On-the-craze-for-and-abuse-of-awards-titles-by-nigerians
September 7, 2020 | News
ON THE CRAZE FOR, AND ABUSE OF AWARDS/ TITLES BY NIGERIANS
One of the craziest practices we have observed in this nation is the ‘unquenchable thirst’ for Awards, Titles and Honours. Even when the individual does not necessary qualify for having the attributes to be given such societal recognition. This has become the craziest standards we have adopted as a culture, as a norm that has made many well-respected Institutions, Corporate bodies and the Government, to sell their birth rights and dignity for ephemeral benefits.
It is really sad to note that Awards/Titles and Honours, which ordinarily should have been a sign of societal recognition for one’s selfless-service and worthy accomplishments, have been turned into a ‘product’ that can be bought with money or given in the name of favouritism/nepotism, to the extent that the ‘value’ of such titles/honours and awards have been rubbished and made worthless; from that of the national honours to the least awards you can imagine. At the end of the day, we now have “Persons Of Questionable Characters” bearing society-recognized Awards/Titles and honours. There are so many examples of such Awards/Titles and Honours given to serving and ex public office holders in the country.
Often times, we cannot help but wonder the criteria that were used to give such awards/titles and honours, especially that of the National Merit Award. We cannot help but ask these questions: before these awards/titles and honours were given to public officials that have questionable characters and whose integrity and performance in public office were quite questionable; did they verify or carry out a proper ‘performance and integrity assessment’ of the public officials in question, especially while in office, before they were selected?
One example that still strikes as a surprise to us, was the Honourary Doctorate Degree Award in Management Sciences that was given to the former Minister of Petroleum Reosurces, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke in 2011 by the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, making her the first female to be so honoured. We frowned at and condemned the said award at that time, for we completely do not understand what is the relation between the Petroleum Industry and the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) to have warranted her being given such an award. The same Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke is today having multiple corruption and fraudulent charges hanging on her neck both home and abroad in the United Kingdom (UK). There is also the “Outstanding Leadership Service Award” given late 2015 to the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, by the Association of African NGOs at the United Nations, New York. And we could not help but wonder what public services as a governor, has Governor Udom Emmanuel executed in Akwa Ibom State in the few months he was sworn in as Governor back then to have deserved such an Award as “Outstanding Leadership Service”? This simply justifies the fact that these awards are lobbied by our politicians to make themselves look good in the eyes of the Nigerian public and the International Community.
Take the National Honours Award as another good example. On several occasions and in many articles, we have criticized the criteria, the rational and the basis for Nigeria’s National Honours/Awards, which have been rendered ‘valueless’ and ‘worthless’ over the years due to the manner with which the awards are given. This is hinged on a lot of factors which include; the frequency and the huge number of recipients, which not only makes it comical but also questions the criteria and significance of the national awards. Secondly, and most importantly, the character, background and achievement of 95% of the recipients of the national honours (which are mostly politicians and ‘military-politicians’), elicit great concern that makes the award practically valueless to a large extent. One is left to wonder what has become of the integrity of the once highly priced national honour, especially when we consider the fact that serving State Governors, that have not yet concluded their tenures in government were amongst recipients that have been conferred with the National Honours in the past; like was observed few years ago. When State Governors that are still serving in government (and whose performances were still being assessed) were given national honours award. One begins to wonder the rationale behind such awards.
While we agree with the fact that some of the recipients of the recent National Honours clearly do deserve the awards, we cannot say same for so many others, especially serving government officials. This is why we believe there is need for the Federal Government to be more ‘economical’ with the way they issue these National Honours. Nigerian National Honours should be ‘scarcely’ bestowed on people just the way the United Kingdom (UK) “Honourary Knighthoods” Awards are scarcely given to worthy people by the Queen Of England. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (often shortened to "Order of the British Empire") is the most junior and most populous order of Chivalry in the British and other Commonwealth honours systems. But these Honours/Awards are not given/dished out to people like we find here.
