2022: Wẹ Thought We Saw ‘Shege’

I didn’t know Ibadan’s famed On Air Personality, Abraham Ogunleye until someone shared a video of his “Eti Oba” programme with me. In that particular edition, Ogunleye sympathized with everyone going through a lot and encouraged them to keep going through it.

His words, “and this is for everyone going through one thing or the other at the moment, please keep on going through it. You go still see shege (hardship) self”. His standpoint was based on the submission that “everybody would go through a lot” and therefore, no one should expect motivation from anybody.

Of course, very few people would disagree with him. Thanks to the fact that Nigerians by reputation are incurable optimists known to have highly functioning coping mechanisms. The “e go better” spirit is what has been keeping many of them going. Those who would not stretch their endurance any further have however switched to the “já pa” mode by relocating abroad. Who would blame them?

Those who thought with COVID-19 and the EndSARS protests, 2020 would go down as “annus horibilis” changed their opinions before December 2021. And now, we are already comparing the prices of goods and services to what was obtained in 2021. We thought we had seen shege in those years.

It had never crossed anyone’s imagination that a dollar would exchange for over N 700. When the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol was increased the other time, the scant consolation was the availability of the product. We never knew we would still queue up at fuel stations to buy petrol at an unprecedented N 250 per litre.

One other event that showed Nigerians shege in 2022 was the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike that went on for eight months. The Federal Government and the Union simply chose to be obstinate while the time of enrolled and prospective university students ticked away by the second.

Lagosians and Nigerians generally were jolted to the marrows when news broke that a female bus passenger, Bamise Ayanwola was raped, viciously thrown down from a moving bus and left to die.

And in terms of security, the hitherto impossible happened! In what seemed like a scene from a commando movie, gunmen stormed St. Francis Catholic Church, Ọwọ, Ondo State during a Morning Mass and with bursts of their automatic rifles, killed 42 people.  Never had the kind of fear that gripped Nigerians in 2022 been felt in Nigeria’s Federal Capital. Though the government denied and tagged media reports of an impending attack on the seat of power as misleading, its agents arrested suspected terrorists who were plotting attacks!

The abduction of Professor Adigun Agbaje, a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan on the ever-busy Lagos-Ibadan expressway further loaded the cloud of doom many feared was hovering over the country. It drove the point home that the terrorist’s southward movement as reported was not a ruse after all.

While Nigerians were eagerly waiting for a peaceful end to a tumultuous year, some officers put the already distrusted Nigeria Police Force in the news for the wrong reasons. A young man and a pregnant lawyer were felled by police bullets on the Lekki-Ajah expressway within three weeks of each other, thereby increasing the Force’s potential for controversy.

For Olanrewaju Omiyinka, fondly referred to as “Baba Ijesa”, 2022 would be a year that shouldn’t have come. His peak performance in movies notwithstanding, he was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment on charges bordering on child molestation.

And by the time the governorship election in Osun State was concluded, the scale tilted in favour of Senator Ademola Adeleke. He and his late elder brother, Isiaka Adeleke have since earned themselves a place in the record books as the first set of siblings to be elected as governors. Some people attributed Governor Oyetola’s loss at the poll to the rift between Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. It was in 2022 that it became obvious that the latter duo was no longer together.

One of the surprises of the year was the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere’s open declaration of support for Peter Obi’s presidential aspiration. Not a few people had thought the Afenifere would support a Yoruba candidate.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) continued its war against corruption with the arrest and prosecution of fraudsters, culminating in the conviction of many. The Commission would however make a corollary show of strength with the invasion of former Governor Rochas Okorocha’s residence.

Videos of a visibly terrified Okorocha reciting Bible verses as EFCC operatives broke in through his ceiling soon emerged on the internet. The former Governor had shared the videos online while the operation lasted. That was however not enough to stop it; an indication that shege comes in varying degrees and is not a respecter of status.  

The former Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu happened to be another Nigerian politician that had it rough last year. He recovered well from the Yam Festival brouhaha of 2019 and his respect as Ikeoha in his community was never in doubt. That he spent Christmas and New Year in a British jail was however one of the most unexpected events of 2022. No one saw it coming.

Nigerians who fondly referred to the Pound Sterling as “Owo Iya Charly” (Charly’s mother’s money) will have to find another sobriquet for the currency under reference, especially now that the face of King Charles III is on the British Pound.  

Some deaths shook Nigeria in 2022. The Olubadan, Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunji transited on the second day of the year. Nine days later, he was joined by the former Head of Nigeria’s Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan. The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adéyemí III joined his ancestors in April. His burial, especially the earlier part was ample proof that the core Yoruba tradition was gradually fading away.  Mohammed Barkindo, the Oil and Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) President passed away barely 36 hours after receiving a presidential commendation in Abuja.  Christians were particularly jolted by the death of Osinachi Nwachukwu whose song, “Ekwueme” is a popular Gospel hit.

Allegations that her death was domestic violence-related made it the more saddening.  Perhaps a rather shocking one was that of Sammie Okposo. Fans were still reacting to his post on social media when they heard of his demise.

As the year was rounding off, Demola Seriki, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain died in Madrid. It is believed that his death may affect part of the political equation in Lagos, his home state ahead of the 2023 polls.  

Perhaps 2022 was not shege all the way; at least new vocabularies were added to Nigeria’s Political Dictionary with “O Lulẹ, Eleyi and Emi Lo Kan” gaining prominent usage. The term “Obedient” was also coined in the year.

Like his predecessors, Derin Ologbenla, Abewe Ila and Adelekan Olubuse I who made history for different reasons, the current Ọọni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ọjaja II proved his mettle as an epitome of grandeur. While many men have adduced “Buharinomics” and the economic situation of Nigeria to their refusal to get married, His Imperial Majesty the Ọọni married five new Oloris within a month!

Well, away from the gloom that characterized the year; Nigerians had things to cheer about. Tobi Amusan broke the 100m Hurdles Commonwealth Games and World Records in 2022. She ended the year as Africa’s Best Female Athlete, courtesy of the Confederation of African Athletics.

Some are however afraid that the real shege may be ahead, since the Federal Government has announced that fuel subsidies will end in June 2023. Nigerians will therefore need to brace up for a hike in the price of petrol. Be that as it may, personally, I see 2023 as a year of “Open Doors” that will herald new opportunities.

Shege or no shege, Nigeria will have a new President come May 29, 2023, and a maybe not entirely new set of people will run the affairs of the country.

While those who can ja pa are gleefully doing so, those who cannot are preparing for whatever is to come. One can only hope and pray that this time next year, we will not look back and say we thought we saw shege in 2022, not knowing that 2023 would be tougher.”

 

Adejumo sent this piece from Ibadan