People, Places, Things and Events That Shaped 2017

The year 2017 was quite a very interesting one filled with many memorable moments. In this special feature, we are throwing a spotlight on some of the people, places, things and events that makes the year an exciting one.

Akinwunmi Ambode

The hard working governor of Lagos State is definitely the most popular governor in Nigeria today based on the many infrastructural projects the governor is embarking on across the length and breadth of the state  and the speed at which he is striving to transform Lagos.

Wizkid

Wizkid achieved international recognition following his collaboration with Drake on the global hit, ‘One Dance’, which reached number one in 15 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. In addition to his solo work, Wizkid has collaborated with several other artists like Chris Brown, Rihanna, The Weeknd,  Future, Jidenna, etc and has featured on many hit songs.

Wizkid was nominated in seven categories at the 2017 Billboard awards but won in three, “Top Hot 100 song”, “Top R&B song” and “Top R&B Collaboration” being the only Nigerian to win such. He also won 3 awards at the AFRIMA, “Artiste of the Year”, “Song of the Year” and “Best Male artiste in Western Africa”. He also won “Best International Act” at the MOBO.

Earlier this year, Wizkid became the first Afrobeat artist to appear in the 2018 Guinness World Records for his contribution to Drake’s hit song “One Dance’’.

Davido

 Davido made the headlines when his hit song, IF was remixed by the R&B legend, R. Kelly. He has since had successful collaborations with the likes of Young Thug, Rae Sremmurd, Wale, UK pop sensation Jay Sean and a collabo is in the offing with rap star, Drake. Davido won the “Best African Act” and “Best Worldwide Act – Africa” at the 2017 MTV EMA. He also won the “Best African Act” at the MOBO, in the UK.

Davido had his 2017 tour the, 30 Billion World Tour which was the most successful tour by an African artiste.

Buhari’s Health

President Buhari’s health issue made the headlines having traveled to the UK for treatments on two occasions. He was alleged to have been poisoned. On his last medical trip, he spent close to 3 months in the UK where he was been attended to before returning to the country. But the president is now fit as a fiddle and has been attending to state issues.

Evans the kidnapper

One of the biggest news in Nigeria in 2017 is the arrest of the billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans.

More than 20 security operatives stormed the Fred Shoboyejo home of vicious kidnapper and robber, Evans, less than a month after the police announced a N30 million bounty in return for information leading to his arrest.

For at least seven years, Evans has co-ordinated bank robberies across Oyo, Port Harcourt and Abia, as well as numerous high-profile kidnaps whose ransoms amount to hundreds of millions of naira.

Cardi B

Cardi B became the first female solo rapper to Top The Billboard 100 Chart Since 1998.

She officially dethroned Taylor Swift, as “Bodak Yellow” — Cardi’s pure cut swagger of a rap anthem — has took over the No. 1 spot, displacing Swift’s pop tantrum “Look What You Made Me Do” on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

This was a big deal for Cardi B, having gone from the most entertaining breakout star of the VH1 reality show Love & Hip Hop to chart-topping rapper in under two years. For another, she’s now the first solo female rapper to reach this height since Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” debuted at No. 1 in 1998, or almost 20 years ago.

Donald Trump

Billionaire business man, Donald Trump became the 45th American president in an election that has been plagued with many controversies especially the Russian interference. Donald Trump won over favourtite candidate, Hillary Clinton whom the polls had favoured to win the election, though she won the popular votes but Donald trump won the electoral college votes to become the president.

Since his assumption as the president, it’s been one controversy or the other, the biggest of which was the Travel Ban issued on some countries and immigrants. He’s also been touted as the ‘Twitter President’ because a day won’t pass without him posting on Twitter.

Ikorodu/Badoo

The deadly cult group threw Ikorodu town into pandemonium. Kidnapping and killing several innocent souls and families. There excesses were later curtailed by the security agents who brought back peace to the ancient town.

The Wedding Party 1 & 2

To think that a Nigerian movie will gross over N400 million at the cinemas in less than 3 months will be a mirage or an unachievable dream. But a production of media amazon, Mo Abudu, The Wedding Party made this much at the box office to emerge the highest grossing movie in Nigeria. The success of the movie led to its sequel, The Wedding Party 2 which was partly shot in Dubai. The sequel made over N70 million in its opening weekend at the cinemas.

