MANY events happened that attracted global attention in 2024.
From the Summer Olympics in Paris, France to the US elections, and the CAF awards, there are other takeaways from these events that will likely have a lasting impact on the world.
Donald Trump returns to White House
Former US President, Donald Trump, of the Republican Party defeated current vice President and Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, in the 2024 general election.
It came after US President,Joe Biden, dropped out of the race in July after a disastrous debate that confirmed the doubts many had that he was fit for another four years in office.
Keir Starmer emerges as UK prime minister
It is not only in the United States that voters sent the incumbent packing. In July, Keir Starmer of the Labour Party won in a landslide to become the UK’s 58th Prime Minister.
By his victory, he emerged as the first leader from the centre-left party to win a U.K. national election since Tony Blair, who won three times in a row starting in 1997.
He defeated Rishi Sunak of the Conservative Party in the election.
John Dramani Mahama emerged victorious in the Ghana election
In December, Ghana’s former president, John Dramani Mahama, of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) defeated the vice president and New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) candidate, Mahamudu Bawumia.
Mahama and Bawumia had faced each other in the presidential elections with Mahama coming out victorious.
The ICIR reported that the Ghana Election Commission announced that Mahama polled 6,328,297 votes to defeat Bawumia who garnered 4,657,304 votes.
Israel, Hezbollah agrees to cease-fire deal
After years of turmoil in the Middle East, Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a cease-fire deal in November. The U.S.backed ceasefire deal was to end 13 months of fighting.
The agreement, which would put a halt to the worst battle in Lebanon in decades, came into force on Wednesday, November 27.
Speaking on the deal in a statement the U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said it would require the full and unwavering commitment of both parties to succeed.
According to a senior Biden administration official who briefed reporters under the White House’s regulations regarding anonymity, “all fire from both sides would cease at 4 a.m. local time, or 9 p.m., while Israeli forces would remain in their positions and not leave right away.”
The news of the ceasefire agreement came as a big relief to the world as the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel escalated in October 2023, when Hezbollah launched a rocket campaign against Israel in support of Gaza.
Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, resigns amid abuse scandal
In November, Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, resigned as head of the global Anglican Church following allegations of covering up abuse by John Smyth, affecting 130 boys and young men in the UK and Africa.
Welby announced his resignation on Tuesday, November 12, stating he took personal and institutional responsibility for the Church’s handling of the abuse scandal.
This followed the release of an independent report, revealing shocking details of John Smyth’s decades-long abuse of over 100 minors at Christian camps in the UK, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.
Chidimma Adetshina withdraws from Miss SA pageant after xenophobic attack, wins Miss Universe
A 23-year-old Nigerian-South African beauty queen, Chidimma Vannesa Onwe Adetshina, withdrew from the Miss South Africa ( Miss SA) pageant after a series of xenophobic attacks.
Adetshina faced backlash after making it to the top 16 at the pageant.
In a statement on her Instagram page, the beauty queen appreciated all her supporters during her Miss South Africa journey.
Earlier on Wednesday, August 7, the South Africa Department of Home Affairs in a statement signed by spokesperson for Minister Duwayne Esau claimed that Adetshina’s mother illegally obtained South African citizenship.
According to the department, the investigation into Adetshina’s matter was due to a request received from the organisers of Miss SA.
Adetshina was born in Soweto to a Nigerian father and a South African mother.
She had been targeted by some South Africans who claimed she was not South African by birth.
According to the Miss SA organisation, to be eligible to contest for the pageant, the contestant must be a South African citizen and possess a valid ID or passport. If the contestant holds dual citizenship, documents relating to both must be made available.
A few months later, Adetshina won Miss Universe Nigeria – a different pageant. The crown came with a N10 million cash prize and a chance to represent Nigeria at the Miss Universe 2024 pageant in Mexico, where she placed first runner-up.
The US emerged winner at the 2024 Olympics
The 2024 Olympics, also known as the Paris 2024 Olympics, took place from July 26 to August 11, 2024, with the opening ceremony on July 26, 2024.
The games were a huge success, with Paris putting on an incredible show.
The Games saw a record-breaking number of athletes and countries participating, with 206 National Olympic Committees and the Refugee Olympic Team taking part.
As for the medal count, Team USA topped the podium with a total of 126 medals, consisting 40 gold, 44 silver, and 42 bronze medals.
