Buhari confers national honours on 443 Nigerians, 7 foreigners

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, conferred National Honours on 450 Nigerians and non-Nigerians who have distinguished themselves in the service of the country and humanity, saying citizens who contribute to national development deserve to be encouraged and appreciated.

Some of the 2022 National Honours Award recipients, in the category of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) were Senate President, Ahmed Lawan; the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola; the immediate past CJN, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad; the Director-General of World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; the Deputy Secretary-General of UN, Amina Mohammed; and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Prof Tijjani Muhammad-Bande.

Speaking at the event held in Abuja, President Buhari commended the National Awards Committee headed by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court and the Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Bage Muhammad I, for a great and patriotic duty by diligently going through over 5,000 submissions and coming up with these recommendations.

The President, according to a statement issued on Tuesday by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, noted that the screening and selection of nominees for this year’s award as always followed established broad criteria, in accordance with the National Honours Act CAP.N43 of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

Buhari listed them to include “consistent and meaningful participation in community and/or national development; rendering unsolicited, selfless and philanthropic services to humanity; outstanding sacrifice in the defence of a cause popularly adjudged to be positive, relevant and beneficial to the nation and community.”

Other criteria listed by the President for selecting the recipients were “distinct act of bravery in the protection and/or defence of national interest, public peace, safety of life and property.

“Remarkable achievement in any field of expertise where the person’s activities in that field have made significant contributions to the attainment of national goals and objectives.

“Immense contributions towards the uplift of community, state, nation and/or humanity through achievements by way of inventions and bringing outstanding honour and glory to the state through personal dedication and patriotic commitment. Service with integrity is also a basis for the selection process.”

President Buhari, who stressed that nation-building involves a lot of sacrifice by the citizenry, said citizens who contribute to national development deserve to be encouraged and appreciated.

He, however, lauded the 2022 National Award recipients for distinguishing themselves in various ways “for the purpose of recreating a new Nigeria of our dreams through respect for the rule of law, image laundering, transparency and accountability in management of scarce resources.”

The President added that those in the private sector have also creditably discharged themselves in business, entertainment, hospitality, transportation and other forms of human endeavours to transform Nigeria.

“We have amongst the recipients today, Amb. Prof. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Ms. Amina J. Mohammed and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who are doing our country proud on the international scene. Our dear sisters are a source of inspiration to our young women that through the dint of hard work and dedication, they can achieve greatness.

“We also have on the list, Imam Abdullahi Abubakar, a religious leader who hid over 262 Christians in his mosque from attacks in Yelwa Gindi Akwati village, in Plateau State. He is a good example of religious tolerance we preach amongst Nigerians. I am excited that he is being honoured today with Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR).

“Worthy of mention are our artistes, particularly, our very own Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu (Burna Boy), who won the Grammy Awards in 2020. He along with other artistes have repositioned the Nigerian entertainment industry and placed it on the global map. At the just concluded Dubai Expo 2020, Nigeria’s pavilion was a beehive of activities as our musicians entertained guests from around the world.

“Despite the present economic challenges, Nigeria still boasts of men and women of integrity; Ms. Josephine Agu, an airport cleaner returned $12,200 found in a toilet at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos as well as Ogbanago Muhammed Ibrahim, a bank security man who found and returned $10,000.

“Today, we celebrate their dignity and strong strength of character by conferring National Honours on them. They are a shining example to our younger generation.

“I congratulate all the recipients today who will be joining the league of Awardees.

“I appreciate the non-Nigerian recipients and assure all of you that this administration will continue to provide the enabling environment for you to undertake your lawful businesses to allow you to sustain your efforts at contributing to the development of our nation, Nigeria,” Buhari said.

President Buhari further stated that the list of awardees was justifiably long because the exercise has not been carried out since 2015.

He recalled that since the inception of his administration, there has not been such occasion like this where individuals and friends of Nigeria have been so singled out for investiture except for the Special Investiture Ceremony in honour of Chief MKO Abiola, Baba Gana Kingibe, and Gani Fawehinmi, SAN.

Buhari, therefore, appealed to other Nigerians who are yet to receive this recognition to be patient and understand that their efforts in nation-building are appreciated and at the right time, would similarly be recognised.

Speaking on behalf of the awardees, the Senate President thanked Buhari for the honour, saying the award was an encouragement to more work and a call to duty to serve Nigeria with renewed strength, loyalty, and honesty.

A total of 6 persons were conferred with GCON, 55 received Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), 65 got the Commander of the Order of Niger (CON), 77 were presented with the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR), 110 received the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON); 74 were presented with Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) and 55 received Member of the Order of the Niger (MON).

There were four recipients each for the Federal Republic Medal I (FRM I), and Federal Republic Medal II (FRM II) Second Class) respectively.

The seven foreigners honoured received the OFR Award.

The Star

Segun Ojo