The year 2015 is one of the most significant years in the history of Nigeria and will not be forgotten in a hurry. Even before the year kick-started, series of predictions had been made on what lied ahead for Nigeria. This was partly because it was a year that a purported report from the United States claimed will witness the breakup of the country – Nigeria.
Another reason is because a tightly-contested general election was billed to take place early into its first quarter, and would determine the trajectory of events afterwards. Events surrounding that election and the election itself proved it to be the toughest since Nigeria’s return to democracy.
Truly, in the buildup of activities lined up for the year, tension soaked the entire country. Tribal and regional politics became the order of the day, and one had thought, the Nigerian ship was heading for destruction. But despite the tension, the nation doggedly escaped all the negative predictions, and the nation is almost concluding activities for the year.
However, the year did not pass without certain significant events and activities that have now gone down as landmarks in the nation’s history.
Though elections could seem as a theme expected to run through all political dialysis of 2015, related issues that rode with it are all captured in this month by mouth presentation of major events that happened in the year 2015.
Some of the stories which may have consigned to the dustbin of history will be exhumed in this feature to give them their pride of place in the annals of Nigeria’s 2015 and remind readers of how they ruled the polity and became topics of public discourse…
January of Mbaka and Buhari’s WAEC certificate
The fiery Southeast priest of the Adoration fame, Rev. Father Camillus Ejike Mbaka quickly reminded Nigerians that they just stepped into the peak of a political season when he prophesied to the chagrin of many that then President Goodluck Jonathan was not going to win 2015 presidential election due for the year.
Speaking to members of his ministry on the New Year eve, Mbaka said: “Jonathan has ruled for six years. We need change. NEPA is not working because of corruption. The privatization of public companies has not yielded any fruit because of corruption. Nigerians are sick and tired of wasting innocent lives without government doing enough to stop the destruction.”
This happened in the same month that the Nigerian Army clarified that it was not in possession of the West African School Certificate, WASC, with which the then presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) enrolled into the Nigerian Military Training College in 1962.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, the Director of Army Public Relations, DAPR, Brig-Gen. Olajide Laleye stressed that the Army had to make the clarification following barrage of requests from individuals and corporate organisations seeking to know the true position of Buhari’s credentials.
Postponement February
Of all the stories that broke in February, no other stood out like the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC’s postponement of the 2015 general elections by six weeks. The Independent National Electoral Commission announced a shift in the 2015 general election earlier scheduled for February 14 and 28. Announcing this at a press conference, then chairman of the Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega said the Presidential and National Assembly elections would hold on March 28 while the governorship and State Assemblies election would take place on April 11. Both had until then been scheduled for February 14 and 28. The postponement was however greeted with protest from the then opposition party, the APC.
This month threw Bayelsa state into mourning as 12 of its prominent women died in a ghastly auto crash near Old Ahoada Market on the Ahoada/Elele section of the East/West Road, on their way back to Yenagoa, the Bayelsa capital, from the Port Harcourt International Airport where they had gone to see off Mrs Patience Jonathan,Wife of Goodluck Jonathan. Among the dead were former members of the State House of Assembly, Commissioners from the state as well as the wife of the Secretary to the State Government, SSG. The women were members of Mrs Jonathan’s female wing of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, known as Women For Change Initiatives.
Presidential March
The much talked about 2015 general elections witnessed what may be termed an anti-climax. This was as Nigerians in this month trooped out to cast their ballots for the person on whose shoulders the affairs of the country will rest upon for the next four years was. This happened on the 28th of the month, with the major news for the day being the inability of the card reader machines to recognize the biometrics of the then President, Goodluck Jonathan, when he went for accreditation in his ward in Otuoke, Bayelsa State. Mr Jonathan was there with his wife and mother.
Before now, an international research firm, the Eurasia Group favoured APC’s presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), to win the March 28 presidential election in negation of its earlier estimation. The group’s Practice Head in Africa, Philippe de Pontet, noted that although it had earlier expected President Goodluck Jonathan to narrowly win the presidential election, a number of factors had since changed, thus swinging the pendulum towards the direction of Buhari.
April announcement of new President
Nigerians were welcomed to the new month by INEC’s announcement of Candidate Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of the March 28 Presidential polls. Making this announcement in the wee hours of the first day of the month, the INEC Chairman noted that Muhammadu Buhari of the APC polled a total of 15,424,921 votes to defeat all other candidates, with Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP garnering a total of 12,853,162 votes to come second.
But one significant thing that changed the course of history was the acceptance of the outcome of the election by the then President, who did not wait till the end of the exercise before he congratulated the winner, President Muhammadu Buhari.
Events of the month cannot be complete without a mention of the governorship elections which was held on April 11, 2015. While the election was largely peaceful, experts were of the opinion that the participation of Nigerians in the election in terms of turnout was low when placed side by side the number of voters who trooped out en masse to cast their ballots in the presidential election. That of Lagos State was made peculiar by the Oba of Lagos, HRM Rilwan Akinolu’s threat on the Igbo community in Lagos that they should vote his preferred candidate, Akinwumi Ambode, or get drowned in the Lagoon.
Handover May
This was the month that the pirate radio station, Radio Biafra, crept into the consciousness of Nigerians. Operating from an unknown location, the radio hit the airwaves through the channel 88.0 FM in Rivers and neighboring states in Southeast and South-south geopolitical zones. The station featured one familiar voice that referred to himself as ‘Director’ and frequently addresses his listeners as the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB. The voice consistently made comments that pitched the North and the West against the Niger-Delta, alleging that people of the Niger-Delta were being “enslaved in Nigeria” which he referred to as a “zoo”.
