By Cosmas Omegoh, Omoniyi Salaudeen, Uche Usim, Olakunle Olafioye, Daniel Kanu and Timothy Olanrewaju 

The outgoing year tasked and stretched Nigerians in different directions as banditry, kidnapping, worsening inflation and the horrendous activities of gunmen left a trail of blood and tears. 

Even in the face of these unsavoury circumstances, some notable Nigerians, men of conviction, courage, fully focused on the greater good of the majority, driven by a sense of deep-seated patriotism, clear and unquestionable love of the country rose up to the task. They took the bull by the horns and fought doggedly for the right things to be done. 

In particular instances, their adroit quest for equity and justice ruffled the feathers of the establishment. For the security of the majority, compatriots in uniform paid the supreme price for the sustenance of nationhood under severe and worsening attack by criminal militia and other armed groups operating in several parts of the country. These Nigerians are the heroes of 2021 that deserve accolades.

 

NYESOM WIKE: A David taking on Goliath

Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike acts strong in his will and words – not excluding his demeanour. His followers say Wike has a mind of his own, which points to his seeming firmness and forcefulness as well as his clear mind and belief in himself. But Wike’s traducers suggest he is brash, loud and loquacious. They are ill at ease with that his intimidating baritone or rather guttural voice.   

Either way, Wike has defined the outgoing year 2021 in some way with what he did and said. Call them the Acts of Wike. Some of them stand out for citing, and compel appraisal for their potential in shaping Nigeria’s socio-political space.

When he signed a volcanic Value Added Tax (VAT) law in Rivers State, he opened a big debate on who – federal or the state government – should collect the tax.  He contended that the status quo has “turned states to beggars,” maintaining the law will compel them to be self-reliant. 

The Wike’s wick drew the interest of the Lagos State government. Although the matter is before the Supreme Court, experts say it provides the required illumination to see how flawed Nigeria’s federalism is without fiscal federalism, further lending credence to the lingering clamour for restructuring.    

Besides, Wike’s prophecy on the unending controversial Electoral Act Amendment elevates him as a defender of the electoral process. He had predicted that President Muhammadu Buhari would not sign the bill, calling the drama “a conspiracy not to have a free, fair, transparent election in 2023.” Now Nigerians know better.

His take on the debacle is that Nigerians “don’t have a National Assembly that has what it takes to stand for the people.”

Wike stands against the desecration of the courts, and intimidation of judges and judicial officers, warning that the unacceptable culture introduces fear. But Wike’s critics insist he plays to the gallery. That he is working for his political future, not forgetting his aspiration to become a vice president in 2023. And till now, many are not happy with his alleged role in the ouster of his kinsman, and erstwhile PDP chairman, Uche Secondus. 

However, Wike remains loved in Rivers State for his significant strides in infrastructure development. They call him Mr Projects. Some other people also love his welfarist calls and egalitarian sermons. He is also bothered by the dearth of leadership, and has strong belief that everybody has a responsibility to rebuild Nigeria. In this he has a point. 

 

BISHOP KUKAH: Pricking the conscience of socio-political oppressors

Outspoken, bold, fearless, irrepressible, Bishop of the Sokoto Catholic Catholic Dioceses, Rt. Reverend Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah,  is a tireless advocate for justice, democracy, and human rights in Nigeria who stands out as a ‘rebel with a cause’ and one of the heroes of democracy.

He is one of Nigeria’s most influential clerics and has remained constant in his contestation with the state over the years against injustice and the shrinking of the civic space.

He has distinguished himself as one with the tremendous courage to speak truth to power. Bishop Kukah has been consistent in the struggle for a better society to a dimension that both his critics and supporters agree that he is unquestionably a man with a strong social conscience.

His antecedents show that the struggle for a justiciable country is his life and any effort by any government previous or present or even non-state actors to subvert it has never escaped his knocks and sometimes bombshell. 