TsTV

Nigerians were excited when a new cable tv, TsTV announced that it will be providing a Pay As You View subscription package unlike the monthly subscriptions that is currently offered by the existing competitors. But there was so much complains by the people when they couldn’t get the decoders on the 1st of October that the station promised to launch its services.

The Missile Man

North Korean put the whole world especially America on the edge with the series of nuclear missile tests conducted by the country. The climax of which was the threat by the North Korean president, Kim Jung Un  of having a missile with a war head that can reach the United States’ city of Guam a U.S. territory in the Pacific, and remains an immediate threat to South Korea and other U.S. allies in the region, which North Korea could reach with conventional weapons and shorter-range missiles.

There have been various exchanges of threats between the North Korean president and US president Donald Trump who dubbed him The Missile Man.

Moji Olaiya

The entire Nigerian movie community popularly known as Nollywood was thrown into mourning when the death of star actress Moji Olaiya was announced. She died in a Canadian hospital in what was described to have been a complication from childbirth.

Big Shaq

Big Shaq's the man of the moment, or at the very least, man of the memes. His first single 'Mans Not Hot' has amassed over 3 million global streams, and his appearance on Fire in the Booth was a viral hit, spawning countless parodies and high profile fans.

The official music video for the original track currently has over 100 million views on YouTube.

He’s born Michael Dapaah and he is of Ghanaian descent.

Hugh Hefner

American founder of the international adult magazine Playboy, died at the age of 91. Playboy Enterprises Inc said he passed away peacefully at home in Los Angeles, from natural causes.

Hefner began publishing Playboy in his kitchen in 1953. It became the largest-selling men's magazine in the world, shifting seven million copies a month at its peak. It was also gathered that the ladies’ man was notorious for popping Viagra — a prescription medicine used in the treatment of erectile dysfunction and impotence in men. “Hefner ate Viagra like sweets in order to maintain his very active sex life,” The Independent has reported.

P-square Breakup

Nigerian Hip-hop twins, Peter and Paul Okoye of the popular stage name Psquare, that dominated the Nigerian music industry for many years, have finally split up. According to a letter sent to their lawyer Festus Keyamo (SAN) by Peter, he demanded for a termination of the agreement as a group.

Paul attributed the group's break up to the personal ambitions of his twin brother, Peter which conflicted with the group's interest. They have both moved on to release solo projects.

Prince Harry

Prince Harry, a grandson of Queen Elizabeth II who is fifth in line to the throne, is engaged to Meghan Markle, his American girlfriend in November and the two have been billed to wed Saturday 19th May, 2018 according to Buckingham Palace announcement. The Royal Family will pay for the wedding, including the service, music, flowers and reception.

DJ Olu and Tagbo’s death 

Pop star Davido lost some of his friends in what many described as mysterious and which caused a whole lot of social media frenzy.

Umeike Tagbo, died on his birthday at a bar in the Lekki area of Lagos after allegedly taking several shots of Tequila. While the police awaited autopsy report to ascertain the cause of death, Tagbo’s girlfriend, Caroline Danjuma, discarded insinuations that he died of drunkenness.

She also alleged that Davido ran away after dumping his corpse at a general hospital on Lagos Island.

However, the musician denied the allegation. And CCTV footage from the bar that was released by the artiste exonerated him of this accusation.

Three days after, the bodies of another two of the artiste’s friends Olugbenga Abiodun aka DJ Olu (former Davido’s DJ) and Chime Amaechi were found in a BMW car in a garage on Block B, Banana Island, Lagos. It was alleged that the two died of drug overdose, an allegation the parents of the two deceased denied.

Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB

The agitation for Biafra reached the height in 2017 with the release of the IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu who was earlier detained by the Federal government. The group leader was releasing many threats against the federal government which led to the government sending the military to the East in what was called Operation Python Dance. Nnamdi Kanu house was invaded in this operation and the IPOB leader fled to an unknown destination. Nothing has been heard from him since he fled the country.

