7 Biggest moments in Nigerian politics [Pulse Picks 2020]
In a year marked by global stasis, there was quite some movement in the Nigerian political orbit.
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As the economy tanked due to coronavirus-induced restrictions and a slump in the price of crude oil in the international market; and unemployment numbers soared, young Nigerians emptied into streets to protest decades of police brutality under the #EndSARS banner.
Here are the biggest moments in Nigerian politics in 2020 in no particular order….
1..Coronavirus lockdowns
President Muhammadu Buhari declared Nigeria’s first lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus on March 30.
The lockdown was extended a fortnight later, with restrictions on businesses and curfews extending well into the summer.
The Nigerian economy and polity is yet to recover from the shutdowns. There is still plenty of hunger, frustration and poverty in the land as the economy has contracted and as the country plunges into an inevitable recession.
Politicians across the land are still answering questions on how to fix an ailing economy and there’s been unrest and social tension across the polity due to rising inequality.
2..#EndSARS protests
In early October, an incident bordering on police brutality in Delta State sparked outrage across the land and culminated in nationwide protests against endemic police brutality, extortion, profiling and extra-judicial killings.
The protests were staged in most states in Nigeria and most state governors were at a loss on how to pacify the protesters.
After curfews were imposed and law enforcement was directed to quell the protests, hoodlums and thugs took advantage of the breakdown in law and order to burn property, loot businesses and unleash anarchy on the land.
The #EndSARS protests and the shooting of unarmed protesters at the Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020 deepened the distrust and animosity between the people and government.
The homes of politicians were targeted for destruction and looting after the crackdown on peaceful protesters.
3..Oshiomhole’s godfather reign in Edo comes to a humiliating end
Former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, had a rough and forgettable 2020.
Oshiomhole began the year as the biggest factor in the politics of Edo State, picking battles with party members here, threatening Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo there and throwing his weight from Abuja to Iyamho.
By September however, Oshiomhole had become a footnote in the politics of Edo State and in the politics of his country.
Obaseki won the September 19 Edo governorship election and warned Oshiomhole about further interference.
"If Oshiomhole continues to behave the way he’s always done, if he continues to be disruptive, if he continues to fund his lions and tigers in Edo State and tries to create problems for us here, then we’ll not have any mercy. As we say in Edo, everybody should now maintain his lane. He should maintain his lane as whatever he is and I’d maintain mine,” Obaseki warned.
No one has heard from Oshiomhole in his state since Obaseki’s warning to his ex-godfather.
4..Governor Fayemi of Ekiti is not trusted in the APC
Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti underlined his reputation as one of the most distrusted chieftains in the APC in 2020.
Not only did Fayemi campaign against his party’s flag bearer in the Edo governorship election, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, he also got himself suspended by the Bola Tinubu faction of the APC in Ekiti.
Sources have maintained that like Tinubu, Fayemi is interested in the 2023 presidency. Both men do not see eye-to-eye and the battle line appears to have been drawn between them on account of their political ambitions.
Within APC circles however, Fayemi has been labelled a snake after squaring up to Tinubu and his ‘boys’.
5..Gov Umahi of Ebonyi and Gov Wike of Rivers hurl insults at themselves
After Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State formalised and announced his transfer to the APC on November 17, 2020, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers asked him to stop blackmailing the PDP just because he wants to become Nigeria’s President.
Wike said: “You have a right to be president. Nobody can stop you. You are educated. You have been a governor for two terms, so you are qualified to say I want to be president of Nigeria.
“But that does not mean that you should blackmail your party, and tell lies to the people that you are leaving the party because of the injustice meted against the southeast; that is not correct.”
Umahi hit back by calling Wike a dictator.
“I refused to join issues with Wike because he is my friend. But Wike must know that he is a dictator. Wike must know that one person cannot be called a crowd. Wike must know that a lot of governors in PDP are not very happy with him. He remote-controls the party,” Umahi responded.
6..Osinbajo apologises to Nigerians during #EndSARS protests
Nigerian politicians are not ones to use the word “sorry” or offer what feels like a genuine, heartfelt apology.
So, when Vice President Yemi Osinbajo offered a no-holds-barred apology to young Nigerians in the thick of the police brutality protests in October, he appeared to be bucking a trend.
“Dear Nigerians, I know that many of you are angry, and understandably so. We could’ve moved faster and for this we are sorry. I fully understand how many young people feel. Many feel that we have been too silent and have simply not done enough. These feelings of frustration are justified,” the vice president said.
A big moment in Nigerian politics in 2020 without a doubt.
7..’Soro Soke’ generation comes of age
In 2020, a new generation of Nigerians made it clear that they are ready to retrieve their country from the clutches of the thieving political elite.
Often derided as the EPL, Big Brother watching generation that is more interested in the good life than in political participation, these young Nigerians shocked everyone by protesting on the streets for two weeks at a stretch and without breaking a sweat.
They defied the elements, thugs and bit the bullets as they called for an end to decades of police brutality and demanded for better governance.
There were quick wins from the protests like the dissolution of the notorious police unit called SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad) and the setting up of judicial panels of inquiry across states.
Plus, the police look better behaved on the streets these days.
This firebrand generation calls itself the ‘Soro Soke’ (Speak up) generation as opposed to the ‘off the mic’ (thieving political class) generation.
And they have told everyone who cares to listen that they are here to stay and that they are ‘weyreys wey no dey disguise’ (the real deal).
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