New Year’s Day bombing, Maku’s APGA move, the Mbaka storm… 10 main news of last week

Finally it’s 2015 – the much-anticipated year long predicted to define the reality of the country.And its first week is a mix of old and new wine in the same wineskin, being a combination of the last few days of 2014 and the first of 2015.

Here are 10 things that defined the historic week:

NEW YEAR WAS ‘THE BOMB’

The Nigerian masses usually have something nasty to remember about the first day of the year. On January 1 2012, it was Goodluck Jonathan’s announcement of total removal of fuel subsidy, leading to nationwide ‘Occupy Nigeria’ protests.

On January 1, 2015, Gombe state was hit by a bomb blast detonated by a suicide bomber at the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Tudun Wada, Gombe, capital of Gombe state.

The previous day, which was New Year’s Eve, the bombers struck at 310 Mammy market located in the only military barracks in the state.

#BRINGBACKOURBOYS

Suspected Boko Haram militants forced 40 boys and young men from Malari village, Borno state, into Sambisa forest, last week.

Bulama Muhammad, a witness at the kidnap, said the kidnap was preceded by a sermon at the home ofthe  village chief.

“They came in pick-up trucks armed with guns and gathered all the men in the village outside the home of the village chief where they preached to us before singling out 40 of our boys and taking them away,” he said.

The captives were aged between 10 years and 23 years.

Would Nigeria blink this time? Would there be a protest for the return of the boys, an #Bringbackourboys. Would this latest kidnap serve to reignite waning interest in the campaign for the rescue of abducted Chibok girls?

HOW TIME FLIES FOR MBAKA

Ejike Mbaka, founder of the Adoration Ministry Enugu (AMEN), during the week in Enugu requested that President Goodluck Jonathan steps down for Muhammadu Buhari in next month’s presidential election.

Mbaka, who is revered as the most popular priest in the south-east, criticised Jonathan severely, asking his congregation to vote for Buhari.

But just less than two months earlier, Mbaka defended Jonathan against series of public criticism, with the first lady in attendance.

“You and your husband have done well even in the midst of distractions,” he said.

“They are distracting you so that you do not achieve much. You have done well with all these distractions; what if there were no distractions?

“We have been praying for your husband because we want him to go back. Even if you don’t come here, we keep praying for him because the first one we did, you were not here.

“We are not sycophantic. So go ahead, go with the consolation of the Holy Spirit. The anointing of the Lord says God will make your family great.”

What has changed with Mbaka? How did time fly and choices changed drastically?

TWO MOUNTAINS FROM TWO MOLE HILLS

Vice President Namadi Sambo told the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that his bachelors and masters degree certificates in architecture from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, were razed by fire.

Across the other street, Muhammadu Buhari turned to an affidavit dated November 24, 2014, to explain that all his certificates were with the secretary, military board. The military at a time said it was not in possession of the certificates but later said they were available on request.

Nigerians, in their usual style of creating a mountain out of a a mole hill, have taken to all platforms available to make a case out of Sambo’s razed certificate and Buhari’s army-confined certificate.

Is this healthy for 2015 general election? NO! If the schools these individuals claim to have attended can verify their graduation, then we should move on to the issues that matter.

We have a 2015 too volatile for certificates; let’s focus on issues, not PAPER!

APGA’s MAKU CAMPAIGNS FOR PDP’s JONATHAN

The politics of greener pastures in Nigeria is not a day old; it’s existence predates Labaran Maku’s entrance into politics or those of Alao Akala, former PDP governor of Oyo state now in Labour Party’s (LP) flag and Martin Onovo, late Gani Fawehinmi’s National Conscience Party (NCP) Presidential aspirant for 2015 who contested the same office under the auspice of Action Alliance (AA) in 2011.

Loyalty seems to be the last attribute in Nigerian politics. Maku, who lost the PDP ticket for Nasarawa governorship poll, joined the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) to run for the same office, but he won’t desert Jonathan, whom he claims is “the best man ever” to lead the nation. Maku wants his followers to support the president’s re-election bid.

IT’S FFK AGAINST AMAECHI!

During the week in review, President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Femi Fani-Kayode, former aviation minister; Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra and Jerry Gana, former information minister, as directors of his presidential campaign organisation.

While Femi Fani-Kayode is the director of media and publicity, Peter Obi and Kabiru Turaki are deputy directors of the north and south wings of the campaign organisation, with Jerry Gana leading the campaign’s contact and mobilisation unit.

This is opposed to the APC’s team led by Rotimi Amaechi, governor of Rivers state. Two vocal men would be leading two armies to the battle for votes. Expect some sort of war!

NAIRA AS AFRICA 3RD WORST PERFORMER

Though the naira rose against the dollar in thin trade at the interbank market on Wednesday, the last day in 2014, but this was not enough to stop it from being the third worst performing currency in Africa for 2014.

The Nigerian legal tender closed 2014 at N181.50, a 13 per cent fall in the year, compared with the N160.60 to a dollar it was at the end of December 2013. That was poor.

Due to unending pressure on the naira, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had to devalue it at the end of November, tightening trading rules to try to curb speculation against the currency, slowing trading to a trickle, after the naira was hard hit by falling world oil prices.

Nigeria’s currency was the third worst performer in Africa in 2014 against a basket of fairly liquid currencies, following Ghana’s cedi and Zambia’s kwacha.

15 FOR LAGOS GUBER, 11 FOR PRESIDENCY

As 2015 drew near in 2014, there was an illusion that just the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were to run for elective positions in the country.

But recent revelations have shown that APC’s Buhari/Osinbajo and PDP’s Jonathan/Sambo have nine other opponents who are willing to give them a run for their resources.

In Lagos state, likewise, virtually everyone seems to be singing “JK is OK” for PDP’s Jimi Agbaje and “Ambo Ambo” for APC’s Akinwunmi Ambode, with little or no allowance for the 13 other aspirants who are also contesting the same office.

This is a mirror of what is happening across the country, save a few states like Oyo where almost all the candidates are contenders.

2014 AND ASIA’S MISSING PLANES

Year 2014 was quite bitter-sweet in Asia’s aviation history, and indeed the rest of the world. At 111 crashes,2014 recorded the lowest number of air crash in 80 years. Despite the lowest number of crash, the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives records 1320 deaths, the highest in the past decade, with Asia on the receiving end.

In March, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing while heading for Beijing with 239 aboard, with speculations that plane is somewhere in the Indian Ocean but hasn’t been found.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 aboard in July.

The year ended with AirAsia  at the receiving end, as Flight QZ8501 went missing on December 28, only to be found on the last day of the year at the base of the Java sea.

What would 2015 present the aviation world?

ENYEAMA FINALLY WINS

2014 no doubt was a very great year for Super Eagles captain, Vincent Enyeama, who was nominated for a number of awards but narrowly missed out on virtually all, including the BBC African player of the year award.

However, during the week, Enyeama was selected as the best goalkeeper in Ligue 1 for 2014 by authoritative French newspaper, L’Equipe.

The former Enyimba keeper, who was in brilliant form for both club and country in the year under review, has kept goal in Lille’s 56 league games matches since returning from his loan spell at Israeli club, Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2013.

Despite his team’s poor start to the season, winning just five games and losing seven in 18 matches and currently placing 13th, Enyeama went on to win this award for the second successive year.