On May 17, The Abuja Zonal
office of EFCC arrested ten suspects. 2 exotic cars 6 laptops, 10 smart phones
and 1 international passport were recovered from them.
– On June 20, operatives of the
Ibadan zonal office of EFCC arrested 31 suspects made up of 27 males and 4
females from their hideouts in Osogbo, the Osun State capital. Exotic cars of
different brands, laptop computers and phones were also recovered from them.
– On July 10, thirty suspects
aged between 18 and 27 were arrested when the Ibadan zonal office of EFCC
raided some mansions in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital. Eight exotic cars,
laptops, mobile phones and several documents suspected to contain information
used to access their victims were seized from them.
– On Sept.3, the Benin Zonal
Office of the EFCC said it arrested no fewer than 133 internet fraud suspects
in eight months through its ‘Operation Re-wire’. The biggest of the arrested
suspects was a woman, who allegedly worked in collaboration with foreign
counterparts. She was said to have amassed a princely N656million through the
illicit trade. Her arrest was made possible with the collaboration of FBI.
– On Sept. 9, Operatives of the
EFCC Abuja and Ilorin Zonal Offices arrested 13 suspects in separate
operations. As usual, exotic cars and other items were recovered.
– On Sept. 26 and 27, the EFCC
arrested no fewer than 53 suspects in Lagos, Abuja and Enugu. Cars of different
brands, laptop computers, phones and charms were recovered from them.
– On 14 October, a staggering
figure of 94 suspects were arrested when operatives of the Ibadan zonal office
of EFCC raided a night club notorious for hosting parties for suspected
internet fraudsters in Osogbo. 19 exotic cars, laptops, scores of sophisticated
mobile phones and other items were recovered from them.
– On Friday, Nov. 15, seven yahoo
boys were sentenced to various jail terms by Justice Ibrahim Buba of the
Federal High Court Enugu, Southeastern Nigeria.
– On December 4, again the Ibadan
zonal office of EFCC raided a Lagos hotel believed to be a hideout for internet
fraudsters and arrested a suspected internet fraud kingpin, Rasaq Balogun, and
26 others. Balogun’s illicit activities dominated intelligence gathered from
previously arrested ‘police spies’ during a raid on their Abeokuta base.
According to findings, Balogun harboured an army of young men recruited to
carry out financial frauds through the use of internet.
4. Shiite Protest: On Monday July
22, a protest by members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) otherwise
known as Shiite in the Nigeria’s capital of Abuja turned violent when the
demonstrators clashed with security agents. Government vehicles including those
owned by the emergency management agency were burnt by the aggrieved
protesters. Many lives both of the Shi’ites, police officers and a young
reporter undergoing the mandatory one year service under the National Youth
Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, Precious Owolabi, were lost. Among the police officers
who lost their lives in the violence was a deputy commissioner of police. It
was alleged that the group threw petrol bombs as part of the protest. As a
result, on the following Tuesday, the Inspector-General of Police (I-G),
Mohammed Adamu ordered 24-hour surveillance on the Federal Capital Territory
(FCT) and its environs.
The Monday incident followed a
similar protest two weeks before when two Shiites were killed and two police
officers injured at the National Assembly complex in Abuja. The Shiites were
demanding release of their leader, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, and his wife, Zeenah,
who have been in detention since their arrest by Nigerian soldiers for alleged
murder in December 2015. During the arrest, his house was raided by soldiers
and hundreds of his followers, including three of his sons were killed.
5. Obinwanne Okeke: The most
shocking of the cases of internet frauds was that of the 32-year old
billionaire Obinwanne Okeke, Chairman, Invictus Group, who prior to his arrest
by the FBI, had been celebrated by the world as a role model to African youths.
He made the cover of Forbes Africa magazine in 2016 and was listed as one of
Africa’s Under 30s Most Promising Entrepreneurs. In December 2018, he was a
guest speaker at TEDxYaba 2018, speaking on “the DNA of the Nigerian entrepreneur”.
His recommendation was considered very inspiring even to the most laid-back
youth. Hear him: “The success of a business is largely dependent on you as the
owner. If there is any part of you that appears to be a limitation, don’t let
it hold you back. Take deliberate steps to develop yourself to match your
weakness, growth is continuous. Associate with people that will inspire you and
are ready to support you. Develop these traits in the right proportion. Don’t
be afraid to fail, be afraid not to try. Go for it. Start Something Today!”
Therefore, it was an embarrassed
world that received the shocking news on August 16 of his arrest by the FBI. He
was discovered to have fleeced companies in US and UK of hundreds of millions
of dollars through wire frauds.
6. Xenophobic attacks: The world
was jolted in September when xenophobic attacks erupted again in South Africa
with many nationals of African countries like Nigeria, Zambia, Gambia, etc
lynched and their properties and businesses destroyed. The outraged world
roundly condemned the acts of bestiality visited by South Africans on their
fellow Africans. The unabated attacks on foreigners most of whom were Nigerians
led to reprisal attacks on South African businesses in Nigeria. Such
investments as the popular supermarket, Shoprite and the communication giant
MTN Nigeria closed shop for days during the disturbance. Nigeria evacuated its
stranded nationals from the hot land with assistance of Air peace Airline. It
took strong messages and actions from notable leaders in the world and visit by
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari for the madness to stop. South African
President Cyril Ramaphosa apologized to Nigeria.
