2014 was a very
challenging year all round. It was, for the most part, characterized
with a high level of violence through conflict between nations, disease
caused by the near global pandemic of Ebola, and mass murder as a result
of the incessant suicide bombings and beheadings by radical Islamist
groups. It was also one of the deadliest years in aviation in almost a
decade, with a plethora of airplane crashes and tragedies, mainly
involving the Asian Malaysia-Indonesian axis based carriers. For
Nigeria, it was a year that came with its promise of adversity and
disasters of unparalleled magnitude but it was also a year that brought
the elements of possible change together. Between world politics,
disease and catastrophe, 2015 was a year colored in black and red.
On a national scale, Nigerians encountered their fair share of the
misfortunes from the atrocious events that went down during the last
twelve months. The year 2014 brought a torrent of dire news for a nation
that is all too familiar with receiving ominous news. It was a frantic
year stained with death, political intrigue and shame. It was a year
for, what I call, Political-Swingers, where Nigerian political office
seekers, in anticipation of their aspirations in the upcoming elections,
hopped from one party to another, depending on the popularity of the
party they were defecting to, in the specific area they were contesting.
It was a year that certainly took a course in reinforcing Nigerian
democracy and giving Nigerians the impression that there just may be
change. The tighter cohesion of the APC, its ability to knock down
regional, tribal and ethnic barriers and the unconditional acceptance of
the party to a broad base of Nigerians empowered the party as the most
formidable opposition platform we have ever had. Whether one supports
the PDP or APC, the prospect of elections in the New Year has given
people hope of a future that provides an atmosphere where the wishes of
the majority will be reflected in the polls. And whatever the outcome of
the elections, many are confident that 2015 portrays a real scenario
where Nigerians will have their say.
It was a year where the globe was forced to unite against one of the
greatest enemies of humanity-disease. When Ebola began to ravage Western
African countries, the world, largely, turned a blind eye. But, due to
the ease of which the virus spread and its potency, the entire world was
forced to take notice. In 2014, the Ebola crisis became a very real
global threat. In Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, the death and
destruction that came with Ebola left many families and individuals
devastated. As the year winds down and many affected nations have
managed to control the spread of Ebola, we must keep in mind that there
are families in West Africa still struggling with the devastation of the
virus. Help and aid is still needed in those communities and any
support and involvement to help aid the relief efforts in West Africa
will be very much welcome. (One can find information on how to
contribute online or through the Liberian, Guinean and Sierra Leonean
Embassies in their countries).
Undoubtedly, the worst aspect of Nigeria’s 2014 was that it was a
year of mass suffering and death. From the start of the year, the
violence unleashed by Nigerian Insurgents saw them target innocent
Nigerians from the North Eastern States of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe,
all the way to Kano and through to Abuja where a bomb was detonated in
the heart of the capital’s metropolis, Emab and Banex Plaza, with
devastating results.
The actions of the Nigerian insurgents, with their bloodthirsty
abandon and turmoil, that only lunatics and unreasonable zealots
possess, has sent a clear message that there is no reasoning or
reconciliation with this particular group of murderers. Their level of
reckless bloodletting has gone far beyond the point of any possible
discussion, amnesty or reconciliation. The sooner everyone directly
involved in this battle against the insurgents understands that this war
has turned into an ‘all or nothing’ fight, the sooner they will be able
to come up with an ‘end-game.’ The sooner civilians and citizens in the
most affected area are evacuated and the army, supported by
sophisticated air power, goes in and sweeps those areas clear of
insurgents, the sooner Nigerian authorities can bring peace to the
North-Eastern part of the country.
Just when Nigerians thought they had deciphered the modus operandi of
the insurgents as sporadic bombings and bloodletting, a spade of
abductions and kidnapping of school children ensued. It was then, in the
wee hours of the night, that almost 300 schoolgirls from Chibok were
taken… just like that!
