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Tag: honours

  • Institute honours Mukhtar, Adoke, others

    Institute honours Mukhtar, Adoke, others

    The Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) has honoured Chief Justice , Aloma Miriam Mukhtar, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) and some its workers

    Justice Mukhtar got the NIALS’ Personality Award, Adoke, the NIALS’ Gold Medal Award for Outstanding Leadership. The Institute’s Legends Award went to all past Directors-General, including Dr. Timothy Aguda (post humously), Prof. Ayo Ajomo, Prof Ignatius Ayua (SAN) and Prof. D.A. Guobadia.

    Long Service Awards went to those who have served the Institute for some years. They are: Mrs. Edunjobi Adebola 1981-till date; Mr. Isedowo Joseph Oludare 1982-till date; Mrs. Laminkara Ufuoma 1985-till date; Ojo Omoniyi Matthew 1985-till date; Mrs Ebone Janet Onos 1985—till date; Mr. Omozokpia Sunday 1987—till date; Mrs. Fajuyibe Veronica Titilayo 1989- till date and Mr. Daniel Hanson Eyo 1989 -till date.

    The Most Innovative Staff Award went to Mr. Hussein Ali while Outstanding Service Award was won by Ms Charity Addingi.

    NIALS’ Oustanding Administrative Staff award was won by Mrs Comfort David-Uma while Best Staff of the year went to Laura Ani; Academic Excellence Award was won by Uche Ngwaba and Most Prolific Research Fellow Award was won by Joke Adediran.

    The Institute’s Director-General, Prof Epiphany Azinge (SAN) in a chat with The Nation, said he was satisfied that the 35th anniversary of the institute was remarkable.

    “I am very very fulfilled and highly satisfied that it turned out to be a very remarkable 35th anniversary of the Institute. We have been able to bring to public domain the activities and achievements of the Institute for the past 35 years; the relevance and continued importance of the institute in the scheme of things in this country and the fact that we have been able to live the dreams of our founding fathers. To a very large extent, we have been able to satisfactorily achieve the mandate prescribed by the law setting up the Institute.

    “We are happy that we have made major breakthroughs in terms of our research. We have been able to build capacity for governments legal officers and other practitioners, who are in private practice. We have been the custodian of the continuing legal education with integrity and the high level of expertise at our disposal that has helped us to train as many people as possible. In terms of legal research, we are obviously miles ahead in the field of socio-legal research we have engaged in. In many and diverse respects we have been able to afford government the opportunity to utilise them in very productive manner,” he said.

    Azinge added: “In terms of the publication of journals, I can say without equivocation or contradiction that we are easily the best in the world, at the last count, we could talk of about 20 Journals, peer review Journals of international standards. Some are the first of their kind anywhere in the world and they are all running and running effectively.

    “We give opportunity to faculties and members in other law faculties, to publish their research findings and make their views known on some of the critical issues in law and development, through our roundtables and policy dialogues. We have remained the focus of academic engineering in terms of law and related disciplines in the sense that we use that forum to explore issues that have not been well exploited hitherto.

    “Our communiqués have been very useful to us and to all the authorities that are interested and we have continued along that line. He said the institute’s public lectures have been used to lead discourse in various areas such as memorial lectures, Diaspora lectures and the public service award lectures. “We made sure that we invited formidable legal scholars and jurists to espouse their opinion on very topical issues. And within Nigeria, we have ensured that our Nigerian scholars have remained engaged. On the whole, we have been able to champion issues that are germane to the development of law in this country,” he said.

    A worker, Prof. Deji Adekunle said: “I feel proud to be a member of this family and also to know that it is an Institute that has built a very strong legacy and there is no doubt that if you look at the past 25 years, the Institute has carved a niche for itself in the country.”

    On what is expected from the Institute in future, Prof. Adekunle said: “We will build on the foundations built by the founding professors.“

    Some of the awardees expressed delight at their awards. One of them, Mrs. Comfort-David Uma said: “I am highly elated, I am happy and greatly encouraged to work harder.

