By June, the effect of President Tinubu’s subsidy removal had begun to pinch Nigerians in the behind.
Before the President’s inauguration, the Nigerian government spent N400 billion (about $500 million) monthly to subsidize petroleum imports, according to Mele Kyari, chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), licensed to operate in Nigeria’s oil industry. The subsidy was the difference between the projected open market price and the pump price. Since ending the subsidy, 56 private firms have been licensed to import petrol, with 10 of them due to make supplies in the third quarter, ending NNPC’s import monopoly. Previously, NNPC had been the sole importer of petrol using crude swap contracts.
The fuel price increase was followed by the free float of the naira in line with Oga BAT’s promise of harmonising various exchange rates. The naira float has seen the currency plunge from below N500 per dollar on the official exchange windows to a record low of above N800 naira. The current black rate of $1 to approximately N1,233 has caused me to develop severe gastric ulcers and abdominal cramps that defy antacids.
The increased duo of petrol price and Naira fall against the Dollar has pushed many Nigerians to the brink of poverty. Food prices have soared and commodities that we take for granted are now beyond reach. The number of beggars roaming the streets have increased. Men, women and children. Relatives requesting for assistance. Low salary earners unable to feed themselves. Low turn out in hospital despite an increase in burden of disease due to inability to afford healthcare. The rise in cost of medication due to the exchange rate.
Christmas: How subsidy removal, inflation dwarfed shoppers’ optimism
Uzodimma, Akume, Ganduje, Fr. Alia present as Paul Chukwuma buries father-in-law
A pathetic situation.
And while we grappled with our third world problems, on June 18, 2023, Titan, a submersible operated by American tourism and expeditions company OceanGate, imploded during an expedition to view the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. On board the submersible were Stockton Rush, the American CEO of OceanGate; Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French deep-sea explorer and Titanic expert; Hamish Harding, a British businessman; Shahzada Dawood, a Pakistani-British billionaire; and Dawood’s son Suleman. May their souls rest in peace.
In July, a coup happened in our neighbour’s house. On July 26, the military announced that they had overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum and General Abdourahamane Tiani become the new strongman of the country. In response to this development, the ECOWAS issued an ultimatum on July 30, giving the coup leaders in Niger one week to reinstate Bazoum, with the threat of international sanctions and potential use of force. When the deadline of the ultimatum expired on August 6, no military intervention was initiated and so the ECOWAS took the step of enforcing economic sanctions on the country. Until the coup, aid accounted for almost half of Niger’s annual budget. Niger’s neighbours also closed their borders to the country, and more than 70 per cent of its electricity, supplied by Nigeria, was cut off. Financial transactions with West African countries were suspended. Niger’s assets in external banks were frozen, and hundreds of millions of dollars in aid were withheld. And yet, all these sanctions have had little or no impact on the ambition of the government, which has consolidated its hold on power while millions in Niger face growing hardship.
And because the world stops for no one, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup was held between July 20th to August 20th in Australia and New Zealand. In the final, Spain won 1–0 against England. Our Super Falcons were able to qualify for the world cup but crashed out after losing a penalty to England.
On September 8, 2023, a massive earthquake struck Morocco’s Marrakesh–Safi region. The earthquake which was also felt in Spain, Portugal, and Algeria was the strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake in Morocco, the deadliest in the country since the 1960 Agadir earthquake, and the second-deadliest earthquake of 2023 after the Turkey–Syria earthquake. So far, 2,960 deaths have been reported, with most occurring outside Marrakesh. Damage was widespread, and historic landmarks in Marrakesh were destroyed.
The Middle East looked promising in late September 2023. The Abraham Accords were deepening ties between Israel and Arab countries. Speculation abounded that Saudi Arabia might soon establish diplomatic relations with Israel. A ceasefire in Yemen’s bitter civil war was holding. These trends prompted National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to declare: “The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades now.” That changed just eight days later, on October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel. Roughly 1,200 Israelis were killed, the deadliest day in Israel’s history. Some 240 people were taken hostage. Vowing to eradicate Hamas, Israel launched airstrikes against Gaza and then invaded northern Gaza. A negotiated pause in the fighting at the end of November secured the release of roughly one hundred hostages. But fighting soon resumed with Israeli troops moving into southern Gaza. The soaring death toll for Palestinian civilians, most of them women and children, fuelled worldwide complaints that Israel was committing war crimes. Israel denied the charge, arguing that Hamas was using Palestinian civilians as human shields. Joe Biden unequivocally backed Israel’s right to retaliate and travelled to Israel early in the conflict to show his support.
When the death toll in Gaza was reported to have passed 10,000, U.S. President spoke with Israel PM calling for a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting to increase the flow of aid to civilians. Negotiations started and on November 22, Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day ceasefire, the first pause in fighting since October 7, during which many Israeli hostages were released, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The fighting has since continued and death toll has surpassed 20,000 (almost 1 percent of its population) and surpassing the casualties in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
December started with the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, where a consensus was reached for countries to “transition away” from fossil fuels, the first of such agreement in the conference’s 30-year history. Climate change is no longer a future threat. It is the world’s new reality. This year has been the hottest year on record. Global temperatures have not been this high in 125,000 years, and they are poised to blow past the 2 degree Celsius limit enshrined in the 2015 Paris Agreement. The result has been extreme weather events around the globe, ranging from historic wildfires to extreme drought to record flooding.
The COP28 was meant to help countries tackle climate change and bring up policies to that effect, including financial support for implementation. However, data from the ND-GAIN shows that Nigeria, despite the 1141 delegates that went for the conference, (even higher than US and France, but that is a story for another day;) is the least prepared for the adverse effects of Climate Change.
Sadly, in what is fast becoming an annual Christmas occurrence, Nigeria witnessed another devastating massacre. On the night of Saturday, December 23, 2023, a series of violent coordinated attacks by suspected gunmen erupted in Lisha community, extending to neighboring communities such as Kwahasnat, KambarIpelli, Mutfyan, among others. So far, more than 148 people have been killed in the Christmas Eve attack.
This is coming just days after the military mistakenly bombed Tudun Biri village of Kaduna state’s Igabi council area, killing over a hundred people, as Muslims gathered to observe the holiday celebrating the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.
These deaths are senseless as they are heartbreaking.
No doubt, 2023 has been an interesting year for Nigeria. The elections held earlier in the year set the tone for what has been a very turbulent time for us all.
Like I said, many of us have seen shege.
Let us pray that 2024 will be kinder. Happy new year!
