The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Prize

  • Adesina’s World Food Prize: Honour well deserved

    Adesina’s World Food Prize: Honour well deserved

    The piece of heart-warming news that our own Dr. Akinwumi Adesina,  President, African Development Bank (AfDB) and former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development under President Goodluck Jonathan has been named the 2017 World Food Prize Laureate could not have come at a better time. With Nigeria experiencing a turbulent econo-political period the award comes as a breath of fresh air. What makes it more cheering is the fact that it is a well deserved laurel for a distinguished Nigerian. Adesina  epitomises a bright beacon of hope in our long, dark tunnel of ignorance, poverty, apathy and self-inflicted woes.

    As one of his consistent admirers over the years, the focus is on the lasting lessons we all could glean from him on professionalism, pragmatic leadership, selfless service, patriotism and can-do it spirit. It would be recalled that back in 2008 when yours truly was the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of Strata Media  Organisation,  Adesina granted our rich and colourfulFoodbusiness International Magazine, a two-page, pull-out interview. It was through the Assistant Editor, Lanre Agboola. The then editor, ZebAgomuo was thrilled. In fact, that incisive interview not only sold out the Vol.1,No7 Edition but got the members of staff academically enriched and thoroughly inspired. Adesina was then the Vice President (Policy and Partnerships), Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

    He used that opportunity to canvass subsidy for African farmers. Said he: “ When I say smart subsidies, I mean the private sector has to distribute the inputs, the government supports the farmers together. We also have to make sure it is a targeted subsidy” that would benefit the poor farmers. “The government has to make sure that the farmers are provided with proper extension services, to be very efficient.” What made him sad was when “ I see so many graduates of agriculture all across Africa roaming the streets, looking for jobs. It is a bizarre thing”.

    Good enough, he walked the talk when he eventually became the Minister of agriculture. As aptly captured by Kenneth Quinn, the President, the World Food Prize, the Hall of Laureates, described Adesina as “someone who grew out of poverty, but whose life mission is to lift up millions of people out of poverty’’. Inspiring, is it not? Of course, it is.

    These are reflected in his breakthrough achievements all through his career. The list is long but let us have a taste of the pudding. For instance, as the Vice President of AGRA he introduced initiatives to exponentially increase the availability of credit for smallholder farmers across the African continent. Not done, he galvanised the political will to transform African agriculture. Back  in 2006, as the Associate Director for Food Security at the Rockefeller Foundation, Adesina played a critical leadership role in organising the Africa Fertiliser Summit in Abuja. That summit was described as absolutely essential in igniting the campaign to spread a new Green Revolution across Africa, which led to the creation of AGRA.

    Furthermore, as Minister of Agriculture in Nigeria, from 2011 to 2015 he successfully transformed the country’s agriculture sector through bold reforms. He it was who introduced the E-Wallet system which broke the back of the corrupt elements that had controlled the fertiliser distribution system for 40 years. In addition, was the creation of  programmes to make Nigeria self-sufficient in rice production, as well as to make cassava become a major cash crop. The related value chain he clamoured for saw the input of 20 per cent cassava flour to 80 per cent wheat flour in the making of composite bread. Also, the ‘Nagroprenuers’ scheme he introduced made way for the training of  750,000 young graduates in commercial farming.

    As Quinn rightly noted the reforms he implemented increased food production by 21 million metric tonnes and attracted 5.6 billion dollars in private sector investments. This earned him the reputation as the ‘Farmer’s Minister’.” Incidentally, Adesina has become the first person from the agriculture sector to ever lead a regional development bank. His receiving the World Food Nobel Laureate Prize “would give impetus in the coming decade to his profound vision”. Adesina is also the 46th person and the sixth African to win the World Food Prize. Are we not immensely proud of him? Yes, we are!