This month also came with the change of guard in the nation’s leadership as President Goodluck Jonathan handed over to his successor, Muhammadu Buhari on May 29th, contrary to the fears and rumours bandied by naysayers. High-point of the event was Buhari’s declaration that he ”belongs to everybody and belongs to nobody.”
8th Assembly’s June
In this month, the 8th National Assembly was inaugurated in an event that witnessed lots of intrigues, particularly at the Senate. Members of the ruling APC had, earlier in the day, gone for a purported meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, of which they returned only to discover that the majority PDP lawmakers that were on seat then had elected one of their own, Chief Ike Ekweremadu as the Deputy Senate President, while helping Senator Bukola Saraki to become the Senate President against the wish of his party leaders.
In the House of Reps, Hon Yakubu Dogara from the Northeast got elected as Speaker in contravention of the resolve of the APC hierarchy to install Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila from the Southwest as Speaker. The party leadership could also not have its way in who becomes Dogara’s deputy as Hon. Yusuf Lasun from the Southwest clinched the position.
July’s demystification of Boko Haram
Nigerians were shocked in this month when a report emanated from Radio France International which claimed that most members of the Boko Haram that have attacked many churches in the country are Christians. According to the report, Nigerian researchers met in Paris at the European Conference on African Studies for a round table entitled “Within and around Boko Haram in Nigeria” where it was revealed that most people terrorizing the continent were from the Christian community. The report claimed that as much as 5,000 Christians were members of the group.
Also in this month, a major breakthrough was recorded in Nigeria’s fight against Boko Haram insurgents as the Nigerian Air Force on the 29th announced that its patrol and surveillance activities have blocked routes through which petroleum products and other materials are supplied to the extremist sect. It disclosed that over 4,000 drums and jerrycans of petroleum products and other smuggled items meant for the terrorists were intercepted.
August revelations
In this month, it was announced by the Centre for Crisis Communication, CCC, that some of the Boko Haram terrorists have started making consistent contacts with the Centre to help initiate a dialogue process with the federal government on their behalf. Executive Secretary of the CCC, Air Commodore Yusuf Anas (rtd), said: “The efforts by some members of the group to get across to the Centre and the discussions we have had, have been encouraging. We have taken measures also to ascertain the genuineness or otherwise of these persons. We believe they are ready for genuine dialogue.”
In the early days of the arms procurement scandal for the nation’s military shortly after DSS operatives raided his homes in Sokoto and Abuja, embattled former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) in this month released images of the weaponry procured by the administration of Goodluck Jonathan in which he served. He listed the acquisitions to include Alpha jets, APCs, MRAP vehicles, advanced artillery pieces, assorted arms and ammunitions, highly sophisticated surveillance drones, T72, stressing that the administration carried out modification of F7 supersonic jet fighters.
September deadline for unveiling of Buhari’s minister
This was the month Nigerians got to know why President Muhammadu Buhari carried out appointments many claim are “lopsided” and are tilted to favour the President’s northern part of the country. Speaking with BBC Hausa Service, he pointed out that the Constitution allowed him full control over the choice of his closest officials, explaining that, “If I select people whom I know quite well in my political party, whom we came all the way right from the APP, CPC and APC, and have remained together in good or bad situation, the people I have confidence in and I can trust them with any post, will that amount to anything wrong?”
Meanwhile, in a bid to fulfill his pledge to appoint ministers by September, the President on the last day of the month submitted a list of his ministerial nominees to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki after the Upper Chamber adjourned for the day.
October unveils the ministers
The anxiety of Nigerians over who will serve in President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet came to roast in this month as the Senate read out the names contained in President Buhari’s letter for screening. The names had the long-time associates of the President, politicians as well as technocrats with no known political affiliations. The nomination of the immediate past governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi was vehemently opposed by Senators from his state such that the Senate’s public petitions committee was tasked to investigate the petitions written against his nomination and that of others.
On the day, the Senate was to confirm the screening of Amaechi and 17 others, members of the PDP in the upper chamber staged a walk-out after they unsuccessfully tried to convince their APC counterparts to heed the recommendations of the public petitions committee by not confirming Amaechi as minister.
November of portfolio assignment
Issues surrounding President Muhammadu Buhari spilled into November as the month was when the much anticipated Federal Executive Council, FEC, was inaugurated by the President after about five months into his government. The assignment of portfolios came as a surprise to many as those expected to head particular ministries were assigned to others. High-points of the event was in the President naming himself as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, even as the immediate past Lagos governor, Babatunde Fashola was named the Minister of Power, Works and Housing.
This month came with the sad news of the demise of the APC governorship candidate in Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu, who died the same day the November 21 governorship election which he was already leading with over 41, 353 votes was declared inconclusive by INEC. The Returning Officer, Prof. Emmanuel Kucha declared the election inconclusive because the margin of votes with which Audu defeated his closest rival, Governor Idris Wada, was less than the 49, 953 number of cancelled votes.
Inconclusive December elections In this month on the 5th to be precise, the inconclusive Kogi governorship election was concluded; after INEC allowed the All Progressives Congress, APC, leave to replace its decease candidate. Despite protestations from Audu’s running mate, Abiodun Faleke, the party resorted to its earlier primary to pick the person who came second, Yahaya Bello, to replace Audu. He went on to win the supplementary election, making him the Governor-elect.
Also in this month, the much anticipated Bayelsa governorship election was also held but was declared inconclusive by INEC following the violence that was recorded in Southern Ijaw LGA believed to be a swing local government. Still in this month, moves by the Senate to muzzle social media users came to limelight as the upper chamber resolved to pass “An Act to Prohibit Frivolous Petitions and Other Related Matters.” The public outcry over this bill was so much that President Muhammadu Buhari had to tell the lawmakers that free speech was central to democratic societies anywhere in the world, adding that he “won’t assent to any legislation that may be inconsistent with the constitution of Nigeria.”
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