TELL Magazine Honours Distinguished Nigerians

Tue, Jun 20, 2017 | By publisher


Media

By Anayo Ezugwu  |  Jun 20, 2017 @ 09:15 GMT  |

FOR the first time in its 26 years of existence, Tell Magazine organised an award of excellence to honour 15 distinguished and prominent Nigerians on Saturday, June 17.

Among those who were honoured are Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, Ooni of Ife and Muhammed Sanusi II, Sarkin Kano, as men of the year; Aisha Buhari, Nigeria’s first lady, as woman of the year; Bola Tinubu, as national icon of democracy and Umar Danbatta, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Telecommunications Commission, NCC, as chief executive officer, CEO, of the year.

Maureen Chigbo, Publisher, Realnews and Confort Obi, Publisher, The Source
Maureen Chigbo, Publisher, Realnews and Confort Obi, Publisher, The Source

Others are Ben Ayade, governor of Cross River State and Kashim Shettima, governor of Borno State, as governors of the year; Muhammad Babandede, comptroller general, Nigerian Immigration Services, NIS, as outstanding public servant of the year; Leo Stan Ekeh, as life time pioneering entrepreneur of the year; Gani Fawehinmi, all-time national hero of rule of law and human rights advocacy and Dele Giwa, all-time national ICON of freedom of speech.

The institutions recognised during the award night are Dangote Cement, as private sector organisation of the year; Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, as public organisation of the year; Bank of Industry, BoI, banker of the year and Air Peace, domestic Airline of the year.

In his opening speech, Nosa Igiebor, president, Tell, said in the last 26 years the company has carved a niche for itself and won numerous laurels at home and abroad for its work as an investigative outlet. “In this vest ocean of mediocrity, despair or seeming hopelessness, there are still small islands of excellence, as reflected by individuals and organisations both in public and private sectors,” he said.

Dakuku Peterside, DG, NIMASA, his wife and Allen Onyema, chairman, Air Peace Limited
Dakuku Peterside, DG, NIMASA, his wife and Allen Onyema, chairman, Air Peace Limited

He said the sole objective of the Tell award was to inspire Nigerians and tell them that the situation is not as hopeless as it may seem now, as there could always be some silver lining at the end of the dark corner. Igiebor said although the magazine, during a two-day conference to mark the tenth anniversary of democracy in Nigeria, honoured some persons who played prominent adversarial roles in the fight against military dictatorship, the company mulled and came up with the idea of organising a broader award aimed at identifying and promoting excellence in specific sectors of the nation’s economy.

Tags: