This piece is, however, not a personal review or a “divinely” inspired prophecies.
Herein, I predict ten major developments that will happen in 2020. The predictions are based on the objective assessment of the current happenings in the political, economic, sport and entertainment sectors and the consequential effects that could result therewith in the coming year.
1. APC will lose Edo state
The next governorship in Edo state will take place in 2020. However, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state has been in turmoil since the beginning of 2019.
The state governor, Godwin Obaseki, is at war with his predecessor and national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole.
The crisis has divided the party into two factions. Some analysts have predicted that Obaseki may leave the party to seek his re-election in another party as a result of the crisis. However, current statements and body language of the Edo state governor do not suggest he is ready to leave the party for the pro-Oshiomhole faction.
Recently, Obaseki said he is the leader of the APC in Edo state and his predecessor, Oshiomhole, remained suspended from the party. He claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari has told him to deal with anyone engaging in anti-party activities in the state, including Oshiomhole.
Oshiomhole, too, is not ready to shift ground as he even recently rejected the customary Christmas gift Obaseki presented to him.
In the light of this, the Edo APC has a strong chance of experiencing what happened to the Rivers APC where the crisis between the factions led by Rotimi Amaechi and Senator Magnus Abe led to the disqualification of the party from the 2019 governorship election in the state.
The Supreme Court voided the primaries conducted by the Rivers APC and declared that the party had no candidates in the election, making the election a walkover for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
I predict a similar political tragedy befalling the Edo APC, going by the events currently unfolding in the party.
2. Oshiomhole will be sacked
The APC national chairman, as it stands, is not a fan of many of the progressive governors. He has not been sacked mainly because he still enjoys the support of the national executives and the state APC chairmen. If he fails to address the current Edo crisis and the party ends up losing the governorship election as I predicted, he will be eventually sacked as he will lose the support of many who are currently with him. Even at the moment, a former speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Kabiru Adjoto, has vowed to mobilise a massive protest to force Oshiomhole to resign.
3. Tribunal will sack Kogi governor and order re-election
Governor Yahaya Bello has been re-elected for the second term but there is a legal battle ahead for him. The PDP governorship candidate in the election, Musa Wada, is challenging the election. Likewise the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Natasha Akpoti.
The governorship poll was widely condemned by election monitoring bodies. The media reports also showed how the electoral process was marred with violence and other forms of malpractices. In light of the overwhelming evidence that the petitioners will very likely present, there is a strong chance that Governor Bello will be sacked from the tribunal to the Supreme Court and the election will be nullified.
He will, however, win the fresh election again.
4. There will be massive defections
In 2020, many disgruntled APC politicians who left the party in the buildup to the 2019 elections will return. Some core PDP members will join the APC as well.
At the moment, Biodun Akinlade who left the party to go and contest on the platform of the Allied People’s Movement in Ogun state has already returned. Uche Nwosu who left for the Action Alliance in Rivers has returned too. Many will return in 2020 though some of them will still leave the party when the 2023 political intrigues start fully.
5. Trump will not be removed by Senate
Though President Donald Trump has been impeached by the US House of Representatives, he will not be removed from office. I predict he will go on to be re-elected in November 2020 when the country will have its general elections.
In the history of presidential impeachments in the US, no president has ever been removed by the Senate due to the difficulty of securing a two-thirds majority. The only US president close to being removed by the Senate was Andrew Johnson in 1868.
While a clear majority voted to remove him, the tally fell short with just one vote to get the required two-thirds majority to finally get him removed.
In Trump’s case, the Republicans (Trump’s party) controls the Senate which makes it more difficult for the Democrats to get the required two-thirds majority to remove him, especially when one considers how all the Republican reps voted unanimously against the impeachment.
Trump will come out of the impeachment stronger and move on to win the 2020 presidential elections, I strongly predict.
6. Hate speech and social media bills will be passed
Despite the widespread condemnations from Nigerians, the controversial hate speech bill, sponsored by Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, representing Niger North, will be passed.
However, with the comments from many elder statesmen and international bodies, the death penalty clause may be removed.
Also, the social media bill, originally titled ‘Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulations Bill 2019’ and sponsored by Senator Mohammed Sani Musa (Niger East), will be passed, considering the body language of the presidency; the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, Festus Keyamo, labour minister (state), and some others have openly supported social media regulation.
The only respite is that some of the draconian provisions of the bill may be reviewed due to the outrage by Nigerians.
7. Border closure will be extended
In October, Nigeria decided to shut its land borders. The move, according to President Buhari, was to curb the smuggling of goods to the country particularly through the borders with the Benin Republic. He added that the move will protect local manufacturers and improve the economy.
The decision has been greeted with mixed reactions. While some applaud the move, some condemn it holding it responsible for the continued rise of inflation. The government itself admitted that the move will inflict some pains. It, however, argued that the gains from the decision outweigh the pains.
The Nigerian government has said the border will be reopened for legitimate trading when the Benin Republic agrees to stop the smuggling.
In November, President Buhari also approved the extension of border closure to January 31, 2020, to achieve more strategic objectives.
However, there are strong possibilities of the government still extending the border closure beyond January especially as the Nigerian Custom said the development has led to an increase in its revenue generation.
8. Burna Boy will win Grammy
In November 2019, Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy, was nominated for the GRAMMY Awards.
His album, African Giant, was nominated in the Best World Music Album category of the biggest music award in the world.
He is contesting the award with Angelique Kidjo, Altin Gün and others.
Considering his giant strides in 2019 and the wide acceptability of the African Giant album, I strongly predict Burna Boy will bring the award to Nigeria. The award ceremony will hold on 26 January 2020.
9. Anthony Joshua will retain his seat
Following his victory over Andy Ruiz, Anthony Joshua is very likely to face Oleksandr Usyk in a mandatory fight to retain his WBO belt in April/March 2020.
I predict Joshua beating Usyk to retain the belt.
While Joshua is the heavyweight champion with a 6’ 6” titan with a 47” chest, 9” biceps, 27” thighs, 17” calf muscles and a lethal 82”, Usyk is a just a cruiserweight champion who has not fought any heavyweight. How do you make your heavyweight debut fighting the champion of the category and expect to win?
10. Tottenham will sign Victor Osimhen
The in-form Nigerian international, Victor Osimhen, who currently plays for Ligue 1 club Lille has been attracting interest from the trio of premier league giants Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham.
Jose Mourhino who recently took the managerial position in Tottenham, I predict, will eventually sign Osimhen. One, he desperately needs to prove himself and ensure Tottenham at least finish the season as one of the top four. Two, Mourhino has a special interest in African players and has always ensured he has the best of them on his team; Didier Drogba, Mikel Obi, Michael Essien, to mention just a few.
