By Pascal Oparada
There are no dull moments with Nigerians. They take issues and escalate them to the highest level.
The stories that linger in the minds of Nigerians are the ones they won’t forget in a hurry.
TheNiche put out a poll on social media for Nigerians to pick the stories that made it for them in the outgoing year.
Here is their choice in no particular order.
Lazy Nigerian youths
In April this year, Nigerians were peeved when President Muhammadu Buhari traveled to London, the United Kingdom and called the majority of Nigerian youths Lazy.
“We have a very young population. Our population is estimated to be conservatively 180 million. More than 60 per cent of the population is below the age of 30. A lot of them haven’t been to school and they are claiming that Nigeria is an oil producing country and therefore, they should sit and do nothing and get housing, healthcare and education free,” Buhari said.
This immediately drew the ire of Nigerians, especially the youths who took to social media to lampoon the president and showcase their various crafts to show the president that they not lazy as he labeled them.
Big Brother Nigeria
Nicknamed BBNaija by Nigerians, the reality show which was held in South Africa, kept Nigerians awake to wee hours and became the talk of the town.
The three-month-long show gave Nigerians a lot to talk about. Scandals and heartbreaks were the hallmarks.
The controversy generated by the show is yet to die down in the country.
Linda Ikeji’s Baby Drama
In March this year, top blogger and ex-model, Linda Ikeji, announced to Nigerians that she was pregnant for a man she did not name at the time.
The news came as a shock to many because the blogger had been campaigning for abstinence among Nigerian youths, especially young girls.
She later denied preaching abstinence and said she only told them not to have sex for money.
Just when Nigerians seem to have forgotten the issue of her pregnancy, Linda threw a bombshell. She announced the name of her baby and the man responsible for her pregnancy.
She said she had parted ways with her baby daddy. She said one Sholaye Jeremi is the father of her baby, Jayce. She told her followers that she had parted ways with him and narrated how they met and how she got pregnant.
The issue became an internet sensation and many flayed her for ‘misleading young people’ while she had a baby out of wedlock.
Kemi Adeosun forgery scandal
Former Nigerian Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, was exposed by a Nigerian newspaper, Premium Times, for forging an NYSC exemption certificate.
The issue generated so much controversy with many people calling for the sack and prosecution of the minister.
For over three months, the issue was in the public space with Premium Times placing a timer on their website. She later resigned and said she could not cope with the pressure and indicted ‘trusted acquaintance’ for misleading her.
Many Nigerians are still baying for her prosecution.
Atiku’s defection and emergence as PDP presidential candidate
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar did not take many by surprise when he announced his defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) middle of this year.
But it was a huge surprise to many when he emerged as the presidential flag bearer of the PDP. His emergence threw the ruling APC off balance, analysts say.
Atiku, a shrewd politician, and businessman is touted by many people to become the next president when Nigeria heads to the poll in February.
His choice of Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, was seen as a masterstroke, which according to many, compliments Atiku and would give him a block vote.
Saraki and Dogara’s defection
For the first time in Nigeria, the leadership of the National Assembly left the party that brought them to power. Their defection generated a lot of heat with the new APC chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, calling for the sacking of the entire leadership of the National Assembly.
The defections opened a floodgate as other members of the Nigerian parliament jumped ship to various parties.
The then-Minority Leader of the Senate and former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, joined the fray and defected from PDP to APC. He was a two-term governor under the PDP.
Boko Haram attacks Nigerian soldiers in Borno
The war against terror in Nigeria was brought to the front burner early last month when Boko Haram attacked a battalion of the Nigerian army in Metele, Borno State.
The attack was carried out with so much precision and professionalism that many Nigerian soldiers were killed. The terror group said about 118 soldiers were killed, a claim the Nigerian military said is false. It said only 27 soldiers lost their lives in Metele.