The year 2013 was characterised by a myriad of both interesting and ugly occurrences across the country. INNOCENT DURU in this report examined some of the big issues that occurred during the year.
Associated Airlines plane crash
The nation was thrown into mourning on October 3 when a chattered aircraft conveying the remains of former Governor of Ondo State, Chief Olusegun Agagu, from Lagos to Akure crashed, killing 13 persons. The crash occurred shortly after the Embraer aircraft operated by Associated Airlines took-off at the local wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos. The aircraft broke into two.
While the cockpit compartment was severely burnt, the casket was recovered and taken away from the wreckage. It was later conveyed to Akure in an ambulance belonging to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF). The lying in state and other burial arrangements were cancelled because of the incident. The family, however, went ahead with the burial the following day, October 5.
Mr. Tunji Okusanya, the boss of MIC Funeral Company; his son, Olatunji; Deji Falae, Ondo State Commissioner for Tourism and son of former secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, were among the people that died in the ill-fated flight.
Feyi, Agagu’s son, earlier speculated to have died in the crash, was one of the seven survivors.
A season of strikes
Academic and healthcare services suffered serious setback at various times during the year. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) embarked on nationwide strikes to demand payment of salary arrears and improved work conditions. Patients in government hospitals across the country were stranded when the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) embarked on a three-day warning strike to protest alleged poor funding of the residency training of its members by the Federal Government.
The group commenced the strike after a 21-day ultimatum it gave to the Federal Government expired on June 18. The strike was called off on June 29 after which ASUU took the baton and commenced an indefinite nationwide strike on July 1. Expectations that the strike would end within a short time were dashed as series of meetings between the union and representatives of the Federal Government yielded no positive result.
As Nigerians continued to lament the protracted ASUU strike, NARD on October 1 announced that it was commencing an indefinite nationwide strike. As usual, patients in government hospitals all over the country bore the brunt of the strike which lasted for more than three weeks. The strike was eventually called off on October 24 while the ASUU strike continued.
The hope that ASUU strike would be suspended was further dashed when a former president of the union, Prof. Festus Iyayi of the University of Benin, was killed in an auto crash on November 12. His untimely death occurred in an accident that involved a vehicle in the convoy of the Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada, while he (Iyayi) was on his way to the National Executive Council meeting of the union in Kano.
The NEC meeting was meant to decide whether the strike would be called off after ratifying the decisions of the 61 chapters of the union. Thereafter, the Federal Government gave a seven-day ultimatum to federal vice chancellors to reopen their institutions and warned the striking lecturers to resume duties on December 4 or lose their jobs. When the lecturers remained adamant, the Federal Government reviewed the seven-day ultimatum from December 4 to December 9 but the union remained yet unperturbed. The strike, which lasted for more than five months, was eventually called off on December 17.
Less than 24 hours after ASUU called off its strike, the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) directed its members to commence a five-day warning strike. They embarked on the strike over claims that the health sector was poorly funded by the Federal Government. The association, however, called off the five-day
Warning strike on December 22 and warned that it would commence an indefinite strike on January 6, 2014 if its demands were not met by the Federal Government.
Anambra governorship election
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed to give Nigerians the assurance that it was capable of organising hitch-free elections in 2015 as it failed to organise the November 16 governorship election in Anambra State successfully.
The governorship poll was marred by disenfranchisement, logistic problems and violence. These rubbished the electoral body’s promise to test-run its strategies for reliable elections in 2015. Even the commission itself admitted that the poll was a poorly conducted and had to reschedule the election in 65 units in Obosi, Idemili Local Government Area of the State. The rescheduling was necessitated by the late arrival of voting materials in the affected wards. Some of the candidates complained of irregularities in the conduct of the election, with the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Chris Ngige, alleging that there was a deliberate effort by INEC to disenfranchise his supporters.
The PDP candidate, ComradeTony Nwoye; the Labour Party flag bearer, Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah and the candidate of Progressive People’s Party (PPA), Chief Godwin Ezeemo, also protested INEC’s handling of the election. The APGA candidate, Chief Willie Obiano, however, expressed satisfaction with the arrangement.