    Another recipient, Adejoke Adediran said: “I feel very very thankful, I feel appreciated and I really feel good. The award will make me perform better. I am not going to rest on my oars, I will definitely perform much better.”

    The best staff of the year, Laura Ani said the award would motivate her to do her best and increase her performance in service delivery.

  • Football honours and the Nigerian factor

    SIR: Behold the typical Nigerian football activist! It is either the team he supports or is emotionally attached to wins a match of significance, with all decisions going in its favour, or else it is ojoro (officiating robbery)! Whenever the outcome of an event does not tally with the narrow-minded expectation of the analyst/commentator with populist proclivity, he resorts to propounding some curious, funny-sounding conspiracy theories. It is either one Issa Hayatou wanted his country to win a competition in which it was no participant or another Sepp Blatter was having a business relationship with a club manager’s daughter. If not, then it would certainly be because there were more Francophone nations in Anglophone countries!

    Such alleged “mau mau movements,” according to Nigeria’s untiring drum beaters, was the only reason under the sun why Cote D’Ivoire’s Yaya Toure would be adjudged African Footballer of the Year 2013 (an individual award) ahead of Nigeria’s John Obi Mikel. At least, the Nigerian “won” both the AFCON and Europa League titles in the year in question.

    The best student in a general examination does not necessarily come from the school with the best overall result. The fastest individual athlete in a relay race field does not necessarily belong to the winning quartet. This was proved at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa where Uruguayan Diego Forlan was adjudged the Most Valuable Player despite his country’s empty-handed return to Montevideo. His individual contribution in taking his team to the semi-final was simply class act. The team silverwares – gold, silver and bronze – belonged to Spain, The Netherlands and Germany, but the individual award clearly belonged to medal-less Forlan.

    From 1993 to 1999, there were seven ‘African Footballer of the Year’ awards. Nigerian players alone (out of 53 African nations) went home with a whopping five! It is worthy of note that Nigerian footballers were simply at their authoritative best in those glorious years. Yekini, Emmanuel Amuneke and Victor Ikpeba (“The Prince of Monaco”) were playing the best football of their lives while King Nwankwo Kanu was virtually a spirit, as Lionel Messi has been described. Even one who was never crowned, Finidi George, in Ajax Amsterdam, was at a time acknowledged, in many quarters, as the best right winger in the world. No wonder in the 1994 edition won by Amuneke, six Nigerian players, including Yekini, Finidi, Amokachie, Okocha and Oliseh, in that order, were in the Top 10.

    What were the prevailing circumstances when all these happened? Was the numerical balance of scale skewed in favour of the Anglophone nations? Were the Hayatous and Blatters of this world not yet born? Was the sagacity of Nigerian strategists in “the politics of the game,” as usually rhymed by the ubiquitous ojoro analysts, so overbearing?

    Reports even had it, over the Mikel issue, that an agent dared to ask Segun Odegbami, one of Nigeria’s precious real-time intellectual giants in sports, what he knew about “modern football.” So, if the “scientific” and “mathematical” Odegbami played archaic football in his days and, with all his intellect, knows nothing beyond it, what “modern football” did Mikel play beyond Toure in 2013?

    Yaya Toure won the 2013 African Footballer of the Year award, not because Francophone countries outsmarted Anglophone nations in “the politics of the game” but because he was simply class ahead of Mikel.

     

    • Dele Akinola

    Lagos

  • Ekiti honours Sasha, Jimoh Aliu, Micho Ade, 11 others

    The first phase of the redeveloped Ikogosi Warm Springs Resort in Ekiti State was inaugurated on Saturday, almost 10 years after it was abandoned.

    The ceremony featured the public presentation of Governor Kayode Fayemi’s latest book, “Regaining the Legacy” and the decoration of Ekiti Cultural Ambassadors.

    Fourteen Ekiti indigenes, who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of arts, were decorated as Culture Ambassadors.

