By Eric Elezuo
Reactions have continued to trail the list of 437 Nigerians earmarked for possible national honours by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led national government.
Among many of the minuses associated with the list is the omission of of the names of immediate past Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki; Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Wike and Publisher par excellence, Aare Dele Momodu.
Many Nigerians have wondered why these names were conspicuously missing considering the political offices they have occupied or occupying, their manifold contributions to humanity and not forgetting grassroots philanthropic activities.
It is even more disheartening that the Buhari nominees list identified and recognized past and present Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), in the persons of Justice Ariwoola and Justice Tanko Mohammed with the Grand Commander of the Order of Niger (GCON); past and serving Speakers of the House of Representatives in the person’s of Mr. Yakubu Dogara and Hon Femi Gbajabiamila respectively with Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) honours, which omitting Dr. Bukola Saraki, who is the immediate past Senate President when his successor, Dr. Ahmed Lawan has been penciled down for the GCON honours.
A cross section of Nigerians, who voiced their opinions to the hearing of The Boss opined that it is still obvious that the Buhari administration is still harbouring misgivings concerning the roles Saraki played as Senate President in checkmating the supposed excesses of the present administration, leading to consistent loggerheads bordering on constitutional interpretation. While Saraki and Dogara decamped from the ruling party then, Dogara has since returned to the APC while Saraki has remained in the opposition.
An Executive Director of Adopt A Goal Initiative, Ariyo-Dare Atoye, urged the federal government to jettison the plan to exclude deserving citizens from the awards as reported in the media.
Atoye, in a statement, argued that the exclusion of Saraki from the awards could ridicule the Buhari administration as “petty, low and vindictive.”
In the same vein, stakeholders have wondered how the very visible projects of the Nyesom Wike administration has gone unnoticed before the Federal government to warrant a shun in the national honours list.
Wike, though a vociferous opponent of the Buhari administration, has been applauded across party divide as one of the performers in their various states. Wike has been known to churn out classic projects after another in matter of days, earning him the sobriquet, Mr Projects. In the last couple of months, Rivers State, especially the capital city, Port Harcourt has worn a new look as a result of the facelift occasioned by veritable infrastructural development. He is known to have fought the federal government on many occasions, including suing the central government over the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT). His victory at the court prompted other states, including Lagos State to join in the suit.
A source however, told the Boss that Wike, who is already a CON honours holder may be riped to the CFR honour when he completes office as a serving governor, and gets higher office.
Also omitted on the list is Nigeria’s distinguished publisher and celebrated journalist, Chief Dele Momodu. The journalist, who publishes Ovation International magazine, The Boss Newspaper and Ovation Television, is not a new name in the field of philanthropic acts. He singlehandedly supervised the sourcing and distribution of palliatives to thousands of Nigerians during the dreaded COVID-19 era.
Momodu, on two separate occasions, has presented himself for election into the highest office, first as a presidential candidate in 2011 under the umbrella of the National Conscience Party (NCP) and in 2022 as a presidential aspirant with the PDP. He writes a weekly column called Pendulum published on the Backpage of Saturday ThisDay, where he proffers solutions to the myriads of challenges bedeviling the nation’s political and economic fabrics.
His youth oriented dispositions and programmmes have also not gone unnoticed as he has used his annual Ovation Carol to unite the youths and create participation for talented Nigerians. His omission in Buhari’s list of national awardees calls to question if there’s not more than meets the eye. It must be added that his contribution to national development over the years notwithstanding, no government has deemed it fit confer with even the least of national honours
The 2022 national honours list is being handed by the Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Agencies led by Senator George Akume, a former governor of Benue State.
The 437 selected awardees will be conferred during an elaborate ceremony on October 11, 2022 in Abuja.
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