By Hussain Atabo.
It is no longer news that the former deputy speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Aliyu Akuh was honoured with a doctorate degree in a school in Ghana for his contributions to leadership and good governance process of Kogi State House of Assembly and for his leadership strides in Nigeria. Consequently, 5 indigenous sons and a daughter of Kogi bagged awards at Annamalai University Chidambaram Tamil Nadu, India by the Nigeria Students in Diaspora (NSID) led by Comrade Ramat Molo, an indigene of Kogi State known to have excelled in all facets of her life, including bagging a first class honour in pharmacy at the same university.
Those who were conferred with the ‘Icon of Youth Reorientation’ are; Hon. Benjamin Ikani Okolo, Hon. Kingsley Fanwo, Mrs Habibat Tijani, Hon. Abdul Bello, Alh. Raji Momohjimoh, Mr. Jamiu Owoyemi amongst notable Nigerians, making them the highest number of nominees from a single state in Nigeria.
The award was conferred on them at the 2017 convocation and award presentation day held on 24th May, 2017 at the prestigious 5 star Vandayar hotel in India. The event was witnessed by well wishers, concerned Nigerians in India, families of the graduands, school management and a host of others.
Ramat in her speech quoted the word of Douglas MacArthur where he said; “A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He doesn’t set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent”.
She added that the awardees are leaders who have made a difference and challenged the rest of us to take our leadership steps until we are recognised not only by our immediate society but also in diaspora.
“It does not matter whether you are in your country or not, all that matters is dedication towards achieving your set down goals. To the younger generations, we believe that nation building is the implementation of processes that are geared towards recomposing the nation’s institutions so that they can reflect the wishes, needs and aspirations of the larger society. Let’s be nation builders by dedicating our time towards academic prowess and excellence for the only way we can be a worthy leaders is by attaining the peak of our educational life, that way we can reflect the wishes, needs and aspirations of our society.
– Comrade Atabo Hussain wrote on behalf of the Secretary, Nigeria Student in Diaspora