He knows the right route any sincere government should take to salvage Nigeria having served as a member of Nigeria’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, secretary of the Political Reform Conference for Nigeria, member of Nigeria’s Electoral Reform Committee, among other national assignments.

In his characteristic manner as one who is known to point out the ills in his environment, in one vintage instance, Kukah had in a virtual appearance before the American Congress in July criticised President Muhammadu Buhari on bad governance.

He pointed out frankly that Buhari has failed to address the nation’s problems, and that the administration’s policies have worsened the country’s socio-economic, political and security condition.

Expectedly, he received a barrage of attacks from the Presidency, which accused him of spreading falsehood with the intent to discredit the administration. Laughably too, he was further accused of instigating regime change.  

But the abusive comments he got from the Presidency, in the view of most political watchers, did not diminish him as the conscience of the masses.

For Kukah the soul of the nation has been traumatised and the psyche bruised, hence he continues to warn that the Buhari government is taking Nigeria through the wrong path.

Most Nigerians agree with what Bishop Kukah is pointing out as being self-evident truths. This is because in their view no other Nigerian president has had the effrontery to toy with the destiny of the nation in the manner that nepotism has been put on the front burner by the Buhari administration.

History is definitely on the side of Bishop Kukah who the respected Africanist, Richard Dowden, described as “Nigeria’s spiritual guide and confessor.”

As the nation soldiers on, in the coming year, there is no doubt that the voice of Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah will be heard loud and clear.

Godwin Emefiele: Steadying the ship in raging tempest

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When Mr Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele took up the mantle as the 11th Chief Executive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and its 10th indigenous governor on June 3, 2014, economic experts did not envy him.

He came in at a time the global economy was literally on ventilators owing to the crude oil crisis.

Back home, the tremors were felt as the foreign reserves came under attack to make up for the shortfall in crude oil sales. For those who know Emefiele closely, he is a silent force that does not succumb to challenges.

With dexterity and a team of committed staff at the apex bank, Emefiele has steadied the nation’s economic ship regardless of the raging tempest. This he did by articulating people-centred policies and operational blueprint.

As a nationalistic economist, he has championed the economic diversification agenda because he insists that weaning off Nigeria from unreliable crude oil receipts is the best for the country.

Emefiele treats blind criticisms as water off a duck’s back and that explains why he turned the deaf ear as he banned 43 items that could be produced locally from accessing foreign exchange at the official window. Included on the ban list are fish and rice, which gulped well over N2.3 trillion a year.

The dogged implementation of CBN’s policies has no doubt led to huge improvements in the domestic production of those items and a reduction in Nigeria’s import bill. From an average of about US$5.5 billion, the nation’s monthly import bill fell consistently to US$2.1 billion in 2016 and US$1.9 billion by half year 2017 to less than $1 billion in 2018, thereby reversing the trend where imports were a drag on the nation’s foreign reserves.

As part of its developmental mandate, the CBN, under Emefiele, since 2014, has also established, single-handedly or in conjunction with the Bankers’ Committee, various other initiatives all aimed at creating wealth and putting in place strong policies for creating jobs for the country’s growing youth population. 

Babagana Zulum: Boldly relocating IDPs amid daunting, suffocating odds

Amid fear of insecurity, possible backlash by the humanitarian community and other suffocating odds, Borno State governor, Prof Babagana Zulum made real his promise to relocate displaced victims of insurgency which has lasted for than one decade, to their local government areas.

Some residents of Maiduguri, the state capital, said that Zulum’s political will and courage to resettle the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in their ancestral communities underscores his determination to pursue a programme which may not be popular, especially among the elite.

Early in the year, Zulum had during his several visits to IDP camps, in the capital and other towns, as well as refugees in neighbouring Niger and Chad republics to prepare to return home said: “We plan to close all camps in Maiduguri before May 29 and others before the end of the year. We want to return all IDPs home in a dignified manner as stressed in the Kampala Convention.”