In the face of wide condemnation of the conduct of the election, INEC announced that it was going to conduct supplementary election in the 210 polling units where election was cancelled to determine the actual winner. The announcement was greeted with massive protest by aggrieved women who called for the removal of Prof. Ataihiru Jega as INEC boss. They also demanded for a fresh election. But they were stopped by security agents who dispersed them with tear gas. The supplementary poll, which was later conducted on November 30, witnessed low turnout of voters
In spite of the restriction of movement in the affected areas, most of the people went about doing their normal business. APGA candidate, Chief Willie Obiano, was eventually declared the winner of the controversial election.
Kidnapping
Kidnapping assumed a worrisome dimension during the year as it snowballed into a big syndicate venture. Kidnappers demanded millions of naira as ransom from the families of their victims. The perpetrators employed new strategies and made use of sophisticated weapons with which they unleashed terror on people, particularly security operatives who crossed their paths. In fact, the fear of kidnappers became the beginning of wisdom for many Nigerians during the year.
Among the notable Nigerians kidnapped during the year was Chief Mike Ozekhome, a human rights lawyer and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). He was kidnapped on August 23. Three other persons who were travelling in a motorcade with him were also taken away. He was kidnapped at gunpoint in Ehor, Uhunmwode Local Government Area of Edo State on his way to his home in Auchi. The bloodthirsty kidnappers shot and killed four police officers who attempted to rescue the victims. He was released on September 12.
Prior to Ozekhome’s kidnap, the wife of Supreme Court Justice, Rhodes Vivour, and her daughter were also abducted in the state. They were released after about three weeks of being held captive by the kidnappers. They were kidnapped between Ekiadolor and Okada along the Ore-Benin Expressway on their way to Edo State. The Justice’s daughter’s wedding ceremony was billed to take place a week after they were kidnapped on May 11.
In what looked like an onslaught on legal practitioners in Edo State, kidnappers also abducted Justice Daniel Okungbowa of the Edo State High Court on September 27. He was also kidnapped in Benin less than three weeks after Ozekhomhe was released by his abductors. The kidnappers extended their dastardly act to Lagos State when they abducted the chairman of Ejigbo local council, Hon. Kehinde Bamgbetan. He was abducted by gunmen close to his Ona Iwa Mimo residence on April 15 and held captive for six days before he was released on April 21.
It was not, however, a victory song for the kidnappers all through the year. The long arm of the law caught Kelvin Ibruvwe, a suspected notorious kidnapper in the Niger Delta. He was alleged to have masterminded several kidnapping incidents in the area. He was arrested by operatives of the State Security Services (SSS) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He was nabbed on September 25 and he is now under trial.
RIVERS CRISIS
Rivers State remained in the news for the wrong reasons for most of 2013. The sign that all was not well with the once peaceful state first emerged when the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, who was on official visit to the state, her home state, allegedly threw caution to the winds by openly confronting the state governor, Rotimi Amaechi, over a planned demolition exercise.
From that point, the crisis quickly spread across the state like a forest fire in the harmatan, consuming everything in its path.
Among the early casualties of the crisis was the state executive of the Peoples Democratic Party, led by Chief Godspower Ake, which was sacked by an Abuja High Court. The crisis degenerated when a caretaker committee set up for Obi/Akpor Local Government Area was prevented from performing its duty because of the sealing of the LGA secretariat by police operatives.
Shortly after, security details were withdrawn from the principal members of the state government, including the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Attorney-General and principal judicial officers of the state
Matters went from bad to worse when the five members of the 32-member state House of Assembly attempted to impeach the Speaker, Amachree. The failed ‘coup’ led to a brawl in the House, which landed a member in hospital.
At this stage, the state was divided into two, with Governor Rotimi Amaechi remaining steadfast to his popular mandate on one side, while the state police boss, the Minister of Education, Nyeson Wike and the presidency constituted a staunch opposition to the governor.