Debo Adedayo

Debo Adedayo, a final year student of Redeemer’s University was expelled for his post on social media about the institution which didn’t go down well with the school authority. 

He explained that contrary to the reason given for his expulsion, he has never ridiculed Redeemer’s University in any way; either in his actions or posts on social media.

According to the expulsion letter, Adedayo was accused of “posting certain messages on some social media platforms which are offensive and portrayed the Redeemer’s University and some of its officials in a bad light.”

“The above is unbecoming of a product of the University where degrees are awarded based on character and learning. By the rules and regulations guiding students conduct in Redeemer’s University, the act constitutes serious misconduct which is punishable by expulsion,” the letter stated.

Emmanuel Macron

Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron decisively won the French presidential election, defeating far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.

Mr. Macron won by 66.06% to 33.94% to become, at 39, the country's youngest president.

Mr. Macron's win ends the decades-long dominance of the two traditional main left-wing and right-wing parties.

He said that a new page was being turned in French history.

"I want it to be a page of hope and renewed trust," he said.

Mr. Macron said he had heard "the rage, anxiety and doubt that a lot of you have expressed" and vowed to spend his five years in office "fighting the forces of division that undermine France".

Glo Lafftafest

Telecom giant, Globacom’s had a blockbuster comedy show, Glo Laffta Fest which was held across the country.

Fans who attended the shows were treated to rib-cracking performances by heavyweights in the comedy industry such as Basketmouth, Salvador from Uganda, Bovi Ugboma, I Go Dye and Acapella. Others who have also thrilled at the shows are Dan D’Humorous, Seyi Law, De Don, Bash, Senator, Still Ringing, Kenny Blaq among many others.

Glo Mega Music Tour

The Glo Mega Music Nationwide Tour packaged by national telecommunications company, Globacom, was held in 26 different cities across the country including Suleja, Makurdi, Lokoja, Ayingba, Port Harcourt and Ibadan (twice). Others are Akure, Abeokuta and Ijebu Ode. Others are Aba, Calabar, Asaba, Benin, Victoria Island, Ajah, Ikeja, Benin, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Ekpoma, Enugu, Kubwa and Abuja.

The show paraded some of the finest artistes in Nigeria such as 2face Idibia, Timaya, Flavour, Yemi Alade, Reekado Banks, Kiss Daniel among others.

Seun Egbegbe

Controversial socialite, Seun Egbegbe was caught in an iPhone theft at the popular Computer Village. After he was granted bail for this phone theft, few months after he was again arrested for allegedly defrauding some Bureau De Change operatives of over N40 million. He has since been remanded in prison.

Guinness Henry Thierry

Guinness Nigeria Plc has unveiled Arsenal and France legend Thierry Henry as the ambassador for their ‘Made of Black’ campaign. Henry, popularly referred to as ‘Igwe’ by Arsenal fans, was also ceremonially dressed as an Igbo chief at the unveiling event.

Speaking at the event, Henry Thierry revealed, “I am happy to be here, first time in Nigeria,” he began. “I played with Victor Ikpeba, I played with Nwankwo Kanu, they kept telling me you have to go (to Nigeria), they love the game there. I knew that for a fact because I grew up watching the Super Eagles back in 1994. Before that a lot of Nigerians played in France, (Samson) Siasia, (Stephen) Keshi, may he rest in peace. All those guys played in France and that was the first time I knew about Nigeria and they did so well. And the Super Eagles backed it up at the 1994 World Cup, and what a team Nigeria had then. I am very happy to be here and I had already had fufu so I am ready.”

Floyd Mayweather

Floyd Mayweather retired in style and reached the historic landmark of 50 fights undefeated with a convincing 10th-round technical knockout victory against Conor McGregor. In a fascinating duel, the MMA star proved a more-than-game opponent in the early rounds of what had been described as a farce and freak show when it was announced in mid-June.

With the triumph and his legacy intact, 'Money' Mayweather becomes the first boxer to finish his career at 50-0, eclipsing the record he had previously shared with the legendary heavyweight of the 1940s and 50s, Rocky Marciano.

