Stella Adadevoh: Had
Dr. Stella Adadevoh allowed Patrick Sawyer leave the hospital when he
and the Liberian Ambassador to Nigeria reportedly put pressure on her,
we’d today be telling a different, far more tragic story. The
Ebola-infected Sawyer would have flown to Calabar and dramatically
widened the radius of impact. Of the many narratives regarding the role
she played in saving Nigeria from a worse outcome, the one I think best
captured the truth is Simon Kolawole’s, in which he argues that she was
“simply [doing] her job.” And so for me she represents every Nigerian
who insists on doing the job for which they are paid, in the face of
pressure (for whatever reason) to do otherwise. On the morning following
the June 25 bomb blast that claimed 24 lives in Abuja, I listened to a
group of survivors recount the horror. One man singled out two security
guards at the shopping complex outside where the blast went off as
heroes. “Those two boys – he didn’t know their names – no dey collect
bribe.” He contrasted their attitude with that of another guard – he
mentioned the name – who he said “dey collect bribe” to “reserve
[parking] space for big men.” The band of survivors I was with – they
all had shops within the complex – seemed to agree that had the car been
allowed into the premises, and exploded there, the casualty toll would
have been much higher.
Wendell Simlin: This is
the fictional character who emerged to global backlash in March,
spreading accusations that then Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Lamido
Sanusi, was a Boko Haram sympathiser and sponsor. When a group of young
Nigerians examined the document Simlin emailed to the press, it bore
the unmistakable digital fingerprints of Reno Omokri, the President’s
Special Assistant on New Media. Today, to create a fake online persona
for the purposes of destroying an opponent’s reputation is known as
“pulling a Wendell Simlin.” While Simlin didn’t invent that form of
destructive engagement, he succeeded in instilling in me (and I believe
many others) a studied disdain for all anonymous bearers of destructive
online gist.
Adamu Mu’azu: His
nickname in Abuja power circles, I have been informed, is “Game
changer”. He stands for everyone who has brought a dramatic shift to
status quo this year. Before he became the National Chairman of the
Peoples Democratic Party, in January 2014, the party was in dire
straits; falling apart under the accumulated weight of grievances of
leading members. Under Mu’azu, the party has since rediscovered some of
its “intimidating-ness”; winning the governorship election in Ekiti,
alarming the All Progressives Congress in Osun, and attracting and
rewarding respected technocrats like Nuhu Ribadu and Jimi Agbaje with
governorship tickets. In all, Mu’azu has brought some impressive sense
of direction back to the franchise, and set it on a good footing to
maintain its vice-like grip on the Presidency of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, come 2015.
Diezani Alison-Madueke: Arguably
the most powerful woman in the Federal Government. And there’s yet
another record she holds, that is often overlooked: She is the only
Nigerian who has been a minister from 2007 till date – Transport, then
Mines and Steel, under Umaru Yar’Adua; and Petroleum Resources since
April 2010, under President Goodluck Jonathan. Trailblazing is not new
to her; she was the first woman to be appointed to the Board of Shell
Nigeria, the first woman to be appointed Petroleum Minister in Nigeria,
and perhaps, the first Nigerian minister ever to be singled out for
presidential defence during a live media chat. And then, this year, the
first woman to be elected President of OPEC; a most remarkable
achievement. By ending 2014 still a member of the Federal cabinet, as
well as a distinguished member of the global oil trade elite,
Alison-Madueke represents staying power; all of those Nigerians who will
not be moved, regardless of what detractors say, do or tweet.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Muhammadu Buhari: It
seemed like the results of the Ekiti election would form the opening
lines of what promised to be the political obituary of the “Jagaban of
Borgu Kingdom”. But in the months since then, rumours of his political
demise have proved to be exaggerated. The outcomes of the APC
governorship (Lagos) and presidential primaries have shown just how much
influence he continues to wield within the opposition set-up. As for
Buhari, four years ago, he was the old, tired, ex-dictator who insisted,
against all seemingly sound advice (at that time), on running for
President. Today, he is the candidate that appears to best represent the
hope of a change in direction for the country. On account of this
dramatic reinvention, Buhari joins the list. And together Tinubu and
Buhari lead what is arguably the most formidable opposition party in the
history of presidential politics in Nigeria.
Lamido Sanusi: He
started the year as a talkative and combative technocrat; Governor of
the Central Bank of Nigeria, determined to keep inflation below 10 per
cent, and to defend the naira against all pressure. He’s ending the year
as a sedate traditional ruler, the head of an institution historically
one of the most respected in Northern Nigeria. In between, much has
happened – humiliation, character assassination, a Boko Haram death
sentence. But throughout the year, his place in the news headlines has
been assured. Like Buhari, he represents everyone who has this year
spectacularly reinvented himself or herself: even though his
combativeness is still evident in his call-to-arms against Boko Haram,
it is clear that the Emirship has altered the man in a dramatic manner.
Ayo Fayose: He started
the year as a political has-been; a once-upon-a-time governor impeached
for corruption. He is ending the year as an “Excellency”, one of
Nigeria’s extremely powerful 36 state governors. If Nigerian politics is
regarded as a continuum stretching between “Stomach” and “Service”, he
would be the unabashed face of “Stomach”; the leading evangelist of the
endlessly fascinating and ultra-pragmatic concept of Stomach
Infrastructure. Photos of him handing out live chickens to long queues
of policemen in Ekiti will form some of the defining images of 2014.
Stephen Keshi: Like
Alison-Madueke, Keshi is a maker of history. Having become, last year,
one of only two Africans to have won the African Cup of Nations as
player (1994) and coach (2013), as well as the first African coach to
ensure the qualification of two different countries for the World Cup
(Togo and Nigeria), this year, he became the first African coach to
reach the second round of the World Cup. But Nigeria’s showing in Brazil
was on the whole a dismal performance, and things swiftly went downhill
from there, ending in a controversial sack in October, and then an even
more controversial reinstatement by presidential order in November. The
roller-coaster nature of the Keshi 2014 story – one moment harbinger of
hope; the next of crushing disappointment – aptly mirrors the Nigerian
condition; one moment the new economic giant of Africa, the next the
country that abandoned 200+ girls to Boko Haram.
Goodluck and Patience Jonathan: The
POFRON (President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria) and FLOFRON
(First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria) have loomed large in our
consciousness all year long. Unsurprising, considering their home
address. To their supporters, they are like “Jesus Christ”, to their
detractors, they do not deserve to spend a day extra in Aso Rock after
May 29, 2015. Whatever voters decide, one thing is certain: this year,
the First Couple have kept us all the more than entertained with several
memorable utterances, from “Stealing is not corruption!” to “Diarris
God o!”
This piece was initially
published in The PUNCH is re-published here with permission from the
author. Views expressed are solely the author’s
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