Debasing the Moral Integrity of National Honour Award

Debasing the Moral Integrity of National Honour Award

Usman Garba Santuraki

Going through the list, of those approved to be conferred with the prestigious National Award made me, to laugh. I have laugh, because I realised that the award is no more based on the submissions made by people across the land. Rather, the award is being given out to those, who find themselves in power or have the connection of those, shouldered with the sole purpose of selecting the awardees.

It is rather in this country, we begin to do things the way it is suppose to be done. More importantly, it is even better for the Ministry, that is responsible for the National Award not to be calling for nominations from Nigerians anymore.

The mere look at this year National Award list tells one, that the proper way to select those, that merited the award was not done. What was done in this year selection was those, who happen to be in government or those, who have friends in government were shortlisted for the award and the list forwarded to the President Umaru who, was misled and he gave his approval for those to be conferred with the award.

This writer, is contesting this year award because, he took the pains to nominate a candidate from his state(Adamawa) and religiously follow the laid down procedure to forward the nomination to the Award Committee at the Federal Secretariat Abuja. Infact, in order to beat the dateline for the submission, had to send the nomination through the NIPOST speedpost.

The candidate, nominated by this writer was Alhaji Danjuma Hamman Jalo former Adamawa State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftancy Affiars and later, the Commissioner for Sports in the Boni administration.

The nomination was based on unsolicited philantrophic services to his community. It is a well-known fact, that this gentleman has greatly touched the lives of many people in the last fifteen years. But, to the utter surprise of the is writer, going through the list saw that in Adamawa, only the name of Mr. John Eddie Manassa the incumbent Secretary to the Adamawa State Government that was shortlisted for the (OON)award.

Also, going through the list, the name of Amb.

Babagana Kingibe appeare4d as one of this year awardees.

The pertinent questions that needed answer from Nigerians is how does a person holding a position in an incumbent government got shortlisted for the award? How does the incumbent Speaker of the House of Representative who was elected less than two months got shortlisted and subsequently approved by the President to be conferred with the award? What a lot of Nigerians are saying with regards to the conferment of National Award is that, it is even better for the Ministry concerned with the selection of awardees of National Award not to be calling for nominations from Nigerians any more. There is no point subjecting people to unwanton procedures to nomonate people, who has one way or the other shaped the country, state or their community for the award but, later discarded and people got shortlisted through the back door or got the award based on how much, the paid for the award. The moral integrity of the National Award has been debased by the way and manner it is being conducted year in year out. It is not something that is not good if, a person holding position in government the National Award because of his selfless service. But, the point is that the award should go down to the most commonest person in this country-people like cobblers, messengers, cleaners etc. The award should not be open only to those, who because they are in vestage positions could put their names or that of their spouses or friends for the award. The President Umaru as a person, who want to correct the ills of this country especially things that were done on nepotism and favourtism should seriously make sure, that any person nominated based on what he has done either in his community, state or national level got the award. The committee says that it has got about Nine hundred and Eighty nominations from all over the country but out of it, it has selected only Two hundred and Eleven persons for this year award-the question is how does this number made for their final selection? It is also necessary for those charged with the responsibility of the National Award to put national interest above their personal interest or what they may get from those, who are ready to give out so that, they get the award which would served as a status symbol to them by adding the prefix-GCON, CON, MFR, or OON to their names.