Abuja- President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday reaffirmed the commitment of his administration to the promotion of excellence in the nation’s quest for rapid and sustainable development.
Jonathan gave the assurance while conferring the 2014 Nigeria National Order of Merit Award (NNOMA) on its lone recipient, Prof. Niyi Osundare, at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President welcomed the new initiative of the Board of the Nigeria National Merit Award (NNMA) to promote excellence and gave the assurance that the Federal Government would consider recommendations made by NNOMA laureate recipients in the communique of their just concluded 7th annual forum.
“This administration will continue to promote excellence on merit as we strive to enhance rapid development and nationhood.
“In this regard, we welcome the new initiative by the NNMA to promote excellence.
“This government will not only study the recommendations in the communique of the 7th annual forum of the laureates, we will also continue to support your initiative, efforts, and solutions to major problems in our country.
“The report of the committee on the activities of the Nigeria National Merit Award is also being studied by the office of the Secretary to Government of the Federation and recommendations from there would be implemented by government,“ he said.
Jonathan congratulated Osundare, a prolific poet, dramatist and literary critic, for the “well-deserved honour“ in view of his remarkable intellectual and creative achievements.
He expressed happiness that the integrity of the award had been preserved through its rigorous and painstaking recipient selection process since its inception in 1979.
“Prof. Osundare, you are today admitted into this very admirable, respected and distinguished class of Nigerians as the 71st member of the body of the Nigeria National Order of Merit laureates.
“By your remarkable achievement, you have put our nation on a high global pedestal and made Nigeria proud.
“I would like to urge you to sustain your interest on writing and research at the present level of excellence and impact directly your rich repertoire to all and sundry especially our upcoming generations,“ the President said.
Responding, Osundare expressed gratitude to the President and the NNMA board for finding him worthy of the honour which, he said, stood out among all the awards he had received in his 40-year old career in creative work.
“To the best of my knowledge, the NNMA remains to date, about the only Nigerian order of grave national importance relatively insulated from Nigeria’s typical political contamination.
“It is a national institution with relatively formidable ramparts against the rampaging monsters of mediocrity and intellectual mendacity.
“We owe it as a bounding duty to ourselves and to our future to help it in the maintenance of its measure of integrity.
“We must keep supremely holy and hallowed that tradition of the First Thursday of December every year such as today,“ he said.
Earlier, the Chairman of NNMA, Prof. Etim Essien, said Osundare emerged as the only deserving recipient in 2014 due to his outstanding scholarly research and service to humanity.
Essien stated that Osundare was the only eligible candidate out of the 22 nominees that were evaluated by the governing board of NNMA and its specialised committee of assessors.
“Prof. Niyi Osundare is a prolific poet, dramatist, and literary critic, a champion of the rights to free speech and a strong believer in the power of words, which states: “To utter is to alter“.
“Prof. Osundare is renowned for his commitment to socially relevant art and artistic activism.
“Niyi, as he is popularly called, is a source of pride not only to our country Nigeria, but also to humanity.
“Despite our failings in other spheres of life, our nation is blessed to have such a distinguished and dedicated intellectual, who has spent his life serving the needs of others.
“In the process, he has raised the prestige of Nigeria high among the nations of the world,“ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NNOMA is the highest and most prestigious honour bestowed by the country on its citizens both at home and in the diaspora.
The award is restricted to intellectual, academic, and creative achievements in the areas of science, engineering and technology, medicine, the humanities, and other fields of human endeavour.
It is presented by the President on the first Thursday of very December. (NAN)