    That explains the presence of  the former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Nigeria’s Acting Ambassador to the U.S. and Chargé d ‘ Affaires, Ambassador Hakeem Balogun to savour the momentous occasion. Note that they were not there as Igbo, Yoruba or whatever but as proud Nigerians to identify with a son of the soil, holding the green-white-flag of unity and progress, peace and prosperity for the whole world to see. That is another lesson for us all.

    In retrospect, Adesina’s sterling achievements as the Minister of Agriculture was one issue that stood former President Jonathan in good stead. Adesina won the prestigious Forbes Magazine Africa Man–of- the-Year Award. And in 2015 the country won an award from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for achieving one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on halving the number of hungry people in the country by 2015. That was during the two-day summit by Rockefeller Foundation with the theme: ‘Realising the potential of African agriculture’.

    Unfortunately, the bitter truth is that Nigerians are hungrier now than they were in 2015. The lesson here is for us to stop politicising sensitive and critical issues on good governance. What would have happened if Adesina’s vibrant and virile vision for the agriculture sector had been sustained till now? Your answer is as good as mine.

  • #BBNaija: Who takes home the Prize?

    #BBNaija: Who takes home the Prize?

    With just two days to end the game, the race to the highly coveted prize money of a whooping N25,000,000 and an SUV has intensified. Following the eviction of the smooth operator – Bally, the “trophy” is within the grasp of the remaining housemates. However, the probability of winning for each of the housemates is 1:5…not a bad one I must say!

    The heavily criticised but overwhelmingly entertaining reality show is one that has witnessed several melodramas from the different housemates: From Ese and John being branded “fake housemates” before their eventual eviction, Gifty’s denial of ever knowing Banky W while in the house and the grey areas concerning her marital status, Kemen’s disqualification from the house after massaging and “kemening” Tboss while she was asleep (asleep?, hmmm…only God knows oh!),  ThinTallTony’s fake but glaringly sensual and carnal affair with Bisola in the house, Bassey’s shocking announcement of having a girlfriend after his eviction, and lastly, Bally’s merit award of being the “master kisser”; having kissed all the female housemates before his eviction.

     

    Kudos must be given to all the evicted housemates who have been so wonderful in participating in the show.  Our shout out goes to – John, Ese, Gifty, Miyonse, Soma, Cocoice, Uriel, Kemen, Thintall Tony, Bassey and Bally…We hail thee!

    It is believe that any credit gotten in the house will not count when it comes to knowing who will go home with the grand prize as the reality of the impending grand finale quickly crawls upon the housemates; only the person with the highest number of votes will eventually win the prize.

    A lot of interesting stories are unfolding in every city as we draw closer to the final few days of the reality show.

    BBNaija has simply captivated and more or less mesmerised its audience across Africa, most prominently Nigeria where a lot of people have stood up to campaign for their housemate to win the money bag.

    Recently there has been a lot of exciting moments in the heart of BBNaija fans as people of high personality in Nigeria stood up to campaign for their favorite housemate.

    Efe who is branded as the man of the moment “based on his logistics instinct” has received a lot of support from Nigerian celebrities campaigning for him and also his people from Warri rallying around to secure votes for their man.

    Comedian bright okpocha popularly known as Basket mouth took to his Instagram page to campaign for him. Other celebrities in support of Efe are YBNL Boss Olamide, Ice prince Zamani, I go die, popular Nollywood actress Funke Akindele a.k.a Jenifa also shows her love and support for Efe.

    TBoss got the support of Uti Nwachukwu, Linda Ikeji, Adekunle Gold, Linda Ejiofor, Beverly Osu, Ex BBA Africa winners – Dillish and Idris, Ex-BBA housemate – Maria, Nollywood actress – Ivie Okujaye, Beverly Naya, Bob risky, Mike Godson and more.

    Bisola got the support of Iyanya, Mofe Duncan, Padita Agu. Also, her sister was recently pictured sharing recharge cards to Unilag students as a way of campaigning for her sister.