We also recall how the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had cautioned organizations, sometime in 2016, to refrain from giving award to personalities occupying government positions at an early stage of their service, but he failed to decline the award given to him to back-up his advice. Kachikwu was conferred with the Nelson Mandela Pan-African Exemplary Leadership Honour by the African Youth Global Network (AYGN). But the Minister, however, said that the award was too premature for him. In his words: “Let me start by thanking you for the honour, but my problem is that I have not been able to see myself getting to a point where I deserve an award. I think it is coming a bit premature and every attempt to give me an award since September 2015; I have turned down including foreign awards. The problem we have in Africa is to celebrate people too early even before they find their feet. I have just begun this work, just at the periphery of the performance, and there is a lot to be done. I think it is too early, but this being a youth award, the least I could do is to encourage them to aspire and that is why I accepted the award.”
While we noted that Dr. Kachikwu made a very valid point above, however, we would have preferred he backed his words with action by declining and refusing to accept the said award conferred on him by AYGN. The explanation he gave that it is a youth award, therefore he accepted it to encourage them, does not exonerate the fact that an award is an award and this particular one, like many others we have seen, were given too early to public officials who were still serving at the time such awards were given.
So, having awards does not mean the recipient of such award really deserved it neither does it mean they have done something substantial to improve the lives of others. In Nigeria today, Awards/Titles and Honours have become toys which any ‘questionable character’ in government circles can buy using public funds meant for all. The latest one they do now is to go to abroad to lobby for such Awards just to gain societal recognition and even gain sympathy with the citizenry to suggest that they are working in government or that they have left a good legacy behind.
Another common practice for the craze of awards/titles evident in the country, especially in Delta State, is the habit of Monarchs and Traditional Rulers preferring to be called and referred to as “His Royal Majesty” (HRM) or “His Royal Imperial Majesty”. It is like comparing themselves with the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II, as an Her Imperial Majesty who happens to be, not only the Head of State of the UK Government, but also the Head of State of Canada, New Zealand and Ustralia as well as the Head of the Commonwealth of Nations. We can then imagine a Traditional Ruler or Monarch of a small clan or village in Delta State and South-South bearing the title of “His Royal Imperial Majesty.” There is no comparism between the Queen of England and these Monarchs and Traditional Rulers/Kings in Delta State. In fact, no King, Monarch or Traditional Ruler in Delta State and the entire country has attained the status of ‘Majesty’, talk more of an Imperial. In Other words, our people have turned Titles and Awards to something else.
We believe it is the ‘scarcity’ of the National Honours that will restore its ‘Value’. Popularity or being in Government circles does not automatically make one to be on the path for National Honours recognition. Some people might be known widely but have questionable characters and integrity. Traditional Rulers might be known but have questionable integrity. The Nigerian National Honours should not be ‘politicized’ and ridiculed in the name of satisfying some political points. The National Honours should not be used for instance, to ‘compensate’ or buy the support of some political interests. Our National Honours should have no iota of ‘political undertones to it’. That is why we believe that henceforth, on no account should any National Honour be given to any politician, especially serving political leaders because they are part of the crop of people who have brought the country to its present deplorable status. There is need for the Federal Government to review these National Honours to ensure that those awarded truly merited them.
We also fault the practice by The Governing Board, Nigerian National Merit Award, calling for Nomination/Application via national tabloids, for the Nigerian public and stakeholders alike to nominate and apply for the said award. We believe this is not the way the said Board under The Presidency, should go about getting deserving Nigerians that should be awarded with the said national merit. One would have thought that by now, The Governing Board could have developed a system of identifying and selecting Nigerians with the credibility, integrity, proven track record of excellence in their various fields of endeavors and so on, without going public and calling for nomination/applications via national newspapers. Since the said Award is open to all Nigerian citizenry (both home and abroad) of ‘outstanding merit’, we do not think it would be difficult for The Governing Board to identify outstanding Nigerians that deserve the said national honour, especially in this day and age of Information Technology.
Let us reiterate here that people started to reject the National Awards because political consideration rather than merit became the only qualification. After the first and second Republics, the award became an issue of high political consideration. This is why reputable Nigerians have in several occasions rejected the National award. The unfortunate thing here is the fact that something is intricately wrong with our ‘value system’. It is alien to our culture and heritage to value money, fame, titles and awards over worthy virtues like hardwork, honesty, integrity, empathy, love for one another, etc. Let us state categorically that the worth of a man is not measured by the number of titles or awards he/she received while on earth, but rather by the time tested, concrete, meaningful, valuable, and enduring contributions and achievements which he/she has made towards the lives of those in his/her immediate and remote environment.
A man with a chain of titles and awards who fails to contribute positively to the mental, social, economic, political, spiritual, emancipation and development of his people is like a tree that is in the forest today; when it is gone tomorrow, it is forever forgotten.
