Nigerians went into the year 2020 with wonderful prayers which were mostly said at religious houses on the 31st of December 2019.

While many prayed and hoped for long life, prosperity and good health in 2020, no one expected that the year will be full of drama.

Some of the drama made huge news headlines due to the effect they had on the life of almost all Nigerians.

WuzupNigeria takes a look at the news which came as a shock to Nigerians in the year 2020 which is almost over.

1.) Italian man arrives in Nigeria with COVID-19

The first case of COVID-19 confirmed in Nigeria was an Italian man who had flown into the country on February 25, 2020.

The news was really shocking to Nigerians who had been hearing of the deadly effect of the virus in China where it originated.

Nigerians who were already aware of how fast the virus spreads were afraid that it would be uncontrollable due to poor facilities in the country. Their fear increased on a daily basis as the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, kept on announcing new cases.

The country was kept under lockdown for weeks to prevent the spread of the virus and different guidelines were issued by the NCDC.

Ten months down the line, Nigerians who were gripped with fear are now living life like it’s Uhuru already. In a couple of weeks, they will be getting set to say prayers for the year 2021.

2.) Abba Kyari dies

Just weeks after the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Nigeria, news started popping out of high profile Nigerians infected with the virus.

One of those is Abba Kyari, the then Chief of Staff to the President, Major General Buhari (retd.), who died of COVID-19 complications on April 17, 2020.

While many mourned his death, some quarters were apparently glad because they saw him as one of those behind the unfavourable state of the country.

This forced a bitter reaction from his daughter, Aisha, who slammed all those expressing delights at the news of his death.

She wrote on social media: “My Daddy, Abba Kyari is gone! Evil one still won’t shut up. You all claimed he was the root of your problems when he was alive, now he is gone, surely all your problems died with him. Allow us that love him mourn him and grieve in peace”.

Kyari’s death was a major trending search on Google as confirmed by Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, the tech company’s Communication Officer, West Africa.

3.) Rape in religious houses

While many Nigerians stayed indoors during the coronavirus lockdown period, some were busy carrying out evil deeds.

Uwaila Omozuwa, a 100 level student of the University of Benin, UNIBEN, was found dead inside a church in Edo State.

The 22-year-old who had gone to the church to read her books was raped and left in the pool of her own blood after she was bashed in the head.

While Nigerians were still in shock at the news, Grace Oshiagwu, a National Diploma I student of Oke Ogun Polytechnic, was found dead. Grace was also raped and murdered inside a church.

This led to an outrage on social media which spilt into protests on the street demanding tougher punishment for rapists.

4.) Kano Mysterious Deaths

Back in April, the news of mysterious deaths in Kano State heightened the fear people had of COVID-19. About 1000 people were reported to have died of a strange illness in the state.

Many Nigerians immediately remembered the words of Melinda Gates, the wife of Microsoft owner Bill Gates, concerning Africa and COVID-19.

Gates had said, “So, look at Ecuador. Look at what’s going on in Ecuador. They’re putting bodies out on the street. You’re going to see that in countries in Africa.”

However, the governor of Kano, Abdullahi Ganduje, allayed fears when he revealed that the autopsy on the dead bodies has so far shown no correlation with COVID-19.

5.) EndSARS protests

The protests tagged EndSARS started off as a campaign against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, a unit in the Nigeria Police Force.

The youths in the country demanded an end to the unit which they accused of brutality against citizens in the name of searching for internet fraudsters aka Yahoo Boys.

The Lekki toll gate in Lagos was the epicentre of the protest which gained global attention with US President-elect Joe Biden lending support.

Their demands were met by the government which immediately disbanded SARS and ordered the setting up of judicial panels to hear cases of police brutality from victims.

However, the protesters tabled fresh demands which include an end to bad governance and a review of the salary of lawmakers in the country.

The lingering protests were later hijacked by hoodlums who looted and burnt down public and private properties and even freed prisoners from a correctional facility in Edo State.

This forced the government to deploy soldiers of the Nigerian Army to the Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020.

The outcome of the decision by the Nigerian government is still being heavily debated after it was alleged that there was a massacre on the night.

The talk of a massacre was rubbished by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who said that the Lekki toll gate incident was a massacre without bodies.

Well, with 2021 almost here, the best Nigerians can pray for is a year free of the problems which they encountered in 2020.

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