A most bizarre dimension appeared in the crisis when the Rivers State Police Command blocked a road leading to the Government House in Port Harcourt, forcing the governor’s convoy to turn back and take another route to his official residence.
Calls by eminent Nigerians for the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, to remove Mbu over his role in the crisis in the state and disrespect for the position of the governor fell on deaf ears.
Trouble openly began when the state executive of the Peoples Democratic Party led by Chief Godpower Ake was removed by an Abuja High Court. Mr. Felix Obuah consequently became the new state chairman. From the outset, the Obua-led executive and the state government led by Governor Rotimi Amechi worked in opposite directions. The embers of their differences were further fanned by the suspension of the Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Timothy Nsirim, the Vice Chairman and 17 councillors over financial immodesty alleged by the State House of Assembly.
Amechi, thereafter, put in place a caretaker committee to take charge of the activities at the local council. This and the preceding action miffed the Obua-led executive, which also enjoyed the support of five members of the state’s House of Assembly and Nyesom Wike, the supervising Minister of Education.
The crisis degenerated when the pro-Obua and pro-Amechi members in the House of Assembly engaged themselves in a bloody brawl in July. Before then, five out of the 32 members of the House had been plotting to impeach the Speaker, Michael Chinda. A member of the House sustained huge injuries during the brawl. The State Police Commissioner, Mbu Joseph Mbu, became a key participant in the crisis. At a point, he directed that police guards be withdrawn from some government officials in the state.
He went ahead to order policemen to prevent Governor Rotimi Amaechi and 75 former Speakers of State Houses of Assembly from using the Armed Forces Avenue route to the Government House. The governor and his guests eventually took another route to get to their destination.
As at press time, six lawmakers were still desperate in their plot to impeach the governor in a now 31-member Assembly. But the Assembly chambers had remained closed to them following a court order.
Terrorism
Acts of terrorism did not abate in the country during the year. The northern part of the country continued to experience series of attacks from terrorists suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect. They unleashed terror on schools and even military bases and killed so many people in the process. On April 16, terrorists suspected to be members of Boko Haram engaged the military in Baga, Borno State and killed one of them. This led to a reprisal attack that claimed close to 200 lives. The attack attracted wide condemnation from within and outside the country.
In June, suspected members of the group killed at least nine children in a school on the outskirts of Maiduguri and killed 13 additional students and teachers in another school in Damaturu. Sometime in July, they unleashed terror on the village of Mamudo in Yobe State, killing at least 42 people who were mostly students in their dormitories.
Another deadly attack was launched on students of College of Agriculture, Yobe State, in September. About 50 of the students were shot dead in their dormitories by terrorists suspected to be members of Boko Haram. The group on December 2 attacked the Maiduguri International Airport and the Composite Group Air Force Base in Maiduguri. Several people were killed in the attack. The military, in counter air strikes, also killed a number of the terrorists. About five military aircraft were destroyed in the attack.
The terrorists also attacked some Nigerian Army locations in Maiduguri during the attack. On Friday, December 20, a large number of terrorists suspected to be members of the group unleashed terror on Bama, Borno State. They attacked a military barrack known as Mohammed Kur Barrack and killed many officers and their family members. About four days later, the military launched a counter-attack on the terrorists, killing at least 50 of them. The military also arrested several others.
The Federal Government and security officials have, however, continued to claim that they are winning the war on terrorism in the northeast.
In May, the Federal Government declared a state of emergency in three North eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe to check the menace of Boko Haram.
PDP crisis
The year 2013 has been a turbulent one for the Peoples Democratic Party. The umbrella of the self- acclaimed largest party in Africa is not only leaking but torn. It has ceased to adequately shield most of its members who are now pitching their tents with the All Progressives Congress.
The woes of the party became intractable after a special convention held at the Eagle Square Abuja in August ended on a sour note. After some teething challenges that earlier sparked off some disaffection, real trouble began when some of the governors confirmed that most of their candidates for the various offices had been unilaterally removed from the list of contestants. They mobilised their delegates and walked out on the President. The exodus began even before President Goodluck Jonathan could complete his speech.