It was a year when groups across Nigeria
used their voice, banned together and stood in solidarity with the
parents and kidnapped children of Chibok. Whether politically motivated
or not, they must be given credit for adhering to their conscience and
standing for the voiceless in a society that increasingly mulls the
voice of the helpless; they found the courage to say, "I refuse." They
refused to continue being conscientious objectors and spoke out for the
kidnapped girls, who, no longer had a presence or voice. They stood up
and bellowed “#BringBackOurGirls!” It was a cry that was heard in all
corners of the world.
It was a year of Nigerian police
contravention with a major civil rights violation when the Joseph Mbu
led police force made an attempt to prohibit protests of the same
#BringBackOurGirls campaign, under the guise of possible security threat
to residents of Abuja. With ‘eggs on their faces,’ the police
authorities made a U-turn after the campaigners initiated proceedings in
court.
The performance of the Nigerian Judiciary in 2014
generated mainly positive reviews. While under the capable watch of
Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, much needed
reforms; great judicial achievements and quick dispensation of justice
were recorded. Even with the unwelcome reversal of corruption cases for
some high caliber political personalities through court judgments and
the bungling of the case against a prominent Nigerian insurgent, the
confidence in the judicial system amplified by the clampdown of Justice
Aloma, was not altogether dampened. In-spite of the existence of alleged
bad-eggs and reprehensible members of the bench such as Justice Abdul
Kafarati, Justice Aloma did an incredible job in trying to reform and
stamp out corruption in the nation’s judiciary and restoring confidence
in it. However, as Nigeria’s first female Chief Justice retires, hopes
are that her successor, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, will continue the
reforms she initiated and to flush out those in the judiciary who have
been proven to be less than ‘judicious’ and up right.
It was
‘un-arguably’ the greatest year of shock and heartbreak in sporting
history. Football to be exact! As Nigerians and other African football
fans watched their nations bow out of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil,
their only comfort was that they were ‘not’ Brazilian fans! In a mighty
upset that eclipsed the 1950 defeat that Brazil suffered to Uruguay,
like a shaky deck of cards, Brazil came tumbling down when Germany
scored four goals in six minutes to lead Brazil, the World Cup hosts,
5-0 after only 29 minutes, before winning an unprecedented 7-1 in the
quarter finals. As the world watched in shock, Brazil the great
champions of football…whittled into its great-dud. To add insult to
injury for the shell-shocked ‘former-former-champions, their greatest
rival, Argentina, went ahead to become Runners-up to Germany, who
emerged as the champions, on Brazilian soil. “Painful, painful and…
Ooohhhhh, painful!!!”
For Arewa, Kano specifically, it was a year
where some of the most significantly great titans were lost. The death
of the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero and the Galadima of Kano, Alhaji
Tijjani Hashim shook the center of commerce to the core and has left a
gigantic void in Kano society. Their passing and the passing of so many
other great Nigerians contributed to the unmatched flood of pain felt by
the entire nation.
LOOKING BACK AT 2014, IT TRULY WAS ‘A YEAR!’