Zik Gbemre, JP.
One of the craziest practices we have observed in this nation is the ‘unquenchable thirst’ for Awards, Titles and Honours. Even when the individual does not necessary qualify for having the attributes to be given such societal recognition. This has become the craziest standards we have adopted as a culture, as a norm that has made many well-respected Institutions, Corporate bodies and the Government, to sell their birth rights and dignity for ephemeral benefits.
It is really sad to note that Awards/Titles and Honours, which ordinarily should have been a sign of societal recognition for one’s selfless-service and worthy accomplishments, have been turned into a ‘product’ that can be bought with money or given in the name of favouritism/nepotism, to the extent that the ‘value’ of such titles/honours and awards have been rubbished and made worthless; from that of the national honours to the least awards you can imagine. At the end of the day, we now have “Persons Of Questionable Characters” bearing society-recognized Awards/Titles and honours. There are so many examples of such Awards/Titles and Honours given to serving and ex public office holders in the country.
Often times, we cannot help but wonder the criteria that were used to give such awards/titles and honours, especially that of the National Merit Award. We cannot help but ask these questions: before these awards/titles and honours were given to public officials that have questionable characters and whose integrity and performance in public office were quite questionable; did they verify or carry out a proper ‘performance and integrity assessment’ of the public officials in question, especially while in office, before they were selected?
One example that still strikes as a surprise to us, was the Honourary Doctorate Degree Award in Management Sciences that was given to the former Minister of Petroleum Reosurces, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke in 2011 by the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, making her the first female to be so honoured. We frowned at and condemned the said award at that time, for we completely do not understand what is the relation between the Petroleum Industry and the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) to have warranted her being given such an award. The same Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke is today having multiple corruption and fraudulent charges hanging on her neck both home and abroad in the United Kingdom (UK). There is also the “Outstanding Leadership Service Award” given late 2015 to the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, by the Association of African NGOs at the United Nations, New York. And we could not help but wonder what public services as a governor, has Governor Udom Emmanuel executed in Akwa Ibom State in the few months he was sworn in as Governor back then to have deserved such an Award as “Outstanding Leadership Service”? This simply justifies the fact that these awards are lobbied by our politicians to make themselves look good in the eyes of the Nigerian public and the International Community.
Take the National Honours Award as another good example. On several occasions and in many articles, we have criticized the criteria, the rational and the basis for Nigeria’s National Honours/Awards, which have been rendered ‘valueless’ and ‘worthless’ over the years due to the manner with which the awards are given. This is hinged on a lot of factors which include; the frequency and the huge number of recipients, which not only makes it comical but also questions the criteria and significance of the national awards. Secondly, and most importantly, the character, background and achievement of 95% of the recipients of the national honours (which are mostly politicians and ‘military-politicians’), elicit great concern that makes the award practically valueless to a large extent. One is left to wonder what has become of the integrity of the once highly priced national honour, especially when we consider the fact that serving State Governors, that have not yet concluded their tenures in government were amongst recipients that have been conferred with the National Honours in the past; like was observed few years ago. When State Governors that are still serving in government (and whose performances were still being assessed) were given national honours award. One begins to wonder the rationale behind such awards.
While we agree with the fact that some of the recipients of the recent National Honours clearly do deserve the awards, we cannot say same for so many others, especially serving government officials. This is why we believe there is need for the Federal Government to be more ‘economical’ with the way they issue these National Honours. Nigerian National Honours should be ‘scarcely’ bestowed on people just the way the United Kingdom (UK) “Honourary Knighthoods” Awards are scarcely given to worthy people by the Queen Of England. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (often shortened to "Order of the British Empire") is the most junior and most populous order of Chivalry in the British and other Commonwealth honours systems. But these Honours/Awards are not given/dished out to people like we find here.
We also recall how the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had cautioned organizations, sometime in 2016, to refrain from giving award to personalities occupying government positions at an early stage of their service, but he failed to decline the award given to him to back-up his advice. Kachikwu was conferred with the Nelson Mandela Pan-African Exemplary Leadership Honour by the African Youth Global Network (AYGN). But the Minister, however, said that the award was too premature for him. In his words: “Let me start by thanking you for the honour, but my problem is that I have not been able to see myself getting to a point where I deserve an award. I think it is coming a bit premature and every attempt to give me an award since September 2015; I have turned down including foreign awards. The problem we have in Africa is to celebrate people too early even before they find their feet. I have just begun this work, just at the periphery of the performance, and there is a lot to be done. I think it is too early, but this being a youth award, the least I could do is to encourage them to aspire and that is why I accepted the award.”
