The signing of the electoral act
All eyes were on President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the amended electoral law. The new electoral law contained some game changers such as the electronic transmission of votes.
Many were surprised by the President’s delay in signing the new law considering his promise to leave a legacy of free, free and credible elections to Nigerians.
It is instructive to note that the President had rejected the bill five times, citing reasons ranging from the cost of the election, insecurity, and drafting errors to the proximity of the election date.
On February 25, the president finally signed the reworked Election Amendment bill into law.
Before signing it, the president sought an amendment to the bill by asking the National Assembly to remove Clause 84 (12) from the bill.
The clause reads: “No political appointee at any level may be a delegate with the right to vote or be voted in at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the nomination of candidates for any election.”
The president said that the Clause constitutes a disqualification of current political office holders to vote or be voted for in conventions or congresses of any political party, for the nomination of candidates for any election in cases where it is held within 30 days. before the national election.
APC National Convention Crisis
President Buhari has often been accused of being aloof on party affairs. Mai Mala Buni’s evasion led the interim committee to hold a convention that nearly led to the implosion of the party. It led to a mini-coup within the All Progressives Congress (APC).
On March 8, the governor of the state of Niger, Abubakar, returned to the APC national headquarters claiming to be the interim president.
It took the personal intervention of the president to restore sanity to the party.
In a letter dated March 16 to Atiku Bagudu, Governor of Kebbi and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), he said Mai Mala Buni should be able to plan the APC national convention.
The president said the party needs to avoid litigation because the party has wronged members who have threatened to go to court.
The convention eventually went ahead with the former governor of Nasarawa state, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, emerging as party consensus chairman.
APC Presidential Primary
The ruling APC’s presidential primaries were seen as a battle of giants. Many party faithful expected President Buhari to show his hand and choose his preferred candidate.
In addition, it is norm that the president and the governors choose their preferred successor.
Remember that the president had previously single-handedly elected Adamu as party chairman. So most party members expected the same scenario to play out.
The applicants were the former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi, and Senate President Ahmed Lawan, among others.
They were called for the party to have a consensus candidate. It also took the intervention of some northern governors to insist that power should be shifted to the south.
There was mild controversy when the APC national chair announced Lawan as the consensus presidential candidate.
But the party’s National Work Committee (NWC) distanced itself from Adamu’s position and sided with the decision of the northern APC governors who resolved to shift power to the south.
At the end of the day, Buhari called for an open contest and all the candidates went to the contest.
On June 8, Bola Tinubu won the APC presidential primary election.
He got 1,271 votes to defeat 13 other presidential hopefuls in the election.
PMB riot law to heads of service
The worsening insecurity in the country culminated in the Kuje prison break in the terror of the federal capital.
Insurgents had attacked prison service facilities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in July.
More than 900 inmates, including Boko Haram suspects who were in the prison, escaped.
The Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) claimed responsibility for the attack.
During that period, the presidential convoy was attacked by armed men en route to Katsina State.
Furthermore, some presidential guards were also attacked and killed in Abuja.
Insecurity has found its way to the gates of the federal capital.
That upset security chiefs when the president read out the riot mandate. He gave them the mandate to end rampant insecurity.
A few days later, the results began to manifest as the military has since been recording tremendous success against bandits and insurgents in the country.
After evicting the terrorists from the northeast, elements of the terrorist group on March 28, 2022 attacked an Abuja-Kaduna bound train and kidnapped hundreds of Nigerians.
On June 5, 2022, terrorists again attacked a Catholic church in Owo, Ondo State, killing many worshipers.
On July 5, 2022, terrorists attacked the Kuje Correctional Center and released the inmates, including the terrorist leaders.
On October 5, 2022, the terrorists released the remaining 23 victims of the Abuja-Kaduna train victims.
On November 14, 2022, the Nigerian Armed Forces declared 19 terrorists wanted and offered a reward of N5 million each for information leading to their arrest.
The education sector in 2022
Many Nigerian students and other stakeholders welcomed the year 2022 with high hopes. Unfortunately, the national outlook for the education sector in 2022 still presents a tolerable outlook, marred to a large extent by the union strike, funding restrictions, attacks on schools, and others, which have disrupted the activities of the sector.
Increasing cases of kidnapping of schoolchildren and teachers, including from tertiary institutions, have greatly disrupted learning and created anxiety in the sector.
Highlights of the main events
ASUU/FG Impasse
The Universities Academic Staff Union (ASUU) dropped a bombshell on February 14, 2022 when it declared a warning strike, which was revoked after the 1-month ultimatum elapsed without the federal government meeting their demands. The Union eventually embarked on a strike that lasted for over 8 months.
ASUU’s decision to avoid another strike due to the federal government’s refusal to honor its agreement with the union has shattered the dreams of many young Nigerians. However, the government’s alleged use of blackmail against the union and its refusal to pay teachers their withheld salaries continues to generate anxiety in the education sector.
The threat of children out of school
As of October 2022, almost two years later, some 20 million children are out of school in Nigeria, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This figure is a far-reaching increase from the 10.5 million recorded by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 2020.
attacks on schools
Despite the launch of the Safe School Initiative in 2014 to ensure a safer school environment for all Nigerian children, attacks on schools continue.
The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) revealed that attacks on schools by insurgents claimed the lives of more than 2,295 teachers in the northeast between 2009 and 2022.
poor financing
Lack of underfunding remains one of the biggest challenges facing education in Nigeria. In the year 2022, Nigeria’s education sector was again allocated well less than 26% of the national budget recommended by the United Nations. The federal government budget allocation for education in 2022 is 5.39 percent, which is N923. 79 billion of the total budget of N17. 13 billion
Nigerian universities move up the world rankings
The image of Nigerian universities on a global stage received a boost. Nigeria has doubled the number of its universities ranked from six to 12 in the World University Rankings recently published by the Times Higher Education (THE). Nigeria has doubled the number of its universities ranked from six to 12 in the World University Rankings recently published by the Times Higher Education (THE).
Migration of Nigerian teachers to Europe, others
The large number of teachers in the country leaving the country’s teaching profession for another country is on the rise in 2022.
Unlike medical personnel, Nigeria is currently facing a mass migration of teachers to Europe and other countries. The UK has started recruiting qualified Nigerian teachers with over 350,000 qualifying for such employment.