He explained that keeping the IDP camps open was no longer sustainable. Borno accounts for about two million of the total three million people displaced by Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast states (Borno, Adamawa and Yobe).

In a 2019 report, the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, revealed that Maiduguri had over 40 official and non-official camps. Official camps are largely established by NEMA, state emergency management agencies in collaboration with other relevant international and local humanitarian organisations. Unofficial IDPs camps are essentially places like the following: open field, uncompleted buildings or abandoned facilities converted to temporary shelters by displaced persons who may be unwilling to stay at the official camps due to various factors.

Following the attacks, the first batch of people that fled from their communities arrived the NYSC Camp, in Maiduguri early August 2014, and thereafter the number of IDPs began to rise. The camp was shut down on May 27, 2021 while IDPs were allowed to choose between moving to new housing units built for them at nearby Auno town, their local government headquarters or stay in rented apartments in Maiduguri with financial support (N150,000) given to them by the state government.

Each male head of household was given N150,000 as capital to start a business. Each female head of household was given N150,000 while  married women were given N50,000 to start a business or petty trading.  

The start-up financial support was intended to assist the returnee IDPs begin a new life that is less dependent on aid from humanitarian organisations. More importantly closing the camps would give way for the resume public services in some of the camps such as the Mohammed Goni College of Legal and Islamic Studies and NYSC camp for the resumption of the orientation training of youth corps members.

As at the time of filing this report, Sunday Sun learnt from the Borno State Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, Mustapha Gubio, who is also the head of the Resettlement team, that 68,000 IDPs have so far relocated to 11 communities.

In demonstration of his commitment to the resettlement programme, Zulum visited the communities more than 10 times despite the attacks on his convoy.     

The Nigerian Armed Forces

The pivotal role of the members of the Nigerian Armed Forces in securing the country has once again earned the military a mention as heroes of the nation in the outgoing year.  No fewer than 6,000 insurgents have been reported to have surrendered with numerous others getting neutralized owing to the relentless efforts of the military in containing their horrendous activities.

The military, to a very large extent, has not only succeeded in turning the tide in the protracted war of attrition against the insurgents and the bandits, it has equally succeeded in restraining their activities to few states in the country.

This daunting challenge of securing the nation is not without a price as scores of members of the nation’s armed forces have paid the supreme price in their bid to free the country from the clutches of terrorists and their sponsors.

The patriotic zeal of the military in keeping the country together is further accentuated by the doggedness of the forces despite the claim of insufficient arms and ammunition compared to what the insurgents boast of at their disposal. However with the recent delivery of new A-29 Super Tucano aircraft, Nigerians are hopeful that more success is in the offing in the nation’s anti-insurgency war as the aircraft are expected to aid the fight against insecurity in the Northeast and other parts of the country.

Frontline health workers

The outbreak of Coronavirus disease otherwise known as COVID-19 in Nigeria in February 2020 posed additional challenge for the country’s already over-stretched health facilities and personnel. But as daunting as the challenge is, the nation’s health practitioners have successfully helped the country to waddle through various waves of the disease, hence they deserve to be named as heroes in the outgoing year.

As of December 23, 2021 it was estimated that about 5.4 million people had died globally from COVID-19 since 2019. Of this outrageous casualty figure, Nigeria is reported to have less than 3,000, according to official figure from the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC.

The remarkable success Nigeria has recorded so far in containing the spread of the disease would not have been made possible without the outstanding contribution of health workers in the country, many of whom contracted the virus in the course of duty with scores paying the supreme price.

Nigeria has so far successfully survived the first three waves of the disease going by the low casualty figure recorded in the country compared to what many other countries, including African countries, have recorded so far.

Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, earlier in the year commended the efforts of public health workers and the NCDC towards the containment of COVID-19 in the country. The vice president described health workers’ efforts in battling the scourge as heroic.