The contest, fuelled by hype and drawing so much interest that it is likely to break all pay-per-view records and gross upwards of $600 million, proved to be a compelling contest in the end. It was once again mastered by Mayweather, who, as he worked out McGregor's unusual movement, decided to throw so few punches for the first three rounds that the Irishman took them cleanly.

KWAM 1

KWAM 1 loses his daughter, Wasilat to diabetes.

Wasilat died in Canada after a brief illness.

 The deceased, said to be 34 years old, reportedly died from complications arising from diabetes.

In an Instagram post, Kwam 1 extolled the virtues of his late daughter while saying he accepts her death as the will of Allah.

Coke Studio Africa

Coke Studio Africa and Coke Studio South Africa have merged for 2017, into one. The merger increases the number of participating countries to 16, up from 11 in previous edition. The production now includes artists from South Africa, Rwanda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Togo, Madagascar, Mauritius, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique, DRC, Ethiopia, Cameroon. The last edition featured Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique, DRC, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Cote d’ Ivoire, & Togo whilst South Africa had its own production.

Some of the renowned names in the 2017 season include Khaligraph Jones & Band Becca from Kenya, Rayvanny, Izzo Bizness, Nandy from Tanzania, Sami Dan from Ethiopia, Bebe Cool, Eddy Kenzo and Sheebah, Ykee Benda representing Uganda, Nasty C, Busiswa, Mashayabhuqe from South Africa, Youssoupha from Democratic Republic of Congo, Runtown and Yemi from Nigeria.

Adding to the list are Dji Tafinha from Angola, Laura Beg from Mauritius, Jah Prayzah and Slapdee from Central Africa Republic, Bisa Kdei and Worlasi from Ghana, Betty G from Ethiopia, Bruce Melodie, Shellsy Baronet & Mr. Bow from Mozambique, Denise from Madagascar and Ozane from Togo, Freeda from Namibia. 

Key names in production are reputable producers such as Yuvir Pillay Nivedan a.k.a Sketchy Bongo from South Africa, Kiff No beat from Ivory Coast, Nahreel from Tanzania amongst others.

Big Brother Naija

Around the globe, the Big Brother format remains one of the most popular genres of entertainment and this is also the case in Nigeria.

The 2nd edition of the reality TV show generated so much buzz on social media amongst Nigerians when it was announced that it will be produced in South Africa and not Nigeria. After close to 3 months of 12 housemates living in the Big Brother House, housemate, Efe Michael Ejeba secured 57.61 per cent of votes to emerge winner of the 2017 Big Brother Naija 'See Goobe' reality TV show.

Airtel The Voice

The drama and intrigue that marked the beginning of the 'Battle Rounds' on Airtel The Voice Nigeria Season 2 has kept social media users busy since Sunday 30th July, 2017 night and after weeks of battling with other 48 contestants, Team Timi Dakolo’s Idyl (Daniel Diongoli) emerged the winner of the second season of The Voice Nigeria music reality show. The show was sponsored by Airtel and Coca-Cola.

C. Ronaldo/Ballon d’Or

Real Madrid forward, Cristiano Ronaldo won the 2017 Ballon d’Or prize.

The 32-year-old was named the winner of France Football’s prestigious award at a ceremony in Paris.

Ronaldo had previously won the award in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016.

In achieving this feat, the Portugal captain now draws level with Lionel Messi on five awards.

Ronaldo was favourite to win this year, after a remarkable year with the La Liga and European champions.

The Ballon d’Or, considered by many as the ultimate prize for an individual, is awarded to the best player in Europe.

Spain and Catalonia

The Catalan independence referendum of 2017, also known by the numeronym 1-O (for "1 October") in Spanish and Catalan media, was an independence referendum held on 1 October 2017 in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, passed by the Parliament of Catalonia and called by the Generalitat de Catalunya. It was declared illegal on 7 September 2017 and suspended by the Constitutional Court of Spain after a request from the Spanish government, who declared it a breach of the Spanish Constitution of 1978. Additionally, in early September the High Court of Justice of Catalonia had issued orders to the police to try to prevent it, including the detention of various persons responsible for its preparation. Due to the many irregularities in the administration of the vote (with people being able to vote more than once in some places despite organizers' claims to the contrary and on whether there was any control about it) as well as to the use of force by the National Police and Civil Guard, international observers invited by the Generalitat declared that the referendum failed to meet the minimum international standards for elections.

