Unforgettable year of subsidy protests,

29 Dec, 2012

The outgoing year was laced with many sad national events. The Federal Government set the year rolling on a negative note when President Goodluck Jonathan announced the total removal of subsidy on petroleum products on Jan. 1. There were plane crashes, widespread killings by the murderous Boko Haram Islamic sect, high profile kidnappings, and death of prominent Nigerians. As if this was not enough, the country had its fair share of natural disasters as floods ravaged several states, killing many and leaving many homeless. Many houses collapsed and Nigeria put up a dismal outing at the London Olympic Games. Saturday PUNCH attempts to capture the major events of 2012 hereunder:
Fuel subsidy removal palaver
Jan. 1 – The Jonathan Administration announced a controversial – and total – removal of fuel subsidies. The announcement sparked an immediate protest involving Nigerians from all walks of life. It gave rise to the Occupy Nigeria protests, which were staged in different parts of Nigeria on a day-to-day basis. Many prominent Nigerians spoke against the removal of fuel subsidy by the administration, which later reviewed the price per litre from N141 to N97. The strike was suspended after the President agreed to cut the cost of petrol following over a week of protests.
Ravaging floods across Nigeria
July – The floods that began in early July initially killed about 137 people and had displaced over 120,000 people as at Sept 9. No fewer than 363 people were killed, while over 2,100,000 were displaced at the last count. The floods, which affected Kogi, Adamawa, Taraba, Plateau, Imo, Bayelsa, Anambra, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Benue states, was caused by heavy rains and overflow of dams from Cameroon.
July 2 – Coastal and inland cities experienced heavy rains, which resulted in heavy flooding, especially in Lagos, causing gridlock on major roads.
Governorship elections
July 14 – Edo governorship election
Adams Oshiomhole was declared winner of the July 14 governorship ballot in Edo State. The returning officer, Prof. Osayuki Oshodin, said Oshiomhole scored a total of 477,478 votes (or 73 per cent of the total votes cast) to beat his closest rival, Charles Airhiavbere of the Peoples Democratic Party, who scored 144,235 votes (or 22 per cent of the total votes cast). The third position went to the All Nigeria Peoples Party candidate, Mr. Solomon Edebiri, who scored 3,642, while the Congress for Progressive Change candidate, Roland Izevbuwa, placed fourth.
Oct. 20 – Ondo governorship election
Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party emerges the winner of the Ondo State governorship poll. According to the final results by the Chief Returning Officer and Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Prof. Adebiyi Daramola, Mimiko got the highest number of votes in the election. Mimiko polled 260, 199 votes; Olusola Oke of the PDP came second with 155, 961 votes; Action Congress of Nigeria’s Oluwarotimi Akeredolu got a total of 143, 512 votes, putting him in third place.
Air crashes
June 3 – A Dana Air passenger plane flying from Abuja to Lagos crashed into a residential area, three minutes from landing, killing all 153 people on board and no fewer than 10 residents at the crash site.
Oct. 25 – The governor of Taraba State, Dambaba Suntai, was involved in a plane crash; he was piloting the plane himself. The crash happened at Yola Airport in Adamawa State. Although there was no death, all persons aboard were seriously injured. The governor was later flown to Germany for better medical attention from the National Hospital Abuja, where he was initially receiving care.
Dec. 15 – A Navy helicopter flying from Bayelsa to Port Harcourt crashed in Bayelsa. The governor of Kaduna State, Patrick Yakowa, and a former National Security Adviser, Gen. Owoye Azazi, and four others were killed in the crash that happened in a forest in Ogbia Creek around 3.30 pm. Others killed were Yakowa’s aides Dauda Tsoho and Mohammed Kamal, and two Navy pilots, Muritala Mohammed Daba and Adeyemi Sowole.
Boko Haram attacks in 2012
Jan. 20 – A coordinated, simultaneous bombing spree that targeted seven police stations and other security formations killed at least 180 people in Kano. Among the dead was Enenche Akogwu, a reporter with Lagos-based Channels TV.
Jan. 21 – Boko Haram killed more than 140 people during a series of blasts, including a suicide bombing, and shootings in Bauchi. Boko Haram claimed credit for the attacks, which targeted police and immigration buildings in Bauchi State.
Feb. 3 – The industrial town of Ajaokuta in Kogi State was in the early hours of Feb. 3 thrown into pandemonium as armed men bombed a divisional police station and a bank in the state. The police station, which was completely burnt down from the explosions, was the first point of attack by the terrorists before they launched a similar attack on the bank.
Feb. 26 – A Boko Haram suicide bomber killed six Christians during an attack at a church in Jos, Plateau State.
March 11 – A Boko Haram suicide bomber killed three civilians in a bombing outside of a church in Jos. The suicide bomber was stopped before he could enter the premises of the church.
April 8 – Boko Haram killed 36 people and wounded dozens more in several bombings outside of a church in Kaduna on Easter Day.
April 26 – A bomb blast rocked the ThisDay office in Jabi, Abuja. It was carried out by a suicide bomber who drove into the media house before detonating the bomb, blowing off the roof of the building. Another blast was also reported at the ThisDay office in Kaduna the same day.
April 30 – A Boko Haram suicide bomber killed 11 people and wounded more than 20 in an attack on a police convoy in Jalingo, the capital of Taraba State.
June 3 – A Boko Haram suicide bomber kills 15 people in an attack on a church in Bauchi.
June 8 – A Boko Haram suicide bomber kills four people in an attack outside a police station in Maiduguri, Borno State capital.