While we noted that Dr. Kachikwu made a very valid point above, however, we would have preferred he backed his words with action by declining and refusing to accept the said award conferred on him by AYGN. The explanation he gave that it is a youth award, therefore he accepted it to encourage them, does not exonerate the fact that an award is an award and this particular one, like many others we have seen, were given too early to public officials who were still serving at the time such awards were given.
So, having awards does not mean the recipient of such award really deserved it neither does it mean they have done something substantial to improve the lives of others. In Nigeria today, Awards/Titles and Honours have become toys which any ‘questionable character’ in government circles can buy using public funds meant for all. The latest one they do now is to go to abroad to lobby for such Awards just to gain societal recognition and even gain sympathy with the citizenry to suggest that they are working in government or that they have left a good legacy behind.
Another common practice for the craze of awards/titles evident in the country, especially in Delta State, is the habit of Monarchs and Traditional Rulers preferring to be called and referred to as “His Royal Majesty” (HRM) or “His Royal Imperial Majesty”. It is like comparing themselves with the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II, as an Her Imperial Majesty who happens to be, not only the Head of State of the UK Government, but also the Head of State of Canada, New Zealand and Ustralia as well as the Head of the Commonwealth of Nations. We can then imagine a Traditional Ruler or Monarch of a small clan or village in Delta State and South-South bearing the title of “His Royal Imperial Majesty.” There is no comparism between the Queen of England and these Monarchs and Traditional Rulers/Kings in Delta State. In fact, no King, Monarch or Traditional Ruler in Delta State and the entire country has attained the status of ‘Majesty’, talk more of an Imperial. In Other words, our people have turned Titles and Awards to something else.
We believe it is the ‘scarcity’ of the National Honours that will restore its ‘Value’. Popularity or being in Government circles does not automatically make one to be on the path for National Honours recognition. Some people might be known widely but have questionable characters and integrity. Traditional Rulers might be known but have questionable integrity. The Nigerian National Honours should not be ‘politicized’ and ridiculed in the name of satisfying some political points. The National Honours should not be used for instance, to ‘compensate’ or buy the support of some political interests. Our National Honours should have no iota of ‘political undertones to it’. That is why we believe that henceforth, on no account should any National Honour be given to any politician, especially serving political leaders because they are part of the crop of people who have brought the country to its present deplorable status. There is need for the Federal Government to review these National Honours to ensure that those awarded truly merited them.
We also fault the practice by The Governing Board, Nigerian National Merit Award, calling for Nomination/Application via national tabloids, for the Nigerian public and stakeholders alike to nominate and apply for the said award. We believe this is not the way the said Board under The Presidency, should go about getting deserving Nigerians that should be awarded with the said national merit. One would have thought that by now, The Governing Board could have developed a system of identifying and selecting Nigerians with the credibility, integrity, proven track record of excellence in their various fields of endeavors and so on, without going public and calling for nomination/applications via national newspapers. Since the said Award is open to all Nigerian citizenry (both home and abroad) of ‘outstanding merit’, we do not think it would be difficult for The Governing Board to identify outstanding Nigerians that deserve the said national honour, especially in this day and age of Information Technology.
Let us reiterate here that people started to reject the National Awards because political consideration rather than merit became the only qualification. After the first and second Republics, the award became an issue of high political consideration. This is why reputable Nigerians have in several occasions rejected the National award. The unfortunate thing here is the fact that something is intricately wrong with our ‘value system’. It is alien to our culture and heritage to value money, fame, titles and awards over worthy virtues like hardwork, honesty, integrity, empathy, love for one another, etc. Let us state categorically that the worth of a man is not measured by the number of titles or awards he/she received while on earth, but rather by the time tested, concrete, meaningful, valuable, and enduring contributions and achievements which he/she has made towards the lives of those in his/her immediate and remote environment.
A man with a chain of titles and awards who fails to contribute positively to the mental, social, economic, political, spiritual, emancipation and development of his people is like a tree that is in the forest today; when it is gone tomorrow, it is forever forgotten.
Zik Gbemre, JP.