Published 31st Dec, 2022

By Tarinipre Francis

2022 got off to a great start as the Nigerian government called off its ban on Twitter. The social media platform was suspended from operating in the country two days after a tweet from President Muhammadu Buhari’s account was deleted on June 2, 2021. This led to a 7-month Twitter ban lasting from June 4, 2021, to January 13, 2022.

Revealing the reasons for the reversal of the ban, the federal government stated that the social media platform had agreed to meet all its conditions, including “legal registration of operations, taxation, and managing prohibited publications in line with Nigerian laws”.

8-MONTH ASUU STRIKE- FEBRUARY 14 – OCTOBER 14

On February 14, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) began an industrial action, suspending academic activities across the country’s public institutions.

This was the latest in a repetitive cycle of industrial actions taken against the federal government due to its prolonged failure to implement a 2009 memorandum of understanding reached with the union.

The strike lasted eight months. It was suspended on October 14 after an all-night meeting held by the national executive council of the union in Abuja.

NIGERIA SHINES AT WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIP, COMMONWEALTH GAMES

Nigeria may not have qualified for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, but the country was well-represented at the July 2022 World Athletics Championship games.

Tobi Amusan became the first Nigerian to break the world record. Amusan won gold in the women’s 100-metre hurdles after clinching world record holder title in the semi-finals race, finishing at 12.12 secs and smashing America’s Kendra Harrison’s 2016 12.20 seconds record.

Less than a month later, on August 7, Amusan won gold at the Commonwealth Games.

Still at the Commonwealth Games, Nigeria’s Ese Brume’s 7.02-metre leap became one for the history books, earning her a silver medal and the title of first African to win two long jump medals at the championship.

PETER OBI ABANDONED PDP, JOINS PRESIDENTIAL RACE ON LP PLATFORM – MAY 27

While defections are a common part of Nigeria’s electoral process, presidential aspirant Peter Obi’s defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the Labour Party (LP) has come to be remembered as one of the most hailed defections in Nigeria’s political history.

In a move widely sought after by Nigeria’s youths, Obi left the PDP for LP to become a major contender in the 2023 general elections.

His move birthed an unprecedented course in Nigeria’s democratic history, widening the top political party pool from the usual two-party system to accommodate a third camp, equally strong.

Nigeria’s electoral discourses have since then largely centred on candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the PDP and LP.

NIGERIA SUFFERS WORST FLOOD IN A DECADE

Nigeria suffered its worst floods in 10 years, surpassing the dastardly floods of 2012. Thirty-two of its 36 states were affected.

The floods, a result of heavy rainfalls in short periods attributed to climate change and the opening of Cameroon’s Lagdo dam, led to a humanitarian disaster that took over 600 lives, displaced 1.4 million people and wreaked havoc on businesses and properties.

Houses submerged in flood in Lokoja| Photo credit: Tarinipre Francis

NAIRA REDESIGN – DECEMBER 15

On December 15, new N200, N500 and N1,000 notes were injected into circulation. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the approval of the president, had implemented currency redesign of the three notes.

The apex bank made known its decision to redesign the notes in an earlier announcement on October 26, and on November 23, President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the new banknotes.

The new notes will be used simultaneously with the old notes until January 31, 2023, when the latter ceased to be legal tender.

IKE EKWEREMADU ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPTED ORGAN TRAFFICKING

Ike Ekweremadu, Nigeria’s former deputy senate president, was at the centre of an international organ harvest scandal.

Ekweremadu was arrested at the London Heathrow airport in June for bringing 21-year-old David Ukpo to London for a kidney transplant for Sonia Ekweremadu, his daughter.

The senator has been remanded in custody in the UK since then, and his next hearing has been set for January 31, 2023.

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