7. ‘#RevolutionNow’ and Sowore’s arrest: Omoyele Sowore, activist,
presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2019
election and publisher of Shahara Reporters, an online news publication known
for its investigative activities, was arrested along with a colleague, Olawale
Bakare, on August 3 ahead of a planned nationwide protest tagged #RevolutionNow
and charged with conspiracy to commit treason. Sowore had previously led a
demonstration where he called for a revolution in the country.
The video clip
of the protest and his address went viral. The drama of his arrest; the granting
of a bail with very stiff conditions; and the disobedience to court order by
government months after meeting his bail conditions brought public opprobrium
both from home and abroad on the Buhari administration. The outcry, especially
from the international community, pressured the government to toe the line of
reasoning by ordering his release from detention. He was therefore released on
December 24, 2019 alongside former National Security Adviser, Retired Colonel
Sambo Dasuki who had been in detention since December 2015 over an alleged
laundering of $2.1billion money meant for arms purchase during the
administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
8. Sex-for-grades: The menace was
very rampant in 2019. Very many cases were recorded in the year. The biggest
incident being an undercover investigation carried out, for more than a year,
by the BBC on some randy university lecturers in Nigeria and Ghana. Its video,
at conclusion of the investigation, was released on the BBC Africa Eye on
Monday October 7. The video revealed a senior lecturer known as Dr Boniface
Igbeneghu from the faculty of Arts, a former sub – dean in the University of
Lagos (UNILAG) and the head of a local Foursquare Gospel Church harassing a
female student sexually, promising good grades in return. Boniface was caught
on camera telling his victim to ”Switch off the light, lock the door and I’ll
kiss you for one minute”.
Several students had alleged that
they had been harassed by Dr Boniface, which made BBC send an undercover
journalist to him, posing as a 17-year old secondary school graduate seeking
admission, a trick he fell flat for. The University of Lagos (UNILAG) and
Foursquare Gospel Church subsequently suspended him. Another lecturer of the
university caught in the documentary was Samuel Oladipo, a lecturer in the
department of economics. He was also suspended.
Taiwo Oloyede, Principal
Assistant Registrar, communication unit of UNILAG on Wednesday 9 October
confirmed that the university’s panel headed by Ayodele Atsenuwa, a professor
and dean of the faculty of law, had suspended the two randy lecturers. The University
of Ghana also suspended two of its own indicted by the famous documentary. The
two lecturers are Professor Ransford Gyampo and Dr Paul Kwame Butakor.
Again on Wednesday November 13,
Vice Chancellor of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt,
Prof. Ozo-Mekuri Ndimele, disclosed that a lecturer had been dismissed, while
10 others were suspended over the allegation of demanding cash or sex for
grades from desperate students in the university. He made the disclosure when
the Rivers State House of Assembly committee on Education led by Christian
Ahiakwo visited the institution as part oversight function. These incessant
cases have led the National Assembly to propose an Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill
aimed at deterring and punishing offenders. The bill sponsored by Deputy Senate
President Ovie Omo-Agege seeks to jail a lecturer for up to two years if he or
she winks at or touches a student in an inappropriate way. In the case of sex
with minors, even if the student consents to it or lures the lecturer into it,
the lecturer is liable.
9. President Buhari’s phantom marriage: On October 11, the news
spread across the length and breadth of Nigeria like wild fire in harmattan
that the Nigeria’s number one citizen who was less than 4 years away from age
80 had decided to marry one of his younger ministers, Sadiya Farouq, as second
wife. A wedding invitation card with photograph of the President and that of
the 45-year old Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management &
Social Development standing by each other accompanied the fake news published
by some mischief makers on social media.
Absence of immediate denial from both
the number one family and the concerned woman helped to keep flame the rumour
blazing across the country. It took days before Nigerians realize it was a
hoax.
10. Anthony Joshua: On Saturday December 7 the Nigerian-born
British boxer Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua ended major events of 2019 on a
happy note for Nigeria when he became a two-time world heavyweight champion
following his victory over the Mexican-American Andy Ruiz Jr in a tense rematch
in Diriyah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He had lost the belt to Ruiz in June. He
outclassed Ruiz to score a unanimous points victory to regain his IBF, WBA and WBO
titles in emphatic fashion. He dominated the match from the onset. Dubbed the
“Clash on the Dunes”, the eagerly anticipated rematch marked the first time a
world heavyweight title fight has ever been staged in Saudi Arabia. It was
clearly a classic win.
The 2012 Olympic champion
revealed he had adapted his style after June’s loss to Ruiz for the first time
in his career. It was a moment of excitement for all Nigerians both at home and
abroad with President Muhammadu Buhari leading the pack of notable figures who
showered encomiums on the awesome pugilist. Joshua is a British boxer with
Nigerian roots. His both parents are from Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria. He
visited Nigeria in July and spent weeks before returning to the UK. He was born
on 15 October 1989, and has, since the sweet victory, been ranked as the
world’s best active heavyweight by BoxRec.
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