    Marvis also get her supports from the Rivers state government as a way of mobilizing people to vote for their own child.

    Lastly, Debbie-rise was also rumoured to have gathered supports from Kogi state government.

    The SUV and N25m up for grabs by the “fantastic five” housemates, the big question now is: Who are you casting your vote for?

     

  • Institute wins WAEC’s top prize

    Institute wins WAEC’s top prize

    Like a star, Lumen Christi International High School, Uromi, Edo state shone brightest amongst its peers recently when it emerged the overall best performing school in the country.

    The school clinched the Augustus Bandele Oyediran trophy for producing the best overall results in the 2016 West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

    The event coincided with WAEC’s 65th Annual Council meeting held in Abuja, which was declared open by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    In his opening remarks, Vice President Osinbajo harped on the state of education in the country and the need to redirect teaching methodology towards practical and practicable results.

    According to him, current method of teaching is defective as students lack capacity of critical thinking for solution to problems. As a result, he said it has become expedient for educators to break from the past by setting a moral and ethical standard to define success.

    The school emerged winner with best aggregate, determined on the results of best 50 candidates based on their grades in English Language, Mathematics and a Science subject.

    The school which has won the prestigious awards instituted in 1985 five times in a row was the cynosure of all eyes, as it entered the hall of fame like other past winners such as Queens College, Yaba and Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja.

    Since 1985, only 12 schools have won the award. Queens College, Yaba won the maiden edition and five consecutive times. Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja has also won it six times in a row.

    There were also awards for individual performance in the international, national and sub-regional categories. The first international award for 1985 examination was presented in Monrovia in 1986 where Nigeria took the maiden award with Ishola Adedapo taking the star prize. Since then the competition for top spots has always been between Nigeria and Ghana but Nigeria was dominant between 1999 and 2008. From 2008 Ghana took over the international category carting away the three top spots except in 2011 when Miss Adeloye Ope took the third position and the latest with Ayodeji Oluwafisayomi coming second.

    Upbeat, the Principal of Lumen Christi International High school, Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Theophilus Itaman said the feat achieved by his wards was through diligence and dedication to the vision and mission of the founding fathers of the school.

    He said: “We are not really surprised but we are extremely happy because this is an indication that the school is on course as far as its mission and vision. We are able to achieve this feat with the foundation of the school and the ‘Light of Jesus’ has made it possible to succeed in our set objectives.”

    Expatiating, the clergyman said, “We’re able to achieve this feat because we have a standard that is even above WAEC standard. We have now won this award for the fifth time, made possible by our standard which is such that every single student is strictly and personally monitored by the staff. It is such that when we discover that a child is not measuring up, we enroll such students into personalised special programmes to bring them up to their mates. What we don’t do is to compromise our teaching and training standards. At Lumen Christi, we don’t play with supervision, training and retraining of our teaching and non-teaching staff.”

    Fr. Itaman also decried examination malpractices that appear to be gaining ground as a trend to boost school ratings. He identified lack of confidence to succeed on the part of the school, teachers, students and parents as the factor that inspires malpractices in examination.

    “For parents and teachers to collude to encourage their children to cheat in examination can only be explained from the point of view of lack of confidence. If the parent believed that the child can excel in an examination, there will be no reason to approach a teacher to assist in that direction, if the parents and the teachers have put in their best for the child. In Lumen Christi, we believe that examination malpractice is more costly for the student, parents and the society at large and that is why we inculcate confidence to succeed in our students. That is why it should not be encouraged and we will always speak and act against it.”

    The highpoint of the occasion was the presentation of the trophy to Lumen Christy, which was received on behalf of the school’s management by Rev. Fr. Dr. Theophilos Itaman by Dr Bello Ahmed, member, WAEC, Endowment Fund Board of Trustees.

  • Nigeria Prize for Science: Search for solutions to Malaria continues next year

    As the world continues to search for a lasting solution to the Malaria scourge, the Advisory Board of the Nigeria Prize for Science sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has announced the extension of the search for solutions to 2017 competition, after the evaluation of 15 entries submitted for this year’s prize.