Anthony Joshua

In October 2017, AJ retained the WBA (Super), IBF and IBO Heavyweight titles when he recorded his 20-0 knockout as he defeated Carlos Takamwho was ranked number 3 by the IBF. In round 10, Joshua landed a clean right uppercut, followed by a barrage of punches. Referee Edwards, seeing this, stepped in between, halting the fight. CompuBox stats showed that Joshua landed 152 of 454 punches thrown (34%) and Takam was less busy connecting 52 of his 222 thrown (23%). The boxing bout was shown live to Nigerians via Kwesse Cable TV Channel platform.

Rochas Okorocha and Statues

Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha sparked up nationwide row for allegedly erecting statues of African personalities with state funds while they claimed he hasn’t done enough to better the lives of people of Imo State. The condemnation came after he unveiled the statue of the South African president, Jacob Zuma who is facing corruption charges in his country.

Heineken LFDW 

Heineken Lagos Fashion and Design Week  galvanized the entire African continent to be the global locus for creativity and commerce from Lagos, Nigeria as it returns for its 7th edition with Heineken as the headline sponsor on the 25th – 28th October 2017.

Connecting with over 20 million Pan-African insiders, the event had Runway Shows, Fashion Business Series, Fashion Focus Talks, and the #HLFDW After Party. This year’s events will feature an exciting four-day lineup. Themed “Africa: Shaping Fashion’s Future”. There was also an African inspired Heineken hospitality collection created by East African designers – Lulu Mutuli and Azra Walji – a demonstration of Heineken’s appreciation of African designs, made possible through collaborative work between the Global Heineken, East African and Nigerian teams”.

Nigeria and World Cup

The Super Eagles qualified for the FIFA 2018 World Cup in Russia as they beat Zambia 1-0 at the Akwa Ibom International Stadium in Uyo on Saturday. A 73rd minute goal from Alex Iwobi ensured that the Super Eagles would be at their record sixth appearance at the World.

Nathaniel Bassey

It is perhaps an unlikely setting for a praise and worship session. But every day at midnight, thousands of worshippers around the world have logged on to Instagram to lift their voices in praise and prayer, united by one hashtag: #HalleluyahChallenge.

More than 60,000 people have joined in the Instagram praise and worship in an hour long midnight gathering, which is the brainchild of Nigerian gospel singer Nathaniel Bassey.

It all started with a simple post on his Instagram page on the 31st of May, where Bassey signaled his intention to start a 30-day midnight praise challenge throughout the month of June.

Even Nigeria's expensive internet data costs have seemingly not deterred eager worshipers who have flocked to the livestream on his Instagram and Facebook pages.

At its peak on Monday, CNN observed that around 68,000 people joined the Instagram livestream, while over 50,000 joined the Facebook livestream.

London Fire

In what was described to be the worst fire incident in recent times in the UK, close to 70 people lost their lives in the terrifying blaze at the 24-storey Grenfell Towers. Horrified witnesses told how they saw some families throwing children out of windows in an effort to save their lives from the inferno.

Dammy Krane 

Nigerian pop singer Dammy Krane was arrested in Miami, U.S. on allegations of Grand Theft, Credit Card Fraud and Identity Theft. The allegation was made on the arrest affidavit filed by two Miami-Dade detectives.

The singer and his accomplice, Ilochukwu Gabriel, were on Thursday, June 1, arrested in Miami-Dade, Florida.

He was later released from jail after fulfilling his bail conditions.

 

Las Vegas Shooting

On the night of Sunday, October 1, 2017, a gunman opened fire on a crowd of concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, leaving 58 people dead and 546 injured. Between 10:05 and 10:15 p.m. PDT, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock of Mesquite, Nevada, fired more than 1,100 rounds from his suite on the 32nd floor of the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel. About an hour after Paddock fired his last shot into the crowd of 22,000, he was found dead in his room from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His motive is unknown.