IT WAS A YEAR THAT SAW A MENTALLY DISTURBED URUGUAYAN FOOTBALL GENIUS
BEHAVE AS IF HE WAS A RABID DOG! IT WAS A YEAR THAT CONFIRMED ‘RICE’ AS
OPPOSED TO ‘EBA’ WAS THE FOOD OF CHOICE IN EKITI STATE, NIGERIA! IT WAS A
YEAR THAT SAW NIGERIA’S GENERAL BUHARI EMERGE, EVEN TO HIS MAIN
DETRACTORS, AS ‘THE COME-BACK-KID’ WITH THE ABILITY TO MAKE PEOPLE
‘BELIEVE!’ IT WAS A YEAR WHEN THE
LUNATIC-NIGERIAN-INSURGENT-UNDEAD-FOOD-TROUGH-SPACK LEADER PROVED THAT
HE HAS MORE THAN 9 LIVES! IT WAS A YEAR WHEN THE WORLD WITNESSED THE
EPIC FALL OF HOLLYWOOD’S MOST BELOVED DAD, BILL COSBY! IT WAS A YEAR
WHEN A GREAT NIGERIAN LEADER PROVED THAT ‘DIARRHEA OF THE MOUTH’ CAN BE
SPUN INTO A TALL-TALE OF FICTION IN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY, ‘MY WATCH!’ IT
WAS A YEAR WHEN AMERICAN-RACE-RELATIONS BECAME TESTED WITH THE
NON-INDICTMENT OF POLICE IN THE ‘QUESTIONABLE KILLINGS’ OF
AFRICAN-AMERICANS! IT WAS A YEAR WHEN AN HONORABLE TEENAGE PAKISTANI
HEROIN, MALALA, PROVED THAT ‘GREATNESS’ COMES IN ALL SIZES WHEN SHE ROSE
ABOVE ALL TO ‘RIGHTFULLY’ WIN THE NOBEL-PEACE-PRICE! IT WAS A YEAR THAT
WITNESSED THE ACCIDENTAL COLLAPSE OF TB JOSHUA’S SYNAGOGUE CHURCH OF
ALL NATIONS IN LAGOS! IT WAS A YEAR WHEN NIGERIAN LAWMAKERS PROVED THAT,
IF THEIR POLITICAL CAREERS FAILED, THEY COULD MAKE IT IN THE OLYMPICS
IF THE SPORT WAS, ‘JUMPING HURDLES OVER THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FENCES!’
IT WAS A YEAR WHEN THE NIGERIA IMMIGRATION SERVICE CREATED A SCENARIO
THAT LED TO A STAMPEDE WHERE DESPERATE-JOB-SEEKING-YOUTH DIED IN AN
UNSAFE AND ILL-PREPARED APPLICATION PROCESS! IT WAS A YEAR WHEN THE MOST
POWERFUL WOMAN IN NIGERIA RECORDED THE MOST REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT BY
BECOMING THE FIRST WOMAN TO BE ELECTED PRESIDENT OF OPEC! IT WAS THE
YEAR WHEN HOLLYWOOD WAS EXPOSED IN THE HACKING OF INTIMATE PHOTOS OF
ACTORS AND ACTRESSES AND A SONY SCANDAL THAT UPSET NORTH KOREA! IT WAS A
YEAR WHEN THE PRIVATELY RECORDED PREJUDICE OF A CLOSET-AMERICAN-RACIST
BROUGHT AN OCTOGENARIAN BASKETBALL OWNER TO HIS KNEES IN NEW YORK! IT
WAS A YEAR WHEN WESTERN NATIONS HELD RUSSIA RESPONSIBLE FOR INSTIGATING
REBELLION IN CRIMEA, UKRAINE AND GAVE IT THE COLD SHOULDER, NOT THAT
RUSSIA REALLY CARED! IT WAS THE YEAR WHEN ISIS & NIGERIAN INSURGENTS
TRIED TO CONSOLIDATE THEIR BLOOD-SOAKED GROWTH WITH THE DECLARATION OF
THEIR VERY OWN CALIPHATES! IT WAS THE YEAR WHEN THAT SAME
‘CLAIM-A-CALIPHATE’ OF ISIS AND NIGERIAN INSURGENTS LED TO THE BARBARIC
BEHEADINGS OF SEVERAL INNOCENT PEOPLE! IT WAS THE YEAR WHEN SYRIA
CONTINUED THE DECENT INTO CIVIL WAR! IT WAS A YEAR THAT ISRAEL UNLEASHED
ITS UNSYMPATHETIC CLAWS IN THE GAZA CONFLICT THAT SAW THOUSANDS OF
HELPLESS PEOPLE MURDERED! IT WAS A YEAR WHEN PRESS FREEDOM WAS PUT ON
TRIAL WITH THE IMPRISONMENT OF HUNDREDS OF JOURNALISTS IN EGYPT,
INCLUDING3 WORKING FOR AL-JAZEERA! IT WAS A YEAR THAT SAW THE DEADLIEST
PERIOD FOR NIGERIA SINCE THE BIAFRAN CIVIL WAR! IT WAS THE YEAR WHEN A
HEMORRHAGIC FEVER CAUSED BY A VIRUS PROVED THAT IT SPREAD FASTER, IS
MORE POTENT AND MORE LETHAL THAN MAN; IT FORCED MAN TO BAND TOGETHER AS A
SPECIE! IT WAS A YEAR THAT CHALLENGED EVEN THE MOST OPTIMISTIC OF
OPTIMISTS. …LOOKING BACK AT 2014, IT TRULY WAS ‘A YEAR!’