    They include Yinka Ayefele, Peter Fatomilola, Jimoh Aliu, Prof. Ojo Bakare, Elemure Ogunyemi, Peju Ogunmola and Akin Onipede.

    Others are Michael Omoshinlade (Micho Ade), Funmi Ajila, Moji Olaiya, Odunlade Adekola, Foluke Daramola, Akinade Ibuoye (Gaze Baba) and Yetunde Ibrahim, popularly known as Sasha.It was attended by a crowd of tourists and residents.

    Fayemi said the redevelopment was done because his government “cannot allow the God-given endowment to be a waste”.

    Restating his administration’s commitment to developing tourism, he said the second phase of the redevelopment would involve the introduction of a games reserve, which would occupy about 10,000 hectares of land; a three- star hotel; a golf course and apartments, among others.

    Fayemi’s book was on his plans for the people, his perception about governance and his experience as a governor.

    He said he published the book to broaden his audience “beyond those present at the various forums where the papers were delivered”.

    Urging Nigerians to work together to surmount the nation’s challenges, the governor said: “We are committed to building a society in which no one is left behind because we recognise that, as the late Martin Luther King said, ‘we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny’. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.

    “I dream of a time when future generations will bless our memories long after we are no more, because with the help of God, we did well to guide our society along the path of peace and sustainable development.”

    The reviewer of the book and Chairman, The Nation Editorial Board, Sam Omatseye, said whoever read Fayemi’s book, Out of the Shadows, would not be surprised at the tremendous change made by the governor in Ekiti in the last three years.

    Omatseye said Fayemi fought out of the shadow for a legacy that speaks to the endurance of memories; adding that the governor has not stopped letting people know “that he has done good”, especially with the various projects carried out by his administration.

    Former Governor Niyi Adebayo said his administration, between 1999 and 2003, renovated part of the resort, but could not complete it because it was “manipulated out of office”.

    Adebayo said there was need for Ekiti people to re-elect Fayemi to enable him complete and sustain ongoing projects.

    Speaking on behalf of the Ikogosi community, Mr. Aaron Adeniji said the redevelopment of the resort has given “a pass mark to this administration, credit to the governor and distinction to God”.

    Adeniji described Fayemi as a true progressive.

  • Aregbesola honours Olikoye Ransome-Kuti

    It the time amiable Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, Nigeria’s one-time Health Minister, died in 2003, he had become a leading world figure crusading for the upgrade of the health system to cater for the poor. He proposed “an all embracing system to provide health-care in an integrated way, rather than through vertical disease-specific programmes.”

    He pursued this religiously and finally broke his philosophy into what later became known as Primary Health Care (PHC).

    Ransome-Kuti has since been known as the father of primary health care approach to the health problems of the nation.

    What is the kernel of PHC? It is simply that the solution to the mother-child (or community) health problems lies in the communities from which the people come, and not elsewhere.

    He proved this with an experimental family health clinic to assess the effectiveness of nurses in the direct delivery of preventive and curative services to mothers and children. It was this project that provided the impetus for the establishment of the landmark Institute of Child Health and Primary Care of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos and an academic programme as part of pre-service medical training.

    Professor Ransome-Kuti, health minister from 1985-1992, is now regarded as the best health minister Nigeria has ever had!

    And 10 years after his death, there is a nostalgic yearning for his ideals, following the serious slide in the conditions of the health sector notably in the rural areas. We would not have experienced the grave setbacks we have witnessed under successive governments in Nigeria if we had leaned on the submissions of this great son of Africa.

    But there is hope because in the State of Osun, the government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has adopted precisely these principles: he is resorting to the policy of providing clean and good water for the rural folk (and of course to all the citizens) as a holistic health revamp strategy.

    For as the administration is proving, there is a linkage between the availability of water for all, and general economic and social development across all sectors.

