The year 2019 has been eventful in the Nigerian political scene. Shocking moments dripped into episodes of wonderment. Right from the tightly competing political campaigns to the manner in political opponents of the incumbent government was being taken hounded, some Nigerians felt boxed to the corner politically.
Now that another term in office of the past government is well afoot, many Nigerians have suddenly found their voices again in the face of the different political conditioning and drama which they are oft being subjected to.
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In no particular order, some of the defining moments are highlighted below;
Osinbajo’s Aides Sacked
Not many Nigerians could fathom what exactly was going on when news broke that the presidency had sacked about 35 aides of Vice President (VP) Yemi Osinbajo without recourse to the VP himself. Many raised the alarm the dreaded cabal has struck again.
Though the matter seemed eventually resolved in the media when President Muhammadu Buhari returned home from his brief visit to the United Kingdom, the Sword of Damocles keeps dangling on what the fate of VP Osinbajo will be in Buhari’s government, going forward.
Buhari Pushed to Act on Xenophobia in South Africa
President Muhammadu Buhari was not only pushed for the first time to take a decisive diplomatic step on the xenophobic attacks in South Africa, but other government officials also had to take definite measures after being pushed into action by the pressure mounted from the generality of Nigerians.
Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, who was scheduled to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) summit on Africa in South Africa – around that time – had to cancel his trip in protest. The Nigerian Foreign Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, also initiated moves to chide the South African government even the Nigerian ambassador in South Africa was recalled.
Sowore Calls for a Revolution
On August 4, Omoyele Sowore, who contested the presidential elections with Buhari, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and others, decided to step further into murkier waters of political martyrdom when he declared shabbily that Nigerians should stage a mass protest to start a revolution. On August 5, when the protest which was tagged ‘RevolutionNow’ was scheduled to take off, Sowore got arrested.
But for the Federal Government and the Department of State Security (DSS), the word ‘Revolution’ meant a grave sin. Sowore was released after 124 days in detention.
Walter Onnoghen’s Controversial Sack
As early as we turned into the year 2019, former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen faced began to answer to allegedly corrupt actions he took years backs. A flock of executive and judicial bodies such as the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), National Judicial Council (NJC), were all on Onnoghen’s case until it was done in less than 6 months.
The travails of Walter Onnoghen happened so fast but painfully as he was the first CJN who was summarily booted out of based on allegations of false declaration of assets by April.
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Makinde’s Shocking Win in Oyo
Before the 2019 general elections, Engineer Seyi Makinde was like every other candidate in the opposition hoping to defeat any incumbent APC government in the country. But as the elections across Nigeria was drawing to a close, there were strong indications in Oyo state that the PDP candidate, Makinde, would be defeating his closest rival, Adebayo Adelabu, of the APC, by a huge margin.
The result of the polls in Oyo state surprised many outside of the state – and in the face of the huge loss witnessed by PDP nationwide, even the party could not believe its luck or close shave in Oyo.
Source:
Premium Times NG
Featured Image Source: Pulse NG
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