In Memorium,
it was the year we lost Dora Nkem Akunyili, Rilwan Lukman, Dr. Sheik
Umar Khan, Dr. Stella Adadevoh, Umaru Dikko, Robin Williams, Maya
Angelou, Barrister Bamidele Aturu, Professor Jacob Festus Ade Ajayi,
Justina Obi Ejelonu, Philip Seymore Hoffman, Peter Kassig, Steven
Sotloff, Alan Henning, David Haines, Miguel Pajares, Lauren Becall, Joe
Cocker, Joan Rivers, thousands in the hands of Nigerian insurgents, 298
in the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 shooting down, almost 8,000 from
Ebola, 239 in the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 crash, hundreds from
Air Asia Flight QZ8501 crash, hundreds from senseless terrorist attacks,
scores from senseless school shootings, hundreds from natural
disasters, thousands from poverty, illness and starvation and so many
other precious people.
As we bid farewell to a year that, I must
say, was not our finest; a year colored black with catastrophe and red
with blood, many will be hoping that 2015 will bring many of the
conflicts and challenges we just left behind to an end. As we look
ahead, one wonders what secrets and challenges 2015 has in store.
In
the Chinese calendar, 2015 is regarded as the Year of the Goat, Ram or
Sheep and is metaphorically characterized as the ‘period of a passing
summer’ – the period of prosperity and wellbeing. According to the
Chinese calendar system belief, the year promises much more favorable
times as compared to the previous couple of years. It suggests that, in
2015, the processes that have been unfolding and scattering bedlam for
the past couple of years may likely come to an end and the world will
witness greater stability and harmony. As a result, the general quality
of life will improve and the different crisis that has tormented many
will, hopefully, reduce. They envisage, that, very early in 2015, global
economic issues will take a positive turn and will be replaced with
stable economic growth and there will be mass recovery from some of the
losses suffered previously.
In regards to political issues, the
Chinese system forecasts that there will be progress and a level of
harmony in the nature of interaction between acrimonious countries and
disputing factions within several nations. It further calculates the
prospect of significant advance in space industry, greater attention
paid to environmental protection, healthy life style, ecological issues,
with a better global appreciation for herbal, traditional and
unconventional medicine.
If, as the Chinese calendar predicts,
the Year of the Goat, Ram or Sheep will be a period of prosperity,
wellbeing and high hopes, as the positive events in the year start to
take center stage, people of many countries will breathe a sigh of
relief and welcome it with open arms.
Whether the guesses of the
Chinese calendar for 2015 are accurate, one thing is for sure-although
the scars sustained in Nigeria and throughout the globe from the
different tragedies will forever be visible; many are ready to move on.
Many will be looking to the horizon, dreaming and praying for a golden
age. In Nigeria, whether that dream will come via ‘change’ or a
‘rehabilitation of the same’ in the February 2015 elections, the dream
for ‘something better’ can only be realized if and when we start working
towards it.
In the next 365 days, we each have a choice to
‘know better’ so we can ‘do better.’ And as the Chinese calendar 2015,
Year of the Goat, Ram or Sheep prescribes; “The creative side of the
(Year of) Ram; its diligence applied to hard work ensures prosperity”
In the next year, …People of the World please, let’s all work harder to ensure prosperity to all.
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