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Sonekan, Etsu Nupe, Odogwu, 192 others get national awards
From Madu Onuorah,
Abuja
ONE hundred and ninety-five persons, including seven foreigners, were last night invested with various degrees of national honours in a colourful ceremony at the expansive Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
President Olusegun Obasanjo presented the honours to the awardees with the former Head of Interim Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan bagging the highest national title of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (GCFR).
Three people received the GCFR. These are the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, Chief Sunny Odogwu and the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred N. Achebe.
But missing on the final list of recipients is the name of respected novelist, Prof. Chinua Achebe, who had earlier turned down his award citing poor national leadership and the alleged involvement of the President on the crisis in Anambra State.
Other categories awarded at the year's investiture are 20 recipients for the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON), 47 for the Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR) and 55 officers of the Order of the Niger (OON). Others include 41 Members of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR); 13 Members of the Order of the Niger (MON) and 12 people got the Federal Republic Medal - 1st and 2nd Class.
Speaking during the investiture, Minister of Inter-Governmental Relations and Special Duties, Dr. Frank Nweke said this year's event was a celebration of excellence and patriotism.
His words: "This is the 40th anniversary of the Nigerian National Honours, which was established to acknowledge and reward excellence, innovation and patriotic service in both public and private sectors of our national life."
He continued: "A distinguishing feature of this year's award was the production of clear, objective and verifiable matrices for assessment of nominees such as character, career, achievement, contribution to the development of Nigeria, quality/type of nomination and nomination."
Nweke's speech was apparently in defence of the many criticism that trailed the award of national honours, from the moment the nominations were announced two months ago.
He noted that since inception, national honours awards were never meant for political patronage adding that this year's list was no exception.
"Attempts to politicise the awards in the guise of criticism were therefore, misplaced", he said, adding: "Amongst our recipients tonight are those who may not necessarily share the view of the government of the day. Their presence here therefore, does not only underscore the fact that merit is at the heart of this exercise, but theirs is a commendable exhibition of statesmanship."
He continued: "I believe that criticism in whatever shape or form must respect and protect our shared convictions, convictions that have survived for generations and given us our identity as a people. If our criticism are to have any credibility, they must emanate from a source more permanent that the passion of the times."
Dr. Cecilia Ibru, managing director of Oceanic Bank International Plc and one of the recipients of the MFR award said: "I feel this is the greatest honour you can get from your country. I feel very humbled by such honour on me. It is one of the things you think you will never get, to get such an honour you think is meant for certain people. And when you are being counted among the select few, it is one we must give God all the glory."
She added: "It makes you determined to do even more whatever you were doing before for which one was recognised. It is very important for me, to be counted among the select few selected for the national honours. Therefore, if I have nationalistic feelings before, it should be more so now than before. And I hope this honour also will encourage others to begin to see that our nation is worth working for."
Mrs. Ibru continued: "We have problems but there are no problems in our nation that cannot be fixed. And if they're fixable, let us join hands and fix them so that together, we can have a better nation."
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