President Muhammadu Buhari, has conferred one of the highest national honours on the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and 449 other Nigerians and non-Nigerians, who have distinguished themselves in the service of the Nigeria and humanity.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was conferred with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON). The other recipients in this category included the President of the Nigerian Senate, Ahmed Lawan; the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola; immediate past CJN, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad; Deputy Secretary-General of United Nations (UN), Amina Mohammed and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Prof Tijjani Muhammad-Bande.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Buhari commended the national awards committee, headed by Justice Sidi Bage Muhammad, a retired justice of the Supreme Court and Emir of Lafia, for his patriotic duty by diligently going through over 5,000 submissions and coming up with the recommendations.
President Buhari acknowledged that the list of awardees was justifiably long because the exercise has not been carried out since 2015.
He 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.
The highlight of the ceremony was the recognition of some of the recipients by President Buhari. “We have among the recipients Okonjo-Iweala, Amina 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 among Nigerians.
‘’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.
‘’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, President Buhari said.
He used the occasion to restate the commitment of the Federal Government, under his leadership, to root out all forms of banditry, criminality, terrorism, and insurgency in the land.
The statement by presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, Buhari reaffirmed his solemn pledge to the nation of handing over “a Nigeria that is free from insecurity to the next generation of leaders”.
Buhari explained that his administration has put in measures to stem the tide with improved funding of security agencies.
“At the inception of this administration in 2015, I provided the funding requirements of the security agencies which was also improved in my second tenure in 2019 to enable them to surmount security challenges. We will continue on this path until our efforts yield the desired results.
“As we put in place all measures to ensure that Nigeria takes her place in the Comity of Nations, we recognize the importance of a well-educated populace as a panacea to most of the challenges we face,” Buhari added.
GIK/APA