The British Monarchy is one of the oldest and most prominent monarchies in the world. The British royal household currently consists of King Charles III, his children, siblings, nephews, and nieces. 

King Charles III recently succeeded his mother Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of State of the United Kingdom and 14 Commonwealth realms, and the head of the British royal family.

The succession to the British throne is by descent, gender, legitimacy, and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign’s children or by a childless sovereign’s nearest collateral line. 

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth who ruled for 70 years, these are the first 10 people in order of succession to the British throne:

1. The sovereign is King Charles III and his heir apparent (First in line to the throne) is his elder son, Prince William, Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge.
2. Second in line to the British throne is Prince William’s elder son, Prince George.
3. Third, in line to the British throne is Prince William’s second child and daughter Princess Charlotte.
4. Fourth in line to the British throne is Prince Louis. He is Prince William’s youngest son.
5. Fifth in line is Prince William’s younger brother, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III.
6. Sixth in line is Prince Harry and Princess Meghan’s elder child Prince Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. He is the first mixed-race child of the British Royal family.
7. Archie’s sister Princess Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor is seventh in line to the British throne.
8. Prince Andrew, Duke of York is Queen Elizabeth II’s third child and second son. Prince Andrew is 8th in line to the British throne. Due to male preference in the line of succession, Prince Andrew is ahead of his elder sister, Princess Anne who is the second child of the Queen. However, the law was amended for future generations in 2015.
9. Prince Andrew’s elder daughter Princess Beatrice was born fifth in line to the British throne but has since moved 4 places down to 9th place. 
10. Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi is Princess Beatrice’s first daughter and the 10th in line to the British throne.

CHANGE TO ORDER OF SUCCESSION 

In October 2011, a bill was introduced in a meeting by the heads of government of all 16 realms in which the order of succession was changed from male-preference primogeniture (succession passes to the firstborn child with preference given to the elder male child) to absolute primogeniture (succession passes to an individual’s children according to birth order, regardless of sex)

The Perth Agreement, which came into effect in 2015, states that only the first six people in line to the throne require the sovereign’s consent before they can marry; without the sovereign’s consent, they and their children would be disqualified from the succession.

Source: UK GOV on Changes to the Order of Royal Succession Changes

Anne, Princess Royal, Queen Elizabeth’s second born and only daughter is 16th in line to the British throne because of the male primogeniture in place before 2015 which put her little brother Prince Andrew and Prince Edward and their offspring ahead of her.

The bill passed unanimously at a meeting held in Perth, Western Australia. Due to its passing, give equal rights to everyone without discrimination, regardless of race or gender.

Nigeria marks 60 years since it became an independent country and as a result of the pandemic, there won’t be the usual fan fair and celebrations that usually comes with the occasion. 60 years truly warrants a celebration, but in the case of Nigeria, there is absolutely nothing worth celebrating as the it gradually falls into failed state territoty.

But incase you’re still optimistic and in the mood for celebration, below are 25 reasons not to.

1. Poverty

According to the National Bureau of Statistics over 82.9 million Nigerians are poor. This is a disappointing number especially when you compare it with the country’s estimated population of 180 million people. This poverty was most felt during the lockdown that resulted from the coronavirus pandemic. The widespread poverty resulted in a plethora of social vices and insecurity. Simply pathetic.

2. Bad leadership 

From time immemorial Nigeria has always been plagued with clueless and uninspiring leadership, and unfortunately,  it doesn’t seem like it is going to end soon 

3. Insecurity

Sleeping with one eye open has become the norm, and people have been left to protect themselves from bandits and criminals. 

4. Terrible Electricity

5. Police/SARS

What more can be said? Police harass, intimidate and kill innocent civilians who they swore to protect and nothing is being done about it. Police is not your friend and be very afraid of them.

6. Politicians

Failed promises, deceit, corrupt, the list goes on and on

7. Insurgency

Boko Haram continues to ravage the North-east without an end in sight.

8. Ethnic killings

Southern Kaduna needs respite.

9. ASUU

Never forget that Nigeria celebrated 60 years of independence in the middle of an  ASUU strike

10. Debt

As of June 30, 2019, Nigeria’s total debt profile had risen to N31. 009 trillion, yet the country continues to borrow.

11. Low standard of living

Nigerian’s are living in complete discomfort, their basic necessities like food and jobs have become luxury, yet we celebrate 60 years.

12. Fuel price

Nigeria is a country rich in crude oil, yet petrol a commodity we’re supposed to enjoy  is sold at 151 per litre

13. Bag of rice at 40k

14. Corruption 

It has been a trend for every elected official in Nigeria to promise to eradicate corruption. “Fighting” corruption was top of President Buhari’s agenda during his campaign, but we all know how that has ended up, bullion vans and what not.

15. Sham democracy 

16. Brain drain

Every day, new sets of brilliant professionals across various fields exit the country in search of a better opportunities and a better life

17. Poor health system

When the president travels abroad to treat his ear, you know there is a problem.

18. Massive exodus of young people

19. Zero free speech

Under the guise of curbing hate speech, the government has stifled freedom of speech and any sort of criticism is met with punishment. In a Democracy?

20. Flawed Educational system

Strikes, inadequate facilities, decay of existing facilities and all out neglegence.

21. Disunity 

The idea of One Nigeria has proven to be a big fat lie.

22. Atrocious laws 

It is as if the government deliberately enact laws that inimical to the progress of its citizens. From pointless taxes to laws that infringe on fundamental human rights, the masses just can’t win.

23. Tribalism and Nepotism 

Opportunities are few and shared among a select few while those that truly merit theses chances are left reeling.

24. Zero human rights

The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) guarantees human rights which include the rights to life, personal liberty, fair trial, freedom of thought, conscience and religion etc. But we all know the true story.

25. The future doesn’t look bright 

Nigerians have been known to be very optimistic people, but that optimism has gradually waned. People have realized that truly there isn’t any light at the end of the tunnel and we are in a free fall into oblivion.

For centuries, women have been treated as second class citizens and especially ignored whenever it came to positions of power. However, this narrative has seen a turn in recent times, with principles of equality becoming more popular.

Before calls for equality became welcome, several women in history have against all odds gotten elected as heads of state and governments.

Below are the first 10 women to be elected to lead countries.

1. Sirimavo Bandaranaike

Sirimavo Bandaranaike, was a Sri Lankan stateswoman and the world’s first female prime minister, She became Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in 1960 and served three terms: 1960–1965, 1970–1977 and 1994–2000. Following her husband’s assassination in 1959, Bandaranaike entered politics, becoming Chairwoman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party; she led the party to landslide victory in the July 1960 election. She did well to balance east–west interests and maintain neutrality. She worked to maintain good relationships with both India and Russia, while keeping ties to British interests through the export of tea and supporting links with the World Bank. She Condemned South Africa’s apartheid policy and appointed ambassadors to and sought relationships with other African nations.

2. Indira Gandhi

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was the first and, to date, only female Prime Minister of India. She served as prime minister from January 1966 to March 1977 and again from January 1980 until her assassination in October 1984, making her the second longest-serving Indian prime minister after her father, Jawaharlal Nehru who was the first prime minister of India. In 1999, Indira Gandhi was named “Woman of the Millennium” in an online poll organised by the BBC. In 2020 Gandhi was named by the Time magazine among the world’s 100 powerful women who defined the last century.

3. Golda Meir

Golda Meir was an Israeli teacher, kibbutznik, stateswoman, politician and the fourth Prime Minister of Israel. Meir was elected prime minister of Israel on March 17, 1969, after serving as Minister of Labour and Foreign Minister. She was Israel’s first and only woman to hold the office of Prime Minister and has been described as the “Iron Lady” of Israeli politics. 

4. Isabel Martínez de Perón

María Estela Martínez Cartas de Perón, better known as Isabel Martínez de Perón is an Argentine politician who served as President of Argentina from 1974 to 1976. Isabel was the third wife of President Juan Domingo Perón and during his third term as president from 1973 to 1974, she served as both vice president and First Lady. Following her husband’s death in office in 1974, Isabel served as president of Argentina from 1 July 1974 to 24 March 1976 becoming the first woman to have had the title. During her rule,  the military took over the government and placed her under house arrest for five years, before exiling her to Spain in 1981. 

5. Elisabeth Domitien

Elisabeth Domitien was the first and to date only woman to hold the position of prime minister of the Central African Republic. She served from 1975 to 1976. During her time, she worked to strengthen the income and position of women as well as got many people out of jail after they were arrested without trial, among her other exploits.

6 . Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Hilda Thatcher was a British stateswoman who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold that office. As Prime Minister, she implemented policies known as Thatcherism and promoted free-market policies, privatized state-owned companies, and helped Britain to a better economic future. Thatcher was nicknamed the “Iron Lady”, by a British journalist because of her uncompromising politics and leadership style. 

7. Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo

Maria de Lourdes Ruivo da Silva de Matos Pintasilgo was a Portuguese chemical engineer and politician. She was the first and to date only woman to serve as Prime Minister of Portugal. Pintasilgo was sworn in as the Prime Minister of the Portuguese caretaker government on 1 August 1979 with the term of three months in office. During her time in office she pushed to modernize the out-dated social welfare system. She left her mark by making social security universal and improving health care, education, and labor legislation in Portugal.

8. Lidia Gueiler Tejada

Lidia Gueiler Tejada was the first female President of Bolivia, serving in an interim capacity from 1979 to 1980. She was Bolivia’s first female Head of State, and the second in the history of the Americas. As interim President, Gueiler was entrusted with the task of conducting new elections, which were held on 29 June 1980. Before the winners could take their parliamentary seats, however, she was overthrown in a bloody right-wing military coup by her cousin, General Luis García Meza Tejada. Gueiler then left the country, and lived in France until the fall of the dictatorship in 1982.

9. Dame Eugenia Charles

Dame Mary Eugenia Charles has a lot of firsts to her name. She was the first woman lawyer in Dominica as well as Dominica’s first, and to date only, female prime minister. She served as Prime Minister from 21 July 1980 until 14 June 1995. She served for the longest period of any Dominican prime minister, and was the world’s third longest-serving female Prime Minister, behind Indira Gandhi of India and Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka.

10. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir was one of the world’s first democratically elected female presidents. She served as the fourth President of Iceland from 1 August 1980 to 1 August 1996. Her sixteen years presidency also makes her the longest-serving elected female head of state of any country to date. Currently, she is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, and a member of the Club of Madrid, an independent non-profit organization created to promote democracy and change in the international community.