June 10 – A Boko Haram suicide bomber kills three people in an attack outside a church in Jos.
June 17 – Boko Haram men kill 48 people in suicide attacks on churches in Kaduna and Zaria. The terror group claimed credit for the attacks. Three other churches were bombed same day. During the month, more than 100 people died in attacks on three churches in Kaduna, a city on the border of the Muslim north and the predominantly Christian south.
July 13 – A suicide bomber kills five people in an attack at a mosque in Maiduguri.
July 30 – A suicide bomber kills a policeman in an attack at a government office in Sokoto.
Aug. 3 – A Boko Haram suicide bomber wounded several people in a failed attack outside of a mosque in Potiskum, Yobe State.
Aug. 5 – A suicide bomber kills five soldiers in an attack in Damaturu, Yobe State.
Aug. 15 – A suicide bomber kills three civilians in a failed attempt to target a vehicle belonging to the Joint Task Force in Maiduguri.
Sept – The group attacks mobile phone masts belonging to nine telecommunications companies. The Army announces it has killed at least 35 suspected members of Boko Haram.
Sept. 23 – A suicide bomber kills a woman and a child in an attack at a Catholic church in Bauchi.
Oct. 5, 6, 8 – An online report quotes the Nigeria Security Tracker, a research project of the United States independent think tank as naming October 2012 as Nigeria’s deadliest month in the 16-month period since June 2011 in terms of terror attacks. “In that month, three days of ongoing attacks by Boko Haram in the northern state of Yobe left at least 30 people dead, including a former government official. In Borno State, the military went on the rampage after a bomb attack injured two soldiers, killing at least 30 civilians.” The NST added that in Benue, communal conflict resulted in the deaths of at least 30 people and the destruction of homes and farmlands.
Oct. 28 – A Boko Haram suicide bomber drives an explosives-packed jeep into a Catholic church in Kaduna, killing at least eight people and wounding over 100.
Nov. 25 – A suicide bomber drives an explosives-packed bus into a church at a military base in Kaduna, followed by a suicide bomber in a car outside the church; the blasts killed 11 people and wounded over 30.
Dec. 22 – Suicide bombers attacked the offices of South Africa’s MTN and India’s Airtel in the city of Kano.
High profile kidnappings
Dec. 9 – Gunmen abduct Prof. Kamene Okonjo, 82, mother of the Minister of Finance, in Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State. The wife of His Majesty, Prof. Chukwuka Aninshi Okonjo Agbogidi, and the reigning Obi of Ogwashi-Uku kingdom was kidnapped at about 1.30 pm at the Obi’s palace at Ogbe-Ofu quarters in Ogwashi-Uku by eight gunmen in two Audi cars. She was rescued five days later.
Dec. 11 – Wife of retired Brig.-Gen. Oluwole Rotimi, Titilayo, was kidnapped in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. She was abducted at about 6.30 pm in front of the gate to her company, AOK Logistics Ltd. She was said to have been kidnapped by four armed men while retiring from her office. Meanwhile, she was released on Dec. 21.
Dec. 16 – Fair skinned Nollywood actress Nkiru Sylvannus, who was kidnapped on Dec. 16 in Owerri, Imo State, was released by her captors after her family paid a ransom of N8m.
Dec – Similarly, Kenneth Okoli, the first runner-up of Mr. Nigeria 2010, was kidnapped in Owerri, Imo State. His family was contacted for a ransom of N100million for his release. Okolie has since been released by his captors.
Aluu Four killings
Four students of the University of Port Harcourt were lynched in Aluu Community, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State for allegedly stealing phones and laptops in an off campus hostel. The students, who were identified as Lloyd, Tekena, Ugonna and Chidiaka, were beaten and later set ablaze by the mob suspected to be members of the community.
Photographs of how the four suspects were killed were immediately placed on the social media, even as most commentators condemned the act and described it as jungle justice.
Probes and shows of shame
June 14 – The House of Representatives removed Rep. Farouk Lawan (PDP-Kano) as Chairman the House Ad hoc Committee on fuel subsidy regime over alleged $620,000 bribe from Femi Otedola, founder of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd.
March – Oteh accuses the Chairman of the House of Rep Committee on Capital Market, Herman Hembe, of demanding N44m bribe from her. Oteh, Hembe, and others later faced the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Nov 2 – Oronsaye, Oti, Ribadu fight openly before Jonathan
Right in the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Chairman of the Petroleum Revenue Special Task force, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and two members of the committee – Mr. Stephen Oronsaye and Mr. Ben Oti – openly disagreed about the process that produced the report and its reliability.
Economy and CBN policies
Jan. 1 – Last year, the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced cash-lite economy, aimed at reducing the volume of cash in circulation. With the kick-off of its pilot scheme in Lagos, the banks licensed by the CBN had commenced the use of alternative e-banking channels to boost online financial transactions. The CBN had concluded plans for Nigeria to go cash-lite by licensing 11 Mobile Money operators to start a pilot scheme on cash-lite, beginning with Lagos.
The CBN announced the introduction of new currency denominations of N2,000 and N5,000. The bank also made plans to convert N5, N10, N20 and N50 into coins from notes. The policy, it said, would make it easier to move large quantities of cash around with little exposure to risk. The idea however generated reactions from Nigerians many of whom argued that it negated its initial intention for the economy to go cash less.
Failure in London 2012 Olympic Games
July/August – Nigeria’s contingent to the London 2012 Olympic Games in England returned without winning a medal, though the Special Olympics contingent did better two weeks later by winning six gold medals in London.
by Bosede Olusola-Obasa
via Punch