The incident is the deadliest mass shooting committed by an individual in the United States. The shooting reignited the debate about gun laws in the U.S., with attention focused on bump fire stocks, which Paddock used to allow his semi-automatic rifles to fire at a rate similar to that of a fully automatic weapon.

Daddy Freeze and Tithing

Popular Nigerian OAP, Daddy Freeze sparked up a social media arguments where he advised Christians to stop paying Tithes to churches.  Daddy Freeze identified tithing as a modern-day scam.  There were so many arguments for and against Tithing on social media and it became one of the biggest religious issue on social media in Nigeria.

Kiss Daniel and G-Worldwide

Popular pop star, Kiss Daniel walked out of his contract with his record label, G-Worldwide, an act which led to accusations and counter-accusations especially regarding the finances. However, the record label has headed to the court to get an injunction against him for further usage of his name. The artiste has since floated his own label, Fly Boi INC.

Nickfest

For the first time ever, Nickelodeon’s world famous, Nickfest was held in Nigeria!

The family-fun festival was held for 2 days at The Balmoral Convention Centre, Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos between November 18 & 19, 2017.

The show was hosted by radio and TV personality, IKponmwosa Osakioduwa and child-comedian, Emmanuella of Mark Angel Comedy.

Some of Nickelodeon’s superstars including SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora and Friends, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Chase, Marshall, Rubble & Skye from Paw Patrol, Shimmer & Shine and a number of a-list artistes treated parents and children to an experience of a lifetime.

Robert Mugabe

Zimbabwe's former president Robert Mugabe was ousted by a dramatic "military coup" that forced his resignation.

Robert Mugabe  bowed to pressure and stood down as president of Zimbabwe , ending his 37-year rule that began with the optimism of independence but took the country to the brink of economic collapse.

His resignation came as parliament was starting impeachment proceedings against him — six days after the military took over the country and placed the 93-year-old head of state under house arrest.

Within minutes of the announcement by the speaker of parliament that Mr Mugabe had finally quit, horns started blaring as Zimbabweans poured into the streets to celebrate the demise of the man who has ruled them since independence in 1980.

The Weinstein effect

The Weinstein effect is a global trend in which people come forward to accuse famous or powerful people of sexual misconduct. The term came into use to describe a worldwide wave of these allegations that began in the United States in October 2017, when media outlets reported on numerous sexual abuse allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein. Described as a "tipping point" or "watershed moment", the Weinstein allegations precipitated a "national reckoning" against sexual harassment. USA Today wrote that 2017 was the year in which "sexual harassment became a fireable offense".

Preceded by other sexual harassment cases earlier in the year, the reports on the Weinstein allegations and subsequent #MeToo campaign, which encouraged people to share their suppressed experiences of sexual misconduct, triggered a cascade of allegations across multiple industries that brought about the swift removal of many men in positions of power in the United States, while tarnishing and ending political careers of additional men, as it spread around the world. In the entertainment industry, allegations led to the dismissal of actors and directors alike.

Banky W’s wedding

Aptly the biggest celebrity wedding in Nigeria in 2017, Banky W’s wedding to Nollywood actress Adesua Etomi gave the social media community more than enough things to talk about for weeks with Ebuka Uchendu’s AGBADA topping the list and trending for days.

The star-studded traditional wedding held in Lagos was witnessed by close friends, associates and celebrities including, Bovi, Basket Mouth, Kemi Adetiba, Tunde Demuren, Chigul, Lynxx, Juliet Ibrahim, M.I Abaga,Dotun Kayode, Toolz, Tolu Oniru, Linda Ejiofor, Sola Sobowale, among others.

Their white wedding was later held in Cape Town in South Africa.

The nuptial tie comes shortly after Banky W successfully had a third surgery for skin cancer.

Their engagement which was initially perceived as a publicity stunt was officially announced by Banky W in February.

Both celebrities featured as newlyweds in a Nollywood blockbuster titled “The Wedding Party” and displayed an undeniable chemistry just like Brad Pit and Angelina Jolie did in “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”.

