The year 2022 was packed with so many events – some were good, others were bad – and some were really bad. From a full-blown war to the death of Britain’s longest-serving monarch, the year we are leaving behind is one that will always be remembered for many things.
Elon Musk made a U-Turn twice before making a decision to buy Twitter at $54.20 a share, thereby paying a total of about $44 billion.
According to reports by Statista, about 18 million people in Africa use the platform daily, so this move was one of the events that trended across the continent, despite it not being directly linked to the continent.
What this means is that, interestingly, many of the events that shaped Africa were not actual events that occurred in Africa. Some countries in the continent, like Mali and Burkina Faso, experienced political coups in 2022, but the news did not trend in Africa as much as Argentina winning the World Cup in Qatar.
Listed below are 10 events that shaped or shook Africa in 2022. Check them out.
Russia Invades Ukraine
Considered one of the most significant events of the decade, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 is perhaps the piece of history which the year will be labeled with.
Concerned over the diplomatic pally between Ukraine and members of NATO – which saw Ukraine agreeing to allow the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to site military bases in the country, Russia launched a “special military operation” to force the “demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.”
As a result of the war, African nations suffered food shortages due to the shortage of grain supply to the continent from Russia and Ukraine as a result of the ongoing war between both countries.
Global Inflation
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), there was an increase in global inflation in 2022. The organization revealed that global inflation rose from 4.7 percent in 2021 to 8.8 percent in 2022.
However, the IMF has revealed that intervention from stakeholders across the globe will force the chart to come downwards in 2023. It is projected that the figures will decline to 6.5 percent in 2023 and further to 4.1 percent in 2024.
Death of Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-serving monarch, died on 8 September 2022, and the news of her death caused mixed feelings across the continent. She died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland after reigning as Queen for 70 years since taking over the throne from her father on 6 February 1952.
She died at the age of 96 after health issues related to age. You will recall that her husband and King consort, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, died the previous year on 6 February 2021, two months before he was billed to celebrate his 100 years birthday.
After her death, her first son, Prince Charles, was anointed as the next king of Britain. The coronation ceremony of the 73-year-old will be held on 6 May 2023.
Peter Obi’s Emergence as Third Force in Nigeria’s Presidential Race
Over the years, Nigeria has been considered a seemingly two-party state despite the existence of over eighteen political parties in the country.
For the past eight years, the two major parties in the country have been the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). But the millions of people who expected another solely keenly contested election between the two parties to determine the next president of Nigeria had thought wrong.
Unlike the last two elections, the battle for the next president in Nigeria is not a two-way contest, and this is a result of the emergence of Labour Party candidate Peter Obi.
In May 2022, the former governor of Anambra State shook the political pillars of the country and alerted the world to the emergence of a third political force in Nigeria when he announced his defection from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP, where he was a vice-presidential candidate in the last election, to become the presidential candidate of the Labour Party.
Within a short while, he has been able to amass a large number of supporters both within the country and in the diaspora. Many local and international political analysts believe he can become the next president of Nigeria in 2023.
Life Expectancy in Africa Increase by 10 Years
Despite the challenges that characterized the year 2022, the life expectancy in the continent increased by 10 years. The report was revealed by the World Health Organization (WHO), and the news was welcomed across the continent.
According to the international health organization, the factors that contributed to the increase in the life expectancy of Africans include efforts by African nations to close the gap in accessing women’s reproductive and mental health support. It also revealed that the efforts in managing the spread of disease in the continent proved vital.
Drought, Famine, and Flood Disasters
There were reports of intense drought and famine across many regions in the African continent in 2022. The worst hit regions are in Somalia, where as many as 21 million people are currently facing acute food security and the risk of death due to drought in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia, which reached alarming figures between October to December.
In the same vein, many parts of Africa were affected by drought in 2022, and reports reveal that over 2,000 lives were lost and millions of people displaced. Nigeria was the most affected country, with an official record of 610 deaths due to floods.
The World Population Exceeds 8 Billion
On November 2022, the United Nations revealed that the population of the world had hit the 8 million mark. According to the UN, a baby girl born in Tondo, Manila, was the 8 billionth person in the world.
Critics have, however, doubted the authenticity of the report, claiming it is somewhat impossible to calculate the exact number of people in the world and determine the number of births across the globe.
India contributed immensely to the increase in global population and is expected to surpass China in 2023 as the country with the highest population. According to the UN, it took 11 years for the world to reach 8 billion, and it would take 15 years for the world to reach 9 billion people.
Elon Musk Buys Twitter
After a legal battle and after a series of back-and-forth, Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022. After he took control of the world’s leading social media platform, on October 28, he sacked the CEO of the company, Parag Agarwal, and CFO, Ned Segal.
He also sacked top executives of the company, including the head of legal policy, trust, and safety, Vijaya Gadde. After he completed the takeover and signed all the legal documents, Musk tweeted, “Let the good times roll” and “The bird is freed.” However, many Twitter employees would be fired in the coming months, with many protesting the termination of their contractors and labeling Musk ‘a modern-day dictator.’
Also, the billionaire has announced that users with Twitter’s blue tick authentication will start paying a monthly fee in 2023. Twitter is the second most used social media platform, after Facebook, in Africa.
Argentina Wins Qatar 2022 World Cup
Football lovers in Africa were thrown into a frenzy in 2022 after Lionel Messi led his country, Argentina, to lift the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. For many, the victory put an end to the decade-long debate over who is the greatest of all time in the world of soccer.
https://sportstar.thehindu.com/football/fifa-world-cup/news/argentina-wins-world-cup-presentation-ceremony-live-messi-mbappe-martinez-penalty-shootout/article66277725.ece
Although it was an emotional fairytale for the Argentine team and their superstar, Lionel Messi, Africa celebrated the victory as much as the Argentines.
In the history of the World Cup, Argentina remains one of the most successful teams in the history of the tournament. They won three world cups in 1978, 1986, and 2022. The country has also been runners-up three times in 1930, 1990, and 2014. Out of 88 matches in 18 tournaments at the World Cup, Argentina has won 47 games.
Hushpuppi Arrested in Dubai
Hushpuppi was sentenced to prison for 11 years and 3 months on Friday, 4 November 2022, for crime-related activities, putting an end to a long-awaited two-year-old trial of the internet fraudster.
On 10 June 2020, the world woke up to the news that Nigerian Instagram Celebrity Olorunwa Abass, popularly known as Hushpuppi, and members of his gang were arrested in Dubai while sleeping in their lavish hotel rooms. The Dubai police, who worked with a team composed of officials from Interpol and the FBI, carried out the raid and released video evidence of the raid and arrest on Twitter.
Hushpuppi pleaded guilty to multiple cyber security crimes, including hacking, impersonation, identity theft, and bank fraud. A United States District Court in Califonia sentenced him to 11 years in prison. He will spend 9 years behind bars because he has already spent two years in prison awaiting a sentence.
