2023, what a year! For billions of people across the world, the year 2023 was a mixed bag of emotions. From economic downturns, to wars, natural disasters, civil unrests and food crises, the world was in dire need of a hard reset and a break. Africa particularly had its own fair share of challenges with six successful coups and two attempted coups across West Africa since 2020; insecurity, growing terrorism and food shortages, the continent desperately needed a new beginning.
2023 in Retrospect
In Nigeria, the situation has not been that much different as we have had our own fair share of problems, challenges, wins, opportunities and everything in between. From the optimism and rollercoaster of the 2023 general elections to the perennial fuel crisis and subsidy removal, crashing of the Naira against the Dollar, constant economic downturn, eventual closure of many international companies and conglomerates, and the dwindling faith of many Nigerians in the political and judicial systems. This is asides the now uncountable activities of daredevil bandits and terrorists who sacked whole communities, destroying, maiming and killing everything in sight and making Nigeria the epicenter of blood bath and mass killings. The recent gruesome murder of more than 150 innocent lives in Plateau state on Christmas eve made the holiday season bleak and hard to celebrate. Last but not the least is the wanton corruption and impunity of the political class and public officials which keeps robbing us of our collective wealth and impoverishing the present and generations yet unborn.
How much more can Nigeria and Nigerians really take and how long before the carpet is finally yanked off our feets? Some might argue that has already happened ages ago and have thus given up hope that Nigeria can be salvaged by “japa’ing”. Given a recent blog post by the LSE which noted that 70% of Nigerians reported an interest in leaving the country in 2021 compared to the 35% average in 2019, one can only imagine what the statistics are, for 2022 and 2023.
Something to Celebrate
However, we still have some things to celebrate – frankly, it was a struggle initially to find high points to celebrate in 2023 and it took a lot of digging but once I started taking stock, many examples came up. So here we go: Nigeria remains a democratic state. The 2023 general elections, not without challenges, resulted in another transition to civilian government. Also, the unification of the forex rate, infrastructural developments in Ebonyi and Lagos states, and the active strides by the Minister of Interior to digitize passport applications and the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy to make government work for the people and revolutionize the digital economy are commendable. The track laying from Port Harcourt to Aba on the Nigeria Eastern Railway has been completed by CCECC. The track, which stretches over 2044.1 kilometers, connects the second largest port, Harcourt Port, with the northern city of Maiduguri, passing through 12 states and numerous major cities in the eastern region. It is a vital component of the railway network and will greatly improve connectivity between local railways, ports, and cities. The project will contribute to Nigeria’s economic and social development upon its completion.
Ultimately, Nigerians themselves are the real heroes in 2023 – from Future Africa’s first close of its $50m venture capital by the end of 2023, to the arts, music and entertainment industry where Burna Boy and Tems won the much coveted Grammy Awards and Tiwa Savage’s sterling performance at the coronation of King Charles III becoming the first Nigerian artist to perform at a British royal event. Also, The Black Book, a Nollywood revenge thriller from first-time director Editi Effiong became the first-ever Nigerian film to soar to No. 3 on Netflix’s worldwide film charts showing the power of African storytelling and Funke Akindele’s film ‘A Tribe Called Judah’ topped N1 billion in ticket sales, becoming the highest-grossing Nollywood film. Still in 2023, a Nigerian-American woman named Dehlia Umunna set an outstanding record as the first Nigerian to be promoted to the rank of a Law professor at Harvard University while Hilda Baci clinched the Guinness World Record for marathon cooking with 93 hours 11 minutes in May 2023. The list of Nigerians blazing the trail in the arts, culture and fashion all over the world remains remarkable. In the political landscape, we witnessed the emergence of more young people in the political space. We almost had a female governor in Adamawa state and Kogi state’s Natasha Akpoti became the female Senator for the first time since 1999.
An Ode to Nigerian Resilience
On the brighter, lighter note, we are a very resilient people. Regardless of how many times the average Nigerian is pushed down, they always find a way to come up again. No wonder the trending slogan “No gree for anybody” has gained momentum. It is a testament to our doggedness, resilience and ‘can do spirit’ to overcome adversity, no matter what. Despite everything that tries to break our spirit, we go deep in the ground and germinate as seed; we sprout and bloom. Much more than a phrase; ‘no gree for anybody’ represents a declaration of importance and a willingness to stand up for oneself and a tool to challenge misunderstood viewpoints demonstrating unwavering dedication to expressing one’s own perspective.
Nevertheless, we must continue to hold our leaders accountable. There should be no excuses whatsoever for those whom we have elected to serve us and we cannot excuse their non performance on the basis of ethnicity, religion or political affiliation. We must demand transparent, fair and democratic processes that ensure the best hands lead us with integrity and character.
Looking Forward to 2024
So this year, even though it must sometimes look like we are facing an existential crisis as a nation and as individuals given the complexity of our problems, we have another opportunity to ‘no gree for anybody’, get up and try again in our collective responsibility of nation building. We have to stand up for ourselves and challenge every narrative that tries to bring us down. To achieve this however, we must be ready as a people to put in the work. No one is coming to save us. We must continue to do all we can to hold our leaders accountable, shun ethnic and religious politics, and unite on all fronts against the common enemy chief among which are corruption and impunity. We must resolve to put aside – and/or acknowledge and embrace – all our differences but not allow them to divide us. There is unity in diversity afterall and it is our collective responsibility to amplify the issues that unite us.
Our diversity, numbers, and resilience must be cultivated to work for us in 2024 and beyond. Afterall, we are the largest black nation in the world. One out of every four Africans and one out of every five persons of African origin is a Nigerian. This population must count for something. We, Africa and the entire world cannot afford a Nigeria that does not work. Remember, life doesn’t allow us to go back and fix what we have done wrong in the past, but it does allow us to live each day better than our last. So, here’s to a new beginning, happy new year Nigerians, let’s make our year great and ‘no gree for anybody in 2024’!