    The state of Osun government is very much on course in its strategy to ensure that every resident in the state enjoys access to potable water supply for there is a clear synergy entailed in this objective. To use just one example, it would be frankly rather self- defeating to pour in money into the health sector without access- to- water – for- all at the heart of a holistic health revamp strategy. For as the late Professor Ransome Kuti emphasized continuously throughout his distinguished career, the momentum must start at the area of primary health care. Now, since most of the diseases here are water-borne, the availability of water resources is vital.

    This across the board synergy is why the Aregbesola administration has staked so much resource on the provision of clean water for all. We are not scoring political points but just stating the obvious in pointing out that the present government in the state of Osun is starting out from a very low base. When the government came into office, six major water works and 45 micro water works were operating below capacity in the state. The major water works which were designed for a combined capacity of 226,000 litres of water per day were producing only 23.7 percent litres per day, while the Micro water works with combined capacity of 13,400 per day, were producing only 18.6 per cent of their capacity. This situation is drastically changing.

    The Aregbesola administration, in the circumstance, had its work cut -out. Government has had to redress the balance from two fronts: putting in place facilities that will bridge the gap between demand and actual production, as well as putting in place the institutional mechanism that will ensure the sustainability of the facilities that will fulfil this objective.

    In order to ensure sustainability and continuity, the government is ensuring that personnel are well- equipped and trained for the maintenance of the facilities upon completion, while counterpart staff would be attached to each of the projects. Every avenue will be considered in moving things forward. Opportunities available will include twinning arrangement with experienced international water utility organizations, as well as to explore the possibility of Private Public Partnerships.

    Sustainability is of course vital which is why a pricing and payments system is strategic to the water access- for- all strategy. In view of the level of investments made by government, the authorities expect distinguished and responsible citizens to partner with government in paying modest water rates to sustain robust water initiatives: If the standard of the re-reinvigorated water policy is to be maintained, everyone of us, the governed and the government, must be willing and ready to play their parts very well. As a first measure, the state government is embarking on Consumers’ enumeration, after which a ‘’willingness to pay study ‘’ will be conducted. Even as the rehabilitation of this water works is progressing, government is supplying water through tankers to homes to ameliorate the pains of the citizens. The cost is minimal and bearable and the mode of payment to the banks simplified.

    We can see from the observations made above, that the Aregbesola administration is actually walking – the – talk. Noteworthy is the fact that the N 417m contract for the emergency work on Ede Water Works was awarded at the inaugural executive Council meeting, held at the executive council chamber of the Governor’s Office, just a few hours after the new commissioners were sworn in.

    At the 2014 election in Osun State, the citizens should identify candidates who in turn identify with them through their people-based policies to vote for. Their votes should not be wasted on those who would seek to impoverish them.

    Aregbesola is following in the footsteps of the man who struggled tirelessly to improve life in the rural community through a policy that entailed direct health care delivery on the platform of drinking water which would prevent fatal communicable diseases.

  • Uju Ifejika for honours in US

    Uju Ifejika for honours in US

    Catherine Uju Ifejika, the CEO of Brittania-U Nigeria Limited, an affiliate of Brittania-U Group, runs one of the most successful indigenous integrated oil and gas companies. She ranks high among the continent’s wealthy and respected investors as her firm maintains its position among the front runners in the petroleum industry. Brittania-U’s operations cover the entire spectrum of the oil industry from exploration to production, refining, trading, supply and distribution.

    On her part, Nigerian-born businesswoman and philanthropist, Noni Nwasike, is the founder of Black Pumps, a non-profit women organisation with its head office in Los Angeles, California. The organisation is focused on advancing African women in their career, business and wellness. In a few days time, Nwasike and her team will bestow on the Brittania-U boss the 2013 African Businesswoman Award during the inaugural edition of its Women of Courage and Strength Awards.

    Ifejika will be joined by other awardees such as the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina. The event is scheduled for the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Los Angeles in the US.

  • COEASU honours ES, Provost

    COEASU honours ES, Provost

    The Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education, (NCCE) Prof Mohammed Ibin Junaid and the Provost, Adeyemi College of Education (ACE), Ondo were honoured by the National body of the Colleges of Education Academic Union in recognition of their excellent performance.