    With this year’s theme: “Innovation on Malaria Control”, the extension is the first since the competition began  in 2014.

    The Advisory Board for the Science Prize, led by Prof. Akpoveta Susu, announced the decision to carry over the theme to 2017.

    Prof Susu said: “After a thorough evaluation of the fifteen (15) entries received, it was decided that the theme be repeated and the call for entries extended for another year.”

    Reacting to the verdicts, the General Manager, External Relations at NLNG, Kudo Eresia-Eke, said: “The decision to extend the call for entries for the Science Prize is a welcome development as it provides an opportunity for Scientists who might have missed the initial call the opportunity of making submissions while those who had earlier applied can resubmit more robust entries. Hopefully at the end of the exercise next year we would get a result that would be very qualitative and valuable for Africa and the world.”

  • Essay winner gets cash prize

    The overall winner of the 2016 essay competition organised by the Rising Tide Foundation in collaboration with The Nation, Network for a Free Society and African Liberty Organisation for Development (ALOD) has received his cash prize of $1,000.

    Linus Unah, a 400-Level Mass Communication student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) got the prize from the Head of Mass Communication Department, Dr Greg Ezeah, at a ceremony attended by the ALOD Executive Director, Adedayo Thomas.

    As part of the first prize, Linus got scholarship to attend Liberty and Entrepreneurship Camp held at St. Paul University in Limuru, Kenya, last month. He joined other prize winners at the four-day event.

    Presenting the naira equivalent of the cash prize to Linus, Thomas said the first prize winner’s essay was adjudged the best of the 634 entries received from over 22 countries in Africa. He urged students to hone their entrepreneurial skills by joining the ALOD network to propagate the ideals of liberty and free market.

    Thomas said: “Students should think outside the box. The university system is a place where young people can be empowered to generate ideas. Look into the policies that help and those that encourage free market economy, property rights and principle of individualism. These are the idea that can move thousands of jobless youths out of poverty.”

    Dr Ezeah said Linus’ feat showed students of the department could compete with their peers anywhere in the world. He enjoined students to be hardworking and committed to their studies.

    Linus praised the essay’s organisers for taking him to Kenya, noting that the trip improved his knowledge and exposure.

    His words: “I appreciate the essay organisers for the opportunity. In terms of exposure, the trip to Kenya was not something I can measure in money. The experience is a treasure I will cherish forever. That is more like a pathway to the entire world. I cannot thank them enough.”

  • 173 authors in race for NLNG $100k literary prize

    173 authors in race for NLNG $100k literary prize

    The race is on for this year’s edition of the Nigeria Prize for Literature sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited which focuses on the Prose Fiction genre.

    It has 173 authors gunning for its most coveted 100,000 prize money.
    This year’s entries, which came in response to a call for entry published in February, were Wednesday handed over to the panel of judges the prize’s advisory board chair Emeritus Prof Ayo Banjo at a ceremony in Lagos.
    Although there was no winner for its Children Literature category last year, the prize’s sponsor and the advisory board are optimistic, saying this year’s promises to be interesting, considering the entries we have got which is lower than the number in the last cycle of prose fiction competition.
    They, therefore, enjoined the judges led by the distinguished Professor of English Language of Prof Dan Izevbaye, Bowen University, to continue the tradition of excellence and integrity the prize is known for.

    “Today, we hand over the 173 entries received for this year’s edition of the competition and I have strong confidence that with their (the judges) very rich knowledge, experiences and competence, the process will again throw up a book of high quality,” Prof Banjo said.
    According to NLNG’s General Manager, External Relations, Kudo Eresia-Eke, the submissions would be pruned based on editorial excellence, creativity and story plot, with the aim that a final winner may emerge in October to coincide with the anniversary of the company’s first shipment of LNG cargo.
    The last winner of the literature prize in the Prose Fiction category was Chika Unigwe in 2012 who beat 213 authors to the prize, which was established in 2004, with her book On Black Sisters’ Street.

