By Unlike 2020 which many would agree was a tumultuous year, 2021 has been quite eventful — etching a number of memories in the minds of people across the globe. From shocking developments to series of events, the world certainly had a lot on its plate in the outgoing year.
BlackBox Nigeria has compiled ten shocking events that rocked the world in 2021.
1. Invasion of Capitol Hill
The year began on a rather shocking note. While the US Congress sat on January 6 to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election, supporters of embattled former President Donald Trump enraged by his loss invaded the Capitol Hill, leading to a riot that took five lives and left many injured. The development attracted condemnation from top government officials.
2. Kamala Harris makes history
A former California senator, Kamala Harris became the first woman and the first African American to become Vice President of the United States. Daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, Harris was also the first person of Asian descent to be sworn into the nation’s number two office.
3. African woman becomes WTO boss
On March 1, former Nigeria’s finance minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala assumed office as the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) — becoming the first woman, and the first African, to hold the position. The Harvard-trained development economist spent 25 years at the World Bank where she rose through the ranks to the number two position as managing director. Okonjo-Iweala was recently named as one of the 25 most influential women of 2021 by London-based magazine, Financial Times.
4. Queen Elizabeth loses husband
The world was thrown into mourning on April 9 following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II. The Greece-born royal who was said to be the longest-serving consort to a British sovereign died aged 99, two months to his 100th birthday.
5. Death of Prophet T.B. Joshua
On June 6, one of Africa’s most popular televangelists and founder of The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua, also known as T.B. Joshua, died aged 57. The renowned gospel preacher was known globally for his prophecies and healing of the sick as well as casting out of demons. While the cause of his death remains a mirage, some of his followers claimed he already prophesized it.
6. Taliban takeover of Afghanistan
The capture of Kabul, the Afghanistan capital on August 15, by Taliban forces sent shock waves across the international community. President Ashraf Ghani had fled the country hours before the unexpected twist of events, as many of the country’s provincial capitals fell under the control of the rebels. What followed was the establishment of a Taliban rule with extreme laws amid serious human rights violations and abuses.
7. Filipino wins Nobel Peace Prize
In a development that was greeted with joy in the Philippines, fearless journalist Maria Ressa, in October, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, writing her name in history books as the first Filipino to be awarded the prestigious honour — albeit shared with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov. Ressa was honoured for her reporting of President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial and murderous drug campaign.
8. Elon Musk becomes world’s richest man
CEO of electric car maker Tesla, Elon Musk, sometime in the year, became the richest person on the planet. According to Forbes, the SpaceX boss has an estimated net worth of almost $300 billion. Musk, unarguably one of the most influential individuals on earth, was recently named TIME Magazine’s “Person of the Year”.
9. Unforeseen coups
In 2021, a worrisome trend of military takeovers was observed across the globe. It all started in Southest Asia, after the military junta of Myanmar took over power, detaining State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi as well as other top government leaders, and later announced a one-year state of emergency. In Africa, four coups took place in a successive order — Chad, Mali and Guinea fell to military grabs in April, May and September respectively, and later Sudan in October.
10. Discovery of Omicron COVID-19 variant
As many countries seek to get more citizens vaccinated, a new strain of the coronavirus– Omicron — was discovered by scientists in Botswana and later in South Africa. On November 26, the World Health Organisation (WHO) classified Omicron as a “variant of concern”. Report has it that since its emergence, the more transmissible variant has been identified in more than 80 countries across the globe, followed by a trend of travel restrictions.
