2022 was a rollercoaster for Nigeria – 4 important reads on what went down and the way to repair it

For Nigeria and Nigerians, the yr 2022 was a rollercoaster trip of types. As a yr previous the nation’s general elections in 2023, it was anticipated to carry a variety of political drama.

However there was much more moreover.

Along with the final state of insecurity, together with kidnappings for ransom and different crimes, the yr additionally introduced excessive inflation, protracted strike motion by college lecturers, a serious terror assault on a church, jailbreaks and the worst floods in a decade.

At The Dialog Africa, educational specialists checked out these points and provided insights and options. Listed here are 4 important reads on these developments.

Mom of all strikes

In February 2022, members of the Tutorial Workers Union of Nigerian Universities, an umbrella physique for Nigerian college academics, started what was described as an indefinite strike. It lasted about 9 months. Dele Ashiru, a lecturer on the College of Lagos and member of the nationwide government council of the lecturers’ union, explains that the basis of the disaster was underfunding of the general public schooling system and the failure of the federal government to implement an settlement it reached with the union in 2009.

Learn extra: 17 strikes in 23 years: a unionist explains why Nigeria’s university lecturers won’t back down

When terror hits the church

A June Sunday morning mass taking pictures and bomb assault on a Catholic church in Owo, south-west Nigeria, left 40 individuals lifeless, together with youngsters. Sadly, in the middle of the yr, such violence grew to become all too acquainted for Christians in Nigeria. Information collected by the Armed Battle Location and Occasion Venture confirmed that as at August 2022, there had been 34 assaults on church premises. Oluwole Ojewale, a regional coordinator on the Institute for Safety Research, says these incidents don’t occur in a vacuum. They’re pushed by jihadism, pastoral conflicts and associated criminality.

Learn extra: What’s behind terrorist attacks on churches in Nigeria

Jailbirds escape

Since 2015, there have been at the very least 14 jailbreaks in Nigeria. The most important was in 2021 when gunmen attacked Owerri correctional centre in Imo State and freed 1,844 inmates. However the 5 July 2022 assault on Kuje correctional facility by suspected Boko Haram terrorists, when 879 inmates escaped, was much more surprising as a result of it occurred within the nation’s capital metropolis, Abuja. Obafemi Awolowo College teachers Lanre Ikuteyijo and James Olabisi Ayodele describe jailbreaks as an indication of the necessity to reform the nation’s justice system.

Learn extra: Nigeria’s jailbreaks point to a prison system out of step with reality

The nice floods

Though floods are nothing new in Nigeria’s usually densely populated cities, the 2022 flooding was in a category of its personal – the worst in a decade. It killed over 600 individuals, displaced 1.4 million residents and destroyed 89,348 homes, whereas not sparing 70,566 hectares of farmlands and crops. Olasunkanmi Habeeb Okunola, visiting scientist on the International Change Institute on the College of the Witwatersrand and the Institute for Setting and Human Safety, unpacks how the capability of Nigerians to deal with and cut back flood dangers is decided by components comparable to housing, drainage, transport infrastructure, schooling and earnings.

Learn extra: Nigeria’s floods are the worst in a decade. Here’s how people try to cope with the devastation