However, Nigerian athletes performed poorly at the games. This led to the Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh, apologising to the nation over the poor performance of the nation’s athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Overall, the 2024 Paris Olympic Games was an unforgettable experience, with thrilling competitions, inspiring moments, and a lasting impact on the world of sports.
Nigerian, Libya debacle
Nigerians being lovers of soccer, it was a big surprise when news filtered in from Libya that the team had boycotted the return match between Nigeria and Libya in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
The ICIR reported it happened after the Super Eagles team defeated the Libyan Mediterranean Knights 1:0 at the Uyo Stadium on Friday, October 11, and hoped to be victorious again in the oil-rich North African nation the following Tuesday.
The team’s ordeal began on Sunday, October 13, when its flight was unexpectedly diverted to a different airport, away from Benghazi, where it was supposed to play a reverse match, causing the Super Eagles to be stranded for hours.
Images circulated by the team’s captain, Williams Troos-Ekong, showed players lying on airport benches, visibly fatigued, as they waited for the crisis to be resolved.
Moving from the Al Abraq Airport made the team travel by road for three hours before reaching Benghazi.
After several hours of endless waiting, the team returned to Nigeria without participating in the match.
The ICIR reported that CAF later awarded all three points to the Nigeria Super Eagles in the abandoned Africa Cup of Nations qualifier match against Libya.
The CAF Disciplinary Board also awarded three goals to Nigeria from the botched match.
CAF, therefore, ordered the Libyan Football Federation to pay a fine of USD 50,000.
According to the body, the fine was to be paid within 60 days of the decision.
The federal government of Nigeria through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs later declared that Nigerians living in Libya were safe.
The declaration followed reports that Nigerians in Libya were being attacked due to CAF’s decision.
Nigeria swept CAF awards as Lookman, Chiamaka, emerged African best footballer, goalkeeper of the year
At the tail end of 2024, Nigerians were thrown into jubilation as Super Eagles forward, Ademola Lookman, was crowned African Best Player, after his outstanding season with Atalanta in Italy’s Serie A, coupled with his impact on the Nigerian national team.
With this recognition, Lookman joined the ranks of iconic Nigerian players like Nwankwo Kanu, Victor Ikpeba, Rashidi Yekini, and Emmanuel Amuneke, who have won the prestigious award.
He has also joined Victor Osimhen and Asisat Oshoala, who named African Best Players in the male and female categories, respectively in 2023.
The announcement was made during the 2024 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards held in Marrakech, Morocco, where Lookman’s incredible performances at both club and country levels earned him the prestigious title.
He won the award ahead of Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast/Brighton); Serhou Guirassy (Guinea/Stuttgart); Achraf Hakimi (Morocco/PSG); and Ronwen Williams (South Africa/Mamelodi Sundowns).
The ICIR reports that this victory followed a series of remarkable achievements for Nigeria at the CAF Awards, winning it back to back, with the Super Falcons also recognised as the Best National Team of the Year and Chinaza Nnadozie, who won the inaugural African Goalkeeper of the Year award.
In the same vein, the Super Falcons won the Women’s National Team of the Year. They edged South Africa and Morroco to win the prize.
This was as 𝐂ô𝐭𝐞 𝐝’𝐈𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐫𝐞 won the Men’s National Team of the Year award following their triumph in the 2024 Africa Nations Cup.
Nigerian Chiamaka Nnadozie also won Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year after her stellar year with the Super Eagles and Paris FC. Nnadozie had won the award back to back.
Dozens killed as plane crashes in Kazakhstan on Christmas day
As Christians were celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25, the news of the death of at least 35 passengers in an Azerbaijan Airline’s jet crash with 67 people on board in western Kazakhstan shook the world.
Officials said about 28 people survived the crash, which occurred near the city of Aktau, an oil and gas hub on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea.
The plane was flying from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Chechnya in southern Russia before it crashed after veering from its scheduled route due to fog.
All five crew members died, with the majority of survivors occupying seats in the plane’s tail section.
179 died in South Korea’s worst plane crash
A passenger jet crash-landed in South Korea on Sunday, December 29.
Two crew members were the only survivors after the plane, which was carrying 181 people, landed on its belly, skidded off a runway and burst into flames, officials said.
The aviation disaster was South Korea’s deadliest in more than two decades.
Reports say the passenger jet crash-landed at an airport in the country’s southwest Sunday morning.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance