In the year 2013, we said goodbye to some people, some events, and some things.  Here are 10 of those:

– Well, in January, we said goodbye to rebels in Mali thanks to the French intervention with the Operation Serval (the Françafrique is back, and very well).

– The South African athlete, Oscar Pistorius made us almost regret ever celebrating Valentine’s Day with his arrest for the murder (or not?) of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on 14 February.

– On 5 March, El Commandante, Hugo Chavez left us.  Lots of tears cannot express how we all felt, and how many Africans felt about his passing.

– Chinua Achebe made our world fall apart when he left us on 22 March.  We did cry, but above all we reconnected with his great work so that ‘Things [would not] fall apart.”

– On 3 July, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the army which was supported by millions of people.

– There were another rebels in Central African Republic (CAR) with the ousting of president François Bozizé.

– We said goodbye to yet another writer, this time Ghanaian writer/diplomat Kofi Awoonor who was killed during the scandalous Westgate shopping mall shootings in Nairobi on 21 September.

– In 3 October, a boat carrying 500 illegal immigrants toppled in the Mediterranean sea near Lampedusa killing 366 people.  Italy declared a national day of mourning.

– The M23 rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were defeated by the Kabila government with help from the UN troops (remember the UN used to be in the region, and never did anything – I wonder what changed this time) at the end of October and beginning of November.

– Le ‘Seigneur’ Tabu Ley Rochereau left us on 30 November 2013.  We are still celebrating the maestro’s work and his influence on generations of Congolese and African artists.

– We said goodbye to Nelson Mandela on 5 Dec. 2013.  Madiba left us, and we all cried for this great symbol of strength, forgiveness, and greatness in Africa.