The year 2020 has come and gone with its challenges which include the coronavirus pandemic, banditry, kidnapping, terrorism and several other depressing episodes, and of course some spirit-lifting events. Here, Daily Trust on Sunday gives a list of what to expect this New Year.
Increased agitation for 2023
There is likely going to be increased agitation ahead of the 2023 general elections this year, and among other issues, whether or not zoning will determine who political parties decide to make their flagbearer, for the presidency.
The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) is likely to entrench its position on the subject, as its president, Alhaji Yerima Shetima, has rejected the agitation for the zoning of the number one position. Holding the same position is Mamman Daura, President Muhammadu Buhari's nephew, who said competency and not zoning should be the consideration in electing Buhari's successor.
However, people like Alhaji Shuaib Mustapha Kano, political adviser to a former governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau, are likely to remain adamant on zoning the presidency to Eastern Nigeria.
Both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have debated whether or not their parties' tickets should be zoned to the North or to the South. This debate will most likely deepen this year.
Floods still in sight
Flooding has become one of the disasters that never seems to go away, and 2020 is a typical example. It happened again despite forecasts by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the Hydrological Services Agency (HAS) that revealed there would be massive flooding across many states from the beginning of the year. Also, donor agencies and even private firms repeatedly warned of the impending and imminent floods. The floods came and agricultural output and property worth billions were lost. It happened in Akwa Ibom State where 100 houses were destroyed and 300 persons displaced in Eket Local Government Area (LGA) in 2020, and in Borno where hundreds of shelters in Internally Displaced People's (IDP) camps were destroyed. Thousands of people were displaced and property destroyed in several parts of the country.
A report by Relief Web posted on October 19, 2020, indicated that flood levels at the hydrological stations monitored in Niamey (Niger Republic) and Malan Ville (Benin Republic) reached the red alert zone due to the intensity of torrential rainfall and caused flooding in Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara, Sokoto and Zamfara states, among others, affecting 91,254 people or 15,209 households. The flood incident was caused by the intensity of the rainfalls at the peak of the flood season and the release of dams located in neighbouring Niger, Cameroon and Benin which resulted in the Benue and Niger rivers overflowing and affecting communities living along their banks and in surrounding areas.