    The union also presented awards to the Provosts of Federal College of Education, Zaria, Dr. M.I. Maccido; Federal College of Education (Technical) Asaba, Dr. N. Ignatius Ezoem; Federal College of Education, Okene, Dr. Iyela Ajayi; College of Education, Minna, Prof F.E. Haruna and Federal College of Education, (Technical) Umnze Prof O. Ogbuagu.

    The union presented the awards during their National Delegates Congress held in the College.

    The COEASU National President, Comrade Muhammed Awwal Ibrahim, said the awardees were carefully selected for their contributions to their respective institutions. He described the Executive Secretary of NCCE as a great administrator and the first in the history of the Commission that would bring COEASU and the Management of the Colleges together in dialogue which has resulted in good solutions in affected institutions. The Chairman, ACE-COEASU, Mr Smart Olugbeko also lauded the giants strides of the ES, describing him as a great pillar of support of the union.

    He also congratulated other Provosts for carving a niche for themselves among their contemporaries as astute administrator.

  • 7,000 schools jostle for honours

    7,000 schools jostle for honours

    : Tourney dunks off March 4

    A total of 7,000 schools are expected to slam the nets when the 15th Nestle MILO Secondary School Basketball Championship dunks off March 4 in the six geo-political zones of the country.

    Martin Woolnough, Managing Director & Chief Executive, Nestle Nigeria Plc stated in Lagos on Thursday in a press meeting with reporters.

    With this year’s theme tagged ”Champions, it is time to dunk”, Woolnough said: “With MILO’s commitment to the slam and dunk, in 2007, 2, 500 schools were engaged, and had the number doubled in 2012 to 5, 000.

    “So in evident of the firm’s actions 7, 000 schools in Nigeria will be engaged this year as the company intends to reach the six geo-political zones despite the difficult times.”

    Nestle’s Category Business Manager, MILO, Adedoja Ekeruche also informed in her remarks that the state preliminaries will commence on March 4 and end on the 18th, and will be followed by the Four Conferences (Atlantic Conference in Enugu, Western, Akure, Confluence, Lokoja and Central in Ibadan) which will run for a month from 15th April to 15th May.

    And for the first time in the MILO Secondary Schools Basketball Championship, two new Conferences of Ibadan and Enugu have been introduced.

    Each participating teams, she explained, will get N160, 000 each and the teams which qualify for the National Finals will be given N200, 000 each.

    The Four Conferences winners are expected to take home the sum of N30, 000 for first, while second and third placed teams will receive N25, 000 and N20, 000 respectively. Above all, this year’s champions will be celebrated in their schools and states.

    Ekeruche said: “The 15th MILO Secondary Schools Basketball Championship will continue to expose, and harness the enormous potentials of our youths and the abundant basketball talents in our country.

    “The national champions are been exposed to international competitions as the 2011 champions last year traveled to South Africa for an international basketball competition (tagged Youth Fit Africa U-17 Tournament) and they emerged winners.

    “Some talents spotted at previous MILO Secondary Schools Basketball Championship have also found their way into the national team, major leagues around the World and more recently, the 2012 London Olympics.

    “Knowing that sports is a great teacher, we believe that these children are learning essential social values like determination, discipline and respect which will prepare them for the great game of life. To this end, MILO, the energy food drink of future champions, remains committed to the development of sports at the grassroots,” Ekeruche stressed.

  • Community honours indigenes

    Community honours indigenes

    No fewer than 50 prominent sons and daughters of Ogu indigenes worldwide including President Boni Yayi of the Republic of Benin, would be honoured at the Sheraton-Hilton Hotels, Ikeja, Lagos, on Saturday, February 23. Other awardees include musicians, artists, politicians and a footballers.

    The awards will be sponsored by the Centre for Global Promotion of Ogu People (CGPOP).The group has always agitated for projects that can improve the living standard of residents of the communities.

