President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday fired back at critics of the National Honours Award, saying he was expecting criticisms as even the most celebrated award, the Nobel peace prize is also being criticised by many.
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?“As I have mentioned, even the most celebrated Nobel peace prize is being criticised; so, definitely you will expect criticisms,” he said while presenting 355 distinguished Nigerians with various national honours at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
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The presentation of the National Honours Award yesterday brought the total number of awardees so far in the country to 3,924 since it began in 1963.
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A breakdown of the awards shows one Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), 65 Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON), 38 Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), 74 Officer of the Order of Federal Republic (OFR), 69 Member of the Officer of the Order Federal Republic (MFR), 71 Order of the Niger (OON), 28 Member of the Order of the Niger (MON), two First Class Federal Republic Medal and three Second Class Federal Republic Medal.
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Top on the list of the recipients are Alhaji Aliko Dangote (GCON), Speaker of House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal among the 38 CFR recipients, the nine governors of Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Cross River, Edo, Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Rivers and Jigawa states and nine former governors were among the 65 recipients that got CON.
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Replying critics of the national award, Jonathan said: “One thing I am aware of is that there have been criticisms of the National Award nominations and selection process. I have since directed the appropriate departments to note the concerns that have been expressed and to take steps to ensure further improvement so that the National Honours award can continue to serve its purpose.
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“National Honours are not merely decorative; they remind us of an important part of our responsibilities as citizens. We must always endeavour to do the best for our country. Even as we realize with deep humility that all human beings are fallible, we must look forward with confidence and hope that our country, through each and every one of us, can indeed put its God-given endowment to the best possible use.”
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He noted that a welder, electrician or anybody who by virtue of what he does, did it with much dedication and impacted society significantly, could be honoured by the president.
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The president also explained why business mogul Aliko Dangote got Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), the second highest national honours award in the country, saying it was in recognition of enterprise.
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He said, “You can see today that we have recognised Aliko Dangote with the highest on the GCON series because we must recognise enterprise. This is a man who has been able to employ thousands of Nigerians as we heard it from the citation. Today I am having the GCFR, the highest in the land by virtue of the fact that I am the president of this country, but if I am not the president, another person must be the president of Nigeria.
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“But if Aliko did not have that business acumen to build that empire, probably we wouldn’t have had somebody to employ thousands of Nigerians. So those who by their innate abilities and creative energies have been able to make impact in our society even deserve more honour than those of us holding political offices. So, we would continue encourage enterprise, creativity and Nigerians who have excelled in whatever form”.
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The president gave a low-down on how some of the awardees were selected, saying it became necessary against “comments from very young people who are a bit confused about how people are selected for National Honours”.
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He said, “In Nigeria you have three awards; two are parallel, and we gave two today, the GCFR and GCON series and of course the Nigerian National Merit Award. The Nigerian National Merit Award is meant for scholars and not just scholars, but scholars with distinction and the committee that selects those who will receive that award are among the eggheads.
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“The President plays almost no role in selecting who wins the merit award, because that is for academic division. The president plays the ceremonial position of just decorating or presenting the award to those scholars. But the National Honours criteria are different. It is based on what an individual has contributed to his community, his state, his country and how you have projected this country outside.
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Earlier, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim announced the shortage of medal which, he attributed to large number of recipients, he however assured that who could not get the award today will receive the award in the next one week.
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Jonathan also conferred the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) on Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State.
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Oshiomhole, immediate past president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is one of the nine governors in the country who bagged the CON, the fourth national honour in the country.
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Others are Rotimi Ameachi (Rivers), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Ibrahim Yakowa (Kaduna), Muazu Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Sule Lamido (Jigawa) Peter Obi (Anambra) and Liyel Imoke (Cross River).
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Nollywood Actors and Actresses who received the award of Member of the Federal Republic (MFR) are Olu Jacobs, Kanayo O Kanayo, Genevieve Nnaji, Stephanie Okereke, Osita Iheme (Pawpaw) and Amaka Igwe.
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Speaking on behalf of all the awardees, Alhaji Dangote thanked Nigerians for the recognition and promised to continue to strive to make Nigeria one of the greatest countries in the world.
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“We shall be good ambassadors within and outside Nigeria,” he said.
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He also said Nigeria is the best country on earth to invest, adding that security concerns was not a solely Nigerian phenomenon.
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“We would not relent. We would keep scratching for our potentials to develop Nigeria,” he said.