    This year’s prose fiction award will run concurrently with NLNG’s prize for literary criticism which has two entries. It was introduced in 2013 and carries a monetary value of N1 million.
    Alongside Prof Izevbaye, who was one of the earliest members of the panel judges when the prize started, the award will be adjudged by Prof Asabe Usman Kabir, a professor of Oral and African Literatures at Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto and Prof Isidore Diala, a professor of African Literature at Imo State University, Owerri and first winner of the award for Literary Criticism. Prof Kojo Senanu of the University of Legion is the international consultant.

    Other members of the board are Emeritus Prof Ben Elugbe and Prof Jerry Agada.

  • Marc-Vivien Foe prize for Africans: Enyeama nominated again

    Marc-Vivien Foe prize for Africans: Enyeama nominated again

    • Keeps 12 clean sheets; makes 28 appearances
    • Secures save ratio of 2.6 per French Ligue 1 game

    Vincent Enyeama has once again emerged as one of the 11 shortlisted players for the Marc-Vivien Foe prize for Africans in the French Ligue 1.

    The 33-year-old Nigerian shot-stopper is the only goalkeeper nominated alongside two defenders, five midfielders and three strikers.

    The Lille OSC custodian will have to contend with the like of Ivorian Serge Aurier, Abdul Majeed Waris, Moustapha Bayal Sall, Floyd Ayite, Ryad Boudebouz and Sofiane Boufal.

    Other nominees are Rachid Ghezzal, Cheikh Noye, Cheick Diabate and Cameroon striker Benjamain Moukandjo.

    This season, Enyeama has impressed between the sticks for Lille and has made 28 appearances for his team. He has kept 12 clean sheets including shipping in 0.76 goal per match and has a save ratio of 2.6 per French Ligue 1 game.

    The former Nigerian international has made 72 saves including 45 of them being shots from inside the box.

    In 2014, Enyeama was voted the best African in the French top-flight after he put up an incredible streak of 14 clean sheets for Lille, amounting to 1,061 minutes without conceding, falling short by 115 minutes to the all-time clean sheet record in France held by former Bordeaux goalkeeper Gaeten Huard in 1993.

    Last year, Andre Ayew, now with Swansea City, beat Enyeama and a host of other African players to the award. The winner of the award for 2016 will be named in May.

    The nominees

    Vincent Enyeama (Nigeria/Lille), Serge Aurier (Ivory Coast/PSG), Moustapha Bayal Sall (Senegal/Saint-Etienne), Floyd Ayité (Togo/SC Bastia), Ryad Boudebouz (Algeria/Montpellier), Sofiane Boufal (Morocco/Lille), Rachid Ghezzal (Algeria/ OlympiqueLyonnais), Cheikh Ndoye (Senegal/Angers), Cheick Diabaté (Mali/Bordeaux), Benjamain Moukandjo (Cameroon/FC Lorient), Abdul Majeed Waris (Ghana/FC Lorient).

  • A prize for keeping fit

    A prize for keeping fit

    In a routine drill contest organised for soldiers of the 14 Brigade Command in Abia State, a unit near Aba, the commercial capital of the region, shone and it was accordingly honoured, Sunny Nwankwo reports

    There is no war, but that does not mean soldiers should forget about keeping fit and being better combatants. That was why the 14 Brigade Command Headquarters of Nigerian Army in Ohafia, named after former President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, brought together over 200 soldiers from various formations to go through their routine drill. And to spice things up and inject serious into it, the battalions had to vie for a prize. The 144 Battalion in Ukwa West Local Government Area of the state won the prize: a golden cup.

    The exercise was in compliance with the directives of the new Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai.