    The coordinator of the group, Prof Michael Padonu, said this at a briefing in Lagos.

    Prof Padonu said the Ogu peope spread across Lagos, Badagry, Abeokuta, Agbara (Nigeria), Cotonou, Port-Novo, Ajahtado, Dahomey, Whydah (in Benin Republic), Lome and part of Abidjan in Cote D’Ivoire, Togo, Brazil, West-Indies and Haiti.

    He said: “Ogu people are a minority ethnic-nationality and governments at all level have over the years taken advantage of that to neglect and even marginalise our people and our communities”

    Henceforth, Padonu said CGPOP would demand and facilitate the granting of the rights of Ogu people, and promote developmental programmes for the people and its communities.

    Padonu said that Ogu people must not be left out in the dynamics of development, prosperity and progress as it is being done by other parts of the country and the globe.

    He said GUNNVI Global award is the brain child of CGPOP, to celebrate rare gems of Ogu tribe. He also described the forthcoming event as a veritable platform for image laundering for the entire Ogu tribe and as a means of encouragement and motivation for the younger generation, to seek excellence and attain distinction in all human endeavour.

    Ehubo Ajose Harrison, who represented the Aholu Menu Toyi, Oba Akran of Badagry, said it is about time governments made Ogu people have a sense of belonging in Lagos and at the same time, being included in Federal Government’s transformation agenda.

    He appealed to the government to expedite action on the APM Terminal Port to be sited at Badagry, explaining that since 1976 when Oba Akran ascended the throne, he has been championing the port which he noted has economic value because of its closeness to Benin Republic, Togo and Ghana.

    Another indigene of Ogu and chairman, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) of Lagos State University (LASU), Comrade Agnes Funmi Sessi, equally appealed to governments to make Ogu people feel their presence.

    She said: “Our roads are bad, government should not abandon us. We are suffering and we have been marginalised in federal appointments.”

    Former Head of Service in Lagos, Mr. Sunny Ajose, lauded the initiative behind the formation of CGPOP, saying it would bring Ogu people together to foster development in the communities and tasked the Federal Government and Lagos State government to accord recognition to Ogu areas.

    Among those already nominated for the GUNNVI Global awards are Mr. Ernest Adjovi, chief executive officer of Kora Awards; Djimon Hounsou, Beniniese-American Hollywood movie star; Joseph Dosu, 1996 Olympic Gold medalist; Alhaja Sonayon Salmot Badru, former deputy Governor of Ogun State; and Olajide Koku, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

    Others are Maupe Ogun, a journalist with Channels TV;

    Tinu Aina-Badejo, retired permanent secretary; Senapon Olushola Oworu, commissioner for commerce and industry; Nel Oliver, Beniniese music super-star and Sagbohan Danielou, Beniniese music super-star.”

    END.

     

  • Honours 2012

    Honours 2012

    THEY are all gone. The bangers of fun and fire. The excited crooners at packed city buffets and the revellers at glamorous street carnivals. The beach crowds and the army of itinerant drummers. They are all gone. Gone with the Yuletide.

    So are the sorcerers, the fortune tellers, the pessimists and the doomsayers whose verdict has been so damning – 2012 was a bad year. Floods that spared neither the rich nor the poor and bloody encounters in which thousands died. Boko Haram. Air and road crashes. Communal upheavals and other national calamities.

    But was 2012 all about blood, bombs and bullets? Didn’t some of our compatriots distinguish themselves, despite the stifling environment? In normal times, there would have been a scramble to deck them all with medals, but these are, no doubt, perilous times in which everyone, including those professional award organisers whose remarkable patriotism is often mistaken for sycophancy or fraud, is battling to survive.

    Was it a mere omission? Mischief? I really can’t say. But, being a column of records, Editorial Notebook is today giving honour to whom it is due.

