Nigeria National Awards in Abuja in pictures

Nigeria’s 2011 National Honours Awards

“The 2011 edition of the National Honours Awards held in Abuja on Monday. With about 364 recipients, the award ceremony took several hours as honourees from diverse fields filed out for the presidential handshake and award. The event, beamed live into homes and offices across the country, saw the awardees well decked out to receive their medals. Although the list of persons selected for the awards by the National Honours Awards Committee has always had whiffs of controversy, the body has at every occasion explained that it selected the awardees from those found qualified among those recommended for the honours.”  – The Sun

“The 355 awards conferred on Monday brought the number of such awardees to 3,924 since the exercise began in 1963.A breakdown of the latest awards showed that one person got 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 Federal Republic (OFR); 69 Member of the Officer of the Order Federal Republic (MFR); 71 Officer of the 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. Apart from Dangote, other prominent awardees were the Speaker of House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal; governors of Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Cross River, Edo, Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Rivers and Jigawa states, Godswill Akpabio, Peter Obi, Liyel Imoke, Adams Oshiom-hole, Patrick Yakowa, Mua’zu Babangida, Rotimi Amaechi and Sule Lamido respectively. There were also Service Chiefs, including the Chief of Defence Staff, Oluseyi Petinrin; Chief of Air Staff, Muhammed Dikko Umar; Chief of Naval Staff, Saad Ibrahim; Chief of Army Staff, Azubuike Ihejirika; traditional rulers, including King Theophilus Jacob Tom Princewill, the Amanyanabo of Kalabari Kingdom and the Okere of Saki, Oba Kelani Olatoyese Larin.”  – Tribune

“Nigerian literary icon Chinua Achebe said he rejected an award due to be given to him by President Goodluck Jonathan this week because the political problems in Africa’s most populous nation had not been tackled since he snubbed the prize seven years ago.” – Reuters