Libya Slavery

Last year, the world reacted in outrage to a CNN video showing black men being sold as slaves in Libya. Many of the migrants narrated the gruesome experiences they went through. There were many Nigerians who got caught up in this slavery issues. Nigerians from all works of life have since the CNN slavery report, joined the rest of the world in expressing their outrage for the Libyan slave trade, because from the clips many of the slaves appeared to be Nigerians.

Law School Student and Hijab

A Nigerian law school graduate was denied her call to the bar for refusing to take off her headscarf sparking off a nationwide debate.

Amasa Firdaus Abdulsalam was not permitted by the Body of Benchers to enter the International Conference Centre on December 12 where the call to bar is usually held.

The Lagos-based Nigerian Law School said that she was breaking the dress code set by the university, but Abdulsalam, who was already wearing her new gown, insisted on wearing the wig on top of her hijab.

The hijab is a headscarf worn by many Muslim women who feel it is part of their religion.

Innoson/ GT Bank/EFCC

It’s a dirty story of a business gone bad! The story of Innoson Motors CEO, Innocent Chukwuma and GT Bank threw the entire cyberspace into frenzy when the EFCC arrested Innoson boss based on a petition on customs papers forgery that GT Bank wrote to the anti-fraud organization. Innoson later revealed that GT Bank over imposed excess and unlawful charges in its Current account based on a loan he secured from the bank which is currently under litigation.

Terrorist Attacks

There were spates of terrorist attacks across Europe.

Pop star Ariana Grande’s concert at the Manchester Arena, UK was disrupted by a suicide bomber who killed 22 people at the concert ground, and left 59 injured. The attack was described to be the worst terror attack to hit Britain since the July 2005 suicide bomb attacks in central London in which 52 people were killed and came four years to the day Lee Rigby was murdered by Islamist extremists.

 13 people were killed and 80 wounded when a van tore through a crowd of people in Las Ramblas, Barcelona.

Malaysian School Fire 

Twenty-five people, most of them students, were killed when a fire tore through a religious school in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur in what officials said was one of the country’s worst fire disasters for years. 

The blaze broke out before dawn in the two-storey building, Tahfiz Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah, located in the centre of the capital Kuala Lumpur.

Firefighters rushed to the scene and the blaze was out within an hour but not before it wreaked terrible devastation -- pictures in local media showed ash-covered, fire-blackened beds.  

President Buhari’s Son Bike Accident

The sad news of the involvement of Yusuf Buhari, the first son of President Muhammadu Buhari in a power-bike accident in Gwanripa area of Abuja made the headlines in December especially when it was reported that he has been flown to Germany by air ambulance for treatment which was in the contrary. Yusuf suffered a broken limb and sustained head injuries that necessitated surgery to remove blood from his brain has been under intensive care at Cedarcrest Hospital in Abuja.

iPhone 10^th Anniversary

Popular phone maker, Apple celebrated her 10^th Anniversary with the launch of a $1,000 phone, the iPhone X. With a brand new design that includes an OLED edge-to-edge screen, and new AR emojis you can control with your face inside iMessage. It’s the biggest change to the iPhone Apple has made in years. Apple's $1,000 smartphone comes with FaceID, edge-to-edge display, and NO home button (as the firm reveals it's pronounced iPhone'10'). The device - called 'the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone' - boasts more advanced features than the other iPhones. 

Etisalat /9mobile

Abu Dhabi based Etisalat pulled her operations out of Nigeria after its $1.7 billion loan talks collapsed and gave Etisalat Nigeria three weeks to phase out the brand in the country which led to the Nigerian arm of the country to take up the name, 9mobile. All the UAE shareholders of Etisalat Nigeria, including state-owned investment fund Mubadala, exited the company and left the board and management. Etisalat Nigeria took out the loan with 13 local lenders in 2013 to refinance an existing loan and fund expansion but struggled to repay four years later.

Usain Bolt

Usain Bolt,  the greatest sprinter in modern times, said he was "saying goodbye to everything" and "almost cried" as his successful career came to a close at the World Championships in London. Eight-time Olympic gold medallist Bolt, 30, retired from athletics having illuminated the sport like few others. Its been a career which captured the attention and admiration of the world. But some sport critics reckon the Jamaican superstar could yet return to competition after his retirement.