    Step forward Chief Tony “the fixer” Anenih. When former President Olusegun Obasanjo elbowed him out of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT), his opponents thought he was finished. Sure they had him on the rope; his PDP was trounced in Edo in an unprecedented manner, with the chief losing his home base of Uromi. He became the subject of campaign rally jokes, with some saying “the fixer” had been fixed. The godfather is gone, others cried. Now he is back in contention for the BoT chair, which became vacant when Obasanjo was forced by circumstances to throw in the towel. And, wait for this: Anenih is back as chairman of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) board.

    Those idle critics who know nothing of the complexity of such sensitive appointments have been grumbling. Is Anenih the only one in town? Why NPA again? Is this his compensation for the loss of Edo? Is this also part of the preparation for 2015? I disagree. Who else should get the Politician of the Year trophy?

    He initiated no earth-shaking bill. Neither did he mount a protest for a leadership change as he had done several times. Yet no lawmaker hit it big like Hon. Farouk Lawan, the Kano lawmaker who businessman Femi Otedola accused of demanding a bribe from him. He said he handed Lawan $620,000 cash, some of which he claimed the lawmaker loaded into his babanriga pocket; the others he stuffed into his starched cap and decked it, smiling. He was being filmed.

    Lawan accepted collecting the cash, saying it was to prove that Otedola bribed him. But he vowed never to surrender the prize, daring the police to take him to court. For months, the police threatened to get the money. They never did as Lawan stuck to his gun. Now, all is quiet and Mr Integrity carries on with the swagger of a folk hero and not the sobriety of a man with a big question mark on his character. Despite Speaker Aminu Tambuwal’s popularity, Lawan beats him to the Lawmaker of the Year trophy.

    Those who said Obasanjo had something up his sleeve when he suddenly quit the PDP BoT chair may not have been wrong, after all. He has fired some sorties at the Jonathan administration, lashing it for being too sluggish over Boko Haram. He said when he was confronted with a similar situation in Odi, he was decisive. He has just repeated the tirade in a CNN interview. Now, many are asking: what does Obasanjo want? What did he do when he had his own chance? Did he not plot the third term debacle and lied about it? The popular thinking is that when he begins to attack a government he helped to install (remember Yar’Adua?), then there is trouble; the government should watch it. Obasanjo goes home with the Critic of the Year Award.

    Less than two years in office, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has become the toast of the town – thanks to his unusual style. He appointed some 72 aides, including Nollywood stars, told the people that they would be running the government and threatened to turn Imo into a sort of El Dorado. No doubt His Excellency has kept his promise. The people have never had it so good and Imo has become the envy of other states. Recently, they got a two-week Yuletide holiday; other states got just two days. The celebration was unparalleled. It all climaxed in last weekend’s magical wedding of the Owelle’s daughter to one of his commissioners. Those busybodies who will never mind their own businesses are asking: Is the first son in-law the one to hold the fort when His Excellency begins to pursue his presidential ambition?

    One was tempted to give it to Musa Kwankwaso, who organised the mass wedding (a record 1,000 brides and grooms) the government sponsored. Or Peter Obi, who has been supervising the demolition of kidnap suspects’ homes. Or Emmanuel Uduaghan who risked it all and rode on all manner of boats to reach out to distraught flood victims. But, fair is fair. Okorocha gets the Governor of the Year Award. He is the most innovative, the most stylish.

    Even without going through the rigours of making a new movie, he mounted a show that never got to the public but, shockingly, became an instant box office hit. He was arrested for carrying drug, held for 25 days and forced to defecate several times. Each time he went to the toilet, a bulletin was issued, but no drug was found, even as scanners insisted he was pregnant with some strange substances. A court granted his request to be allowed his freedom. Babatunde Omidina, the comedian, was set free and awarded N25m damages. All through last year, the cash-strapped National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) was pleading with the court to free it of the damages burden. Who else should get the Artiste of the Year trophy if not Baba Suwe?

