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Basketmouth, Fela Durotoye, Funmi Iyanda, Others Deserve National Awards By Kofoworola Ayodeji
The Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti was recently honoured by the United States Congress for his huge contributions to music and political activism ynaija.com/afrobeat-legend-fela-kuti-us-congress/. I received the news with mixed feelings— excitement on one end and anger on the other. I was excited because the music legend was remembered and recognised even years after his death— that’s superb! But again, I was heart-broken that Nigeria as a country does not admire and celebrate her own sons and daughters (both young and old) who have demonstrated uncommon excellence in their areas of interest. You would quickly recall that Taiwo Akinkunmi, the designer of Nigerian flag (a huge source of national pride) was only given a national award after decades of neglect. Isn’t that disgraceful? A few days later, it was all over the media that the Nigerian veteran comedian, Basketmouth had been specially honoured in far away Houston— the fourth largest city in the United States. According to reports www.channelstv.com/2015/07/08/houston-mayor-names-july-17-basketmouth-day/, July 17 has been proclaimed as Basketmouth Day by the Mayor of the City of Houston in Texas. This was obviously done in recognition of his extraordinary feats. I doubt if anyone would dispute the fact that this young man really deserves the great honour. The first time I saw him perform live was at a campus show (then as an undergraduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife) where he had come to thrill the students in the heat of academic warfare, and I did doff my hat for him on that day—he’s a great bundle of talents. In fact, I said to myself, “This guy is going places and he should win a national award someday”. Never mind my incurable optimism, that’s what I say whenever I come across young talented Nigerians and Africans who sweep me off my feet. Other than Basketmouth and one or two other comedians, there are a number of exceptional Nigerians who are long overdue for state honours. But, have they ever been considered? No. Let’s discuss some of these remarkable citizens. To the best of my knowledge, national awards were not designed for ‘friends-of-the-government’ who are only experts when it comes to looting the public funds. Instead, they were designed in order to recognise the contributions of notable people to the development of their communities and nation at large. When they are honoured as deemed fit, this inspires and gives hope to the younger generation that indeed there are rewards for excellence, diligence and patriotism. In the case of Nigeria, it’s the exact opposite. Does that explain why an average Nigerian youth care less about impacting the lives of fellow countrymen and therefore doesn’t give a damn about community development? Fela Durotoye has touched the lives of so many Nigerian youths as a foremost motivational speaker and author. Through various nation building projects, he has helped many young ones find their purpose in life and build outstanding businesses/careers. This fantastic man has inspired numerous Nigerians to create solutions to some of the overwhelming problems facing the country. Fela is the CEO of GEMSTONE Group (www.gemstoneng.org), an organisation whose mission is to raise leaders of excellence at every stage and in every age who will be committed to the process of building Nigeria into the world’s most desirable nation to live in by December 31st, 2025. Isn’t that amazing? I can’t easily forget the ecstasy and eagerness with which we used to watch New Dawn with Funmi on NTA in the 2000’s. We were always looking forward to that moment when the legendary Funmi Iyanda would feature the story of ‘hard-to-reach’ Nigerians (particularly children, youths and women) and then bring succour to them in a very inspiring way. As emotional as the stories were, they never failed to strike the cord of patriotism in me. I’m sure it did the same for many other Nigerians. She currently runs “Change-A-Life” social intervention project which has affected the lives of many children abundantly www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/173948-funmi-iyandas-change-life-foundation-holds-valedictory-tv-show-lagos-governor-fashola.html. A die-hard feminist, social crusader and ace broadcaster, Funmi Iyanda will go down as one of the greatest Nigerians of all time. 2Face Idibia is a renowned Nigerian singer whose brilliance is second to none. He’s an incredible youth ambassador and philanthropist who has worked tirelessly to promote peace and development in the country. He released a song “Man Unkind” in order to raise awareness on the menace of fake and sub-standard food and drug products in Nigeria. Through his foundation, he launched Vote Not Fight, Election No Be War campaign admonishing every citizen to shun violence during the just concluded general elections thenationonlineng.net/new/2015-tuface-idibia-flags-off-vote-not-fight-campaign/. This is highly commendable! The first time I read the popular Purple Hibiscus and Half Of A Yellow Sun, it’s as though they should never finish. The brilliance with which Chimamanda Adichie wrote them as well as her other books further re-echo the fact that Nigerians rank among the best brains globally. She was able to tell the story of Nigeria in a very stimulating way. In a bid to improve the craft of Nigerian writers, this award-winning writer has been holding creative writing workshops in Lagos in the last few years wanawana.net/farafina-trust-creative-writers-workshop-2015/. With this, she’s touched the lives of many young Nigerians. The fond memories of I need to know— a Nigerian family-oriented television series on adolescent reproductive health— are hard to let go. In the series, the action-packed Bisi was the leading character. In a strange turn of events, she’s today popularly known as Jenifer. She began to affect the lives of many Nigerian youths (positively) at an early age. Well, she hasn’t stopped. Instead, she’s even gone the extra mile to put smile on the faces of Nigerians through her classical style of comedy. This outstanding actress, Funke Akindele owns Scene One School of drama which helps youths to discover, develop and showcase their God-given talent thenationonlineng.net/new/funke-akindeles-film-school-graduates-students/. Please tell me, who deserve National Awards for Meritorious Service if not outstanding and patriotic Nigerians. Giving awards to those who contribute little or nothing to the development of the nation is disheartening and it must stop. Our best brains must be encouraged, not depressed! Na Wa Ooo! Abi na America go dey teach us everything? Anyway, congrats to the amiable Basketmouth for this great achievement, we are very proud of him.
Kofoworola Ayodeji is a Nigerian writer and transformational speaker that's passionately involved in nation-building. Follow him on twitter @Generalkopho E-mail: Generalkopho@gmail.com Get inspired,visit his facebook page: www.facebook.com/Kofoworolaak |