    Brig-Gen Bamidele Omozoje, the brigade commander, urged officers and men under his command to work harder to reach the point of proficiency required to enable them fulfil their constitutional roles.

    Omozoje who also was the review officer of the competition stated that the need for the exercise could not be over-emphasised, adding that drill provides the command with the opportunity to evaluate the performance of soldiers.

    Speaking further, the brigade commander  said that the competition was part of the scheduled training arrangements for the Nigerian Army as directed by the COAS.

    “The activities we are witnessing today are part of the training activities scheduled for this year 2015 and we have decided to go ahead with it despite all the challenges in line with the Chief or Army Staff’s vision to have a very professionally responsive Nigerian army in the discharge of its constitutional roles.

    “And so we are here this morning to witness the…inter-battalion drill competition. In the army drill is key because it is the foundation for establishing team work among its personnel and also for building comradeship.

    “That is why we are here this morning. I urge all participants to put up a very good display so that at the end of the whole exercise everybody who is present would have gained something”, he said.

    He thanked all the soldiers who participated in the exercise including guests for being part of the programme and contributing to its success.

    Four units of the military formations in Abia state took part in the event which lasted for about four hours.

    The participating units included 14 Brigade, Ohafia; the 144 Battalion, Asa; 143 Battalion, Ovim hosting Nigerian Army Language School and 145 Battalion, Ohafia with its Forward Operational Base (FOB) at Umuahia.

    The competition ended with 144 Battalion, Asa in Ukwa West adjudged the best in the drills competition and were presented with a Golden Cup by Omozoje which was received by 2nd Lt. Noah Shigaba on behalf of the 144 Battalion Commander, Lt. Col. Sidi Umar.

     

  • Osofisan wins Thalia prize

    Osofisan wins Thalia prize

    One of Nigeria’s leading playwrights and author of Once Upon Four Robbers,  Prof Femi Osofisan, has won this year’s Thalia Prize of the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC). He will be honoured at the association’s congress in Belgrade.

    The association said it was ‘proud to announce that the 2016 Thalia Prize of the International Association of Theatre Critics will be awarded to Femi Osofisan of Nigeria, a playwright, director, actor, critic, poet, novelist, editor and newspaper columnist”.

    The statement reads: “The Thalia Prize is meant to highlight the work of those who have helped critics around the globe to understand new ways of seeing and appreciating the performing arts worldwide. The 2016 Thalia Prize will be presented to the awardee during the IATC Congress in Belgrade.”

  • PZ presents prize money to Mamador winner

    PZ Wilmar has redeemed its N1 million prize money to the first winner of its Mamador consumer promo tagged: “Mamador Cook & Cruise Promo”.  The winner, Mrs. Anjola Ogunmodede, is a 2007 graduate of Business Administration from the Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State. Ogunbodede, a staff of a new generation bank, who was accompanied to the presentation by her mother, Mrs. Bola Lapite, expressed appreciation to PZ Wilmar for putting such a smile on her face.

    Recalling how the journey to winning the N1 million started, Ogunbodede said she bought a 3.1 litre Mamador oil from Alhaja Raobis at Mushin market, and was informed of the promo tied to the product. She said she would keep the money in the bank first before spending it, but obviously a part will go to God. “God is the owner of the money He has to take His own share before I spend the rest,” she said.

    The General Manager, Marketing, PZ Wilmar, Mrs Bukky Bandele, explained that Ogunbodede was very lucky to be a star winner ahead of other several participants.  She said Mamador is proud to be touching the lives of women.

    “If you empower a woman you have actually empowered the family. Mamador radiates purity and care, which could be likened to the care of a mother, it is manufactured by a reputable company and approved by NAFDAC,” Bandele said.

    The star price, which is a salon car, would be up for grabs at the grand finale. The car price will be won at the grand finale and loyal customers that have bought the product for two to three months, and have accumulated points would have their names automatically drawn and three winners will emerge for the cars just like there will be three winners for the one million naira cash.