    Until he became governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), not much was known of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s activism. Those who worked with him testify to his thoroughness, his skills and his character. Now Sanusi grabs the headlines with ease, like a knife slicing through margarine. The other day in Warri, he said there would be no development if we continued to offload all our cash on civil servants to the detriment of infrastructural development. There was uproar. He fought lawmakers with an unusual vigour, defending the autonomy of the CBN. His cash donation to Boko Haram victims raised so much dust. Every time he speaks, the whole place quakes.

    Now, leading academics are writing papers on Banking and the Sanusi phenomenon. The other day in Lagos, I ran into one of them who had just approved the topic of a doctoral dissertation, “The evolution of Sanusinomics: Banking activism, post-merger complications and the implications for a depressed economy.”

    Shouldn’t Sanusi get Banker of the Year trophy?

    Besides Sanusi, another official whose activities had a great impact on the populace is Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke. The mind-boggling subsidy claims and payments got more complex. The more money was thrown into the matter, the deeper the row. By Yuletide, petrol had become scarce in many cities, with prices rising to as much as N130 per litre. The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which is touted as the magic pill for all that ails the sector, is stuck at the National Assembly. The call for Mrs Alison-Madueke’s removal was so vociferous that it reverberated all over, except in the seat of power. Those armchair critics who were confounding idealism with managerialism, pushing for her sack, started asking: What is so special in this minister? I do not know, honestly but for standing firm in the face of tribulations, Mrs Alison-Madueke has snatched away the Best Minister trophy.

    For so many years, flour bread was the favourite on breakfast tables. We never knew what we were missing, until cassava bread was discovered – thanks to the enabling environment provided by the Federal Government. Now, the stuff has displaced flour bread, after a long road show by Minister of Agriculture Akinwunmi Adesina. The acceptance of the product by bakers and consumers has been stunning. Even at the Villa, cassava bread is the delight of all. Here then is to the Product of the Year.

    The other day there was a bomb scare at the National Assembly. A prominent politician was once rumoured to have died, but before newspapers rushed to the press, he came out to announce that he was hale and hearty. These, no doubt, were big hoaxes, but neither was huge enough to displace the discovery of oil in Kwara – a piece of news that sent many into wild jubilation. It turned out that the announcement may have been premature. The Kwara oil debacle is the Hoax of the Year.

    So long!

  • Igbinedion varsity honours Kufuor, Sultan, others

    THE igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, at the weekend honoured former Ghanian President John Kufuor; the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar and former Kogi State Governor Abubakar Audu with honorary doctorate degrees.

    Others honoured included Chief Alfred Eghobamien, Mr. Edoghogho Ogunbor and the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Services, Mr. Dikko Abdullahi.

    The institution’s Chancellor, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, who is also the Esama of Benin, said he spent nine years pursuing the university’s licence of operation.

    Igbinedion said the establishment of nine federal universities by President Goodluck Jonathan has not solved the problem of paucity of space for students seeking admission.

    He urged the President to introduce an intervention fund for private universities to support research and the knowledge needed for national transformation.

    Vice-Chancellor of the university Prof. Eghosa Osaghea said over 7,000 students have graduated from the institution.

    Prof. Osaghea said the statutes of the National Universities Commission (NUC) and other regulatory bodies should be reviewed to enable the growth of private universities.

    The Sultan of Sokoto, who gave the vote of thanks, called for the endowment of the younger generation with the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in the globalised and competitive world.

    He said the higher educational sector should be reformed to focus on strategic goals.

    Abubakar said: “States and the Federal Government will need to rise up to the challenge and raise the requisite financial resources that will make a real difference in the system.

    “There is also the urgent need to improve on organisational effectiveness, build the capacity of lecturers and managers and put in place a robust regulatory framework.

    “The time has also come for us to stop paying lip-service to leadership development in our tertiary institutions. We are a nation of rich cultural and religious values and we must strive to impact these values in our younger generation.”

    The Sultan urged Nigerians to work together to address the nation’s security challenges.

    He said the current state of ethno-religious crisis, armed banditry and terrorist insurgences threaten national development.