2020: Year That Rings A Bell
Perhaps no year since the turn of the millennium has generated more focus, discourse and anticipation worldiwide than 2020 which begins today.
Nearly every nation has drawn up a road map on 2020 as far back as a decade ago. They called vision 2020.
Therefore, this year is a watershed in the lives of nations and all humans, especially in the spheres of the economy, social development, healthcare, sports and even politics.
Given the various visions 2020, this year is one of great expectation, stock- taking and assessment of road-maps.
Taking the lead would be the World Health Organization (WHO) which had a Vision 2020 established in 1999 to ensure that causes of blindness worldwide are completely eradicated by this year. Christened ‘Right to Sight’, it is the goal of WHO to ensure that all preventable causes of sight impairment are taken care of by 2020. Therefore, for the United Nations agency this is a year to assess its success or otherwise of the programme.
In Nigeria, the year 2020 has been much touted for more than a decade now, especially from the year 2008, when the government conceived Vision 2020.
Basically, Nigeria’s Vision 2020 is anchored on global economic development of the country. The road map was conceptualized on the premise that “by 2020, Nigeria will be one of the 20 largest economies in the world, able to consolidate its leadership role in Africa and establish itself as a significant player in the global economic and political Arena”.
Therefore, the vision is predicated on becoming one of the 20 largest economies, leadership and political economy.
Government has religiously pursued the vision and will this year take stock of how much it has succeeded in this onerous task.
Having come out of economic recession, Nigeria will this year stand at the threshold of joining the world’s largest economies in becoming one of the 20 largest economies. Should Nigeria succeed in the vision, it would have leveraged itself not only as any economic giant but also become a political power in the world, especially in Africa.
Given the economic potentials with which the nation is endowed, Nigeria could eventually achieve the vision and grow in prosperity.
Also special about 2020 is the fact that it is a leap year that comes once in every four years. It means it would have 366 instead of 365 days with February having 29 instead of 28 days.
Those born on February 29 and who never have the day to celebrate in common years will do so this year.
Sport-wise, leap years are Olympic years when all nations meet to compete for honours. The Olympic is seen as the world’s greatest sports gathering and that which promotes the social status of nations. Therefore with this year comes the world’s biggest sports spectacle in the Olympics.
Politically, 2020 is another year of election in the United States that promises to be much more fiercely contested and further divide the nation along partisan lines. With the ongoing impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, 2020 portends a lot for the US.
Definitely, it is a year of great expectations and one that has been ringing a bell
Welcome to 2020!
