Bolaji Adeleke

<h2>South African luxury goods magnate, Johann Rupert, has secured the position of Africa's richest individual, dethroning&nbsp;Aliko Dangote who held the title for 12 consecutive years.</h2>

This was revealed by Forbes Magazine in its annual list of Africa’s wealthiest individuals. The Forbes list, which tracks the wealth of African billionaires who reside or have their primary business&nbsp;in Africa shows that the billionaires experienced notable reductions in their wealth in the past year.

Dangote moved down to second position as his net worth dipped from $13.5 billion in 2023 to $9.5 billion in the beginning of 2024, while Rupert’s fortune decreased from $10.7 billion to $10.3 billion, to emerge as Africa’s wealthiest individual.

Nigerian billionaires, Mike Adenuga and Abdulsamad Rabiu, also lost a significant amount of their wealth. Rabiu moved from 4th to 5th after his net worth reduced from $7.6 billion to $5.9 billion, while Adenuga’s plummeted from $6.3 billion to $3.1 billion moving him down the list from 6th to 10th.

While experts say naira devaluation and economic policies may have additionally impacted the loss of fortune of&nbsp;the Nigerian billionaires, the reduction in the collective wealth of Africa’s wealthiest individuals is an indicator of the economic challenges faced across African nations.

Others in the top 10 include; South African businessman, Nicky Oppenheimer ($8.3 billion), Egyptian businessman, Nassef Sawiris ($7.4 billion),&nbsp;South African businessman and philanthropist, Nathan Kirsh ($5.8 billion), Algerian businessman, Issad Rebrab ($4.6 billion), Egyptian businessman, Mohamed Mansour ($3.6 billion), and Egyptian billionaire, Naguib Sawiris ($3.3 billion).

African billionaires like Aliko Dangote always surround themselves with smart advisors, strategists and other professionals

South African luxury goods magnate, Johann Rupert has secured the position of Africa’s richest individual, dethroning Aliko Dangote who held the title for 12 consecutive years

South African billionaire overtakes Dangote to become richest man in Africa

<h2>The events that make a year good or bad are often traced to personal experiences through the course of that year.</h2>

However, some years in history were so chaotic that the whole world felt the impact.

History has recorded many terrible years that saw brutal wars, unimaginable natural disasters, extreme weather conditions, and pandemics that wiped populations, but these three years take the cake for the worst years in history.

Europe, the Middle East and some parts of Asia were plunged into darkness (night and day) for a period of 18 months. Yes! The sun was totally blocked out for a year and six months. This darkness was later traced to a volcanic eruption in Iceland.

If&nbsp;you thought blocking out the sun was already bad enough, the eruption also led to a serious decline in summer temperatures, which resulted in crop failure and serious famine for over a year that left millions of people starving to death.&nbsp;

Medieval historian, Michael McCormick, referred to 536 AD as “the beginning of the worst periods to be alive, if not the worst year,” as the events of this year set the ball rolling for more miseries that followed for mankind in that decade.

You have probably heard of the Black Death (bubonic plague), the most fatal pandemic in human history. Well, it started in 1347 and continued till 1353, causing the death of 75 million to 200 million people.&nbsp;

The disease, caused by bacteria known as Yersinia pestis, caused victims with unbearable pain, high fever, severe bleeding and pus-filled boils before eventually killing them.&nbsp;

Bubonic plague caused the death of about 75 - 200 million people [Hospitalfield]

The plague stirred up religious and economic crises that immensely affected history, making it one of the worst times to be alive.

In 1815, a volcanic eruption on Mount Tambora in Indonesia (then the Island of Sumbawa) caused the immediate death of over 11,000 people. Ejecting tons of sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere, several thousands of deaths occurred in the following months. It is known as the most powerful volcanic eruption in history.

Also, the eruption caused the average global temperature to drop, leading to crop failures and famine around the world. The effects of this eruption lasted for years, and many people starved to death during this period.&nbsp;

Many more years like the spans of the world wars and historical genocides are honourable mentions of the most terrifying years to be alive.

The extent of the catastrophic events in these years leaves one wondering how humans lived through them, and also, grateful for not being alive in those years.

Mount Tambora eruption - Year without summer [ArcGIS Map Story]

The events that make a year good or bad are often traced to personal experiences through the course of that year. However, some years in history were so chaotic that the whole world felt the impact.

We found the 3 worst years to be alive

<h2>There are several reasons you may need a day or two off from your busy daily life, from just not feeling like showing up to work, to personal engagements or even genuine emergencies.</h2>

Coming up with excuses may be challenging especially if your decision to skip work is a sudden development.

If you feel like just skipping a day at work or you have a personal engagement, here are some excuses that are easily acceptable on short notice.

<h3>1. Food poisoning or allergic reaction</h3>

When matters of health are at stake, people often become fearful and apprehensive, hence, a food poisoning excuse will fly with your superior at work and get you your free day instantly.

It is advisable to have tiny details like what you ate and when you ate it handy, to make your excuse more believable.

This excuse is as old as time but still works like magic. The trick to calling in sick is claiming an illness or sickness that is communicable but not too serious. Communicable because your coworkers and boss do not want to catch it too, then, not too serious because you do not want them worrying or visiting you over a sham sickness.

No one is above getting the flu, especially when you need an excuse to not work [Washington Post]

Home remedies for cold and flu [Washington Post]

A favourite illness to claim when calling in sick is the flu. It ticks the right boxes: communicable and not too serious.

Due to unforeseen circumstances like accidents or natural disasters like flooding, roads may be temporarily blocked or closed.

So, next time there is heavy rainfall and you do not feel like going to work, you can easily claim that local authorities blocked the road due to flooding and you won’t be coming in or would be working from home.&nbsp;

Home emergencies are valid excuses for missing work or getting days off. You could claim there was a small fire that morning, or your fence collapsed. The list of home emergencies to employ is endless. Be creative!

This may seem like an extreme excuse when it is not true, but people have been known to fake the death of a non-existent family member to get days off from work.&nbsp;

Bereavement excuses work the best and can get you several days' break from work. It should be used as a last resort though.

There are myriads of excuses to come up with when trying to skip work, and this list is just to mention a few. Get innovative!

There are many reasons why you may need a day or two off your busy daily life, from just not feeling like showing up at work, to personal engagements or even genuine emergencies.

You should use these 5 excuses to miss work on short notice

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Bolaji Adeleke

Articles written by the author

South African billionaire overtakes Dangote to become richest man in Africa

We found the 3 worst years to be alive

You should use these 5 excuses to miss work on short notice