By Founder
It was a calm and memorable evening, as awardees, and invited guests to the annual Nigerian Silent Heroes Awards 2024, were majestically ushered into Cabana A Hall, at the Wells Carlton Hotel, Asokoro, venue of the prestigious annual event with melodious music that quietly and quickly put the quests in award mood.
The evening event witnessed the assemblage of the crème de la crème of Nigerian society if not West Africa. Governors, Senators, Service Chiefs, Heads of Security establishments, monarchs, renowned academia, select spokespersons of the military and security agencies top retired under cover state agents, and men and women who had made remarkable difference in improving humanity in their chosen endeavours, converged to savour the unforgettable experience.
An Abuja based cultural troop were also available to entertain the guest with their titillating and traditional dance steps, which catapulted the audience to their noble African heritage.
Cultural dance, as we all know is really important, because it is our way of telling other people, the things they need to know about our culture. It is also the way that other people could have respect, knowledge and give importance to our traditions and norms
This blend of ancient and modern entertainment tools employed by the organizers, temporarily opened the gate of heaven to the estimated audience to have a glimpse, and experience bits of the pleasure and splendor that religious preachers often drums into the ears of their congregation while pontificating on heaven and hell.
The organisers of the award also deserves a recognition for putting together one of the best award ceremony in Abuja in contemporary times. Aside from the music, ancient and modern, which gently and forcefully put guests in the mood of the moment, there were also assorted wines and juice to further calm their nerves while, the comedian, effortlessly cracks their rips with laughter.
The pretty and gorgeously dressed ushers, were also busy ushering in the awardees and other guests to their reserved sits to join in the ecstasy of the moment, while at the same time passing round drinks and gift items that flows like a confluence in the hall. The deco of the hall was second to none, it was pretty to behold.
On the sideline of the award ceremony, guests were also conducted round a motor show, where latest version of choice brands where on display for prospective buyers. It was a multiple show packed in one, kudos to the convener, a veteran crime and defence journalist, Chief Odita Sunday.
In her address of welcome at the award night, the wife of the convener, and Project Coordinator of the Silent Heroes Awards Initiative, Mrs. Ozioma Sonia Odita Sunday, noted that the 2024 award series was divinely inspired.
“I say so because the initiative to identify and recognize some silent achievers in their own right within our plural society, as we are about to witness today could have died at the level of conception if not that God has a hand in the initiative. So, to God be the glory,” she worshipped.
Sonia Odita-Sunday, explained that the silent heroes awards is anchored on a process of identification, recognition, and celebration of those whose life activities have positively impacted humanity within or outside their own immediate environment.
According to her, “Permit me therefore, to say that those we are about to celebrate today, were carefully nominated amongst hundreds of other recommendations in view of the outstanding contributions they have made over the years in their various spheres to add value to humanity. In all honesty, I must say that the awardees of today in their individual capacities and activities, particularly in public space, have remained humble and audacious in self praise, in spite of their outstanding achievements, hence we have chosen to honor them as silent heroes.
“May I also say that even though silent heroes awards initiative was ours, we could certainly not have gone far in actualizing the vision if some organizations and individuals did not key into the vision nor give support in their own way. I must therefore, use this medium to express our deep appreciation to the Minister of Arts Culture and Creative Economy, management of United Bank for Africa (UBA), PLC, Zenith Bank PLC, Chairman of North China Construction, Mr. Osadebe Osakwe, former Director of DSS, Sir Mike Ejiofor, former Director General of Nigeria Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), Prof Epiphany Azinge SAN, former Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, the IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, and others for their encouragement and support”.
The project coordinator also announced plan to Institute the Africa Heroes Awards in no distant time with a view to celebrating unsung achievers within the continent of Africa. In conclusion, she encouraged everyone to joyfully share in their vision and remain committed to it.
Speaking on the award, a recipient of Silent Hero in Medicine and Politics, Prof. Leroy Chuma Edozien said, the name itself, ‘Silent Heroes,” suggests something. On his feelings about the recognition, he said: “Well, I fell special, I feel honoured, I feel privileged and I feel inspired. I think those words captures my emotions today”.
Responding to questions on how the award came to him, Prof. Edozien averred: “The award came to me as a surprise, because I was not quite familiar with the organization and this is its sixth edition. But I have really not been following the award, so it came to me out of the blue but I think that the name itself, silent heroes suggests something. There are many people not just myself who work behind the scenes, doing a lot of good work unannounced, unsung and in some cases getting little or no appreciation in terms of publicity. It is a very good initiative that somebody will set out to fish out such people and recognize them for what they are doing. When you talk about silent heroes, it does not necessarily mean that someone has saved the whole world from catastrophe, nor that they have split the atom, there are so many little good deeds here and there that are in themselves inspiring and for which generation coming after us can learn and get inspired and also pull together to make Nigeria a great country much better than it should be, much better than it is today”.
The renowned academia, gave this words of caution to the younger generation of Nigerians especially those in medical field, saying, “the younger colleges have to take it on board that you work today for rewards tomorrow, not reward today with little or no work.The younger generations don’t want perspiration but they want success. We have to perspire, we have to work and then we would get the rewards and it is more fulfilling that way. One gets the impression that our young people this days just want immediate gratification and the shortest possible route to success even if that success is only short term. It is not sustainable, not lasting, not fulfilling and not broad based, in terms of who will benefit from that success. You can be successful in your own right but how many people are benefiting from that success of yours. These are some of the things that the young people of today would want to take on board and if everybody does that we would have that momentum that give us a quantum leap forward. In Nigeria today, we are so far behind where we should be, that we need leaps and bounds. We don’t want incremental movement – small, small, we really want to be jumping and flying to take us to where we really should be”.
On what in his opinion inspired the organizers to look his direction, the medical law lecturer explained: “Where do we start, I can say, from the law side of things, my area of interest is health law and I introduced the teaching of medical law into the undergraduate medical curriculum in Nigeria for the first time. We are probably the only medical school in Nigeria that have formal lectures in medical law for its undergraduate medical students and that is important because you cannot practice medicine to the required standard, global standard that ensure patients safety, if you are not aware of the legal framework that circumscribes your practice. So, understanding the laws relating to health matters is important to our doctors. So, we introduce that to the training of our medical students here. First ever, and then, health law itself is not a specialty that is present in Nigerian academia. Again, I introduced a masters degree in health law and policy and our first set of students have graduated with masters, we have got a second set of students and a mere fact that the former Governor of Delta State is one of my students in the health law class shows the level to which people have recognized that this is important and want to do it. So, we have also had other successes in academics in the medical sector but let us just pack that to one side and talk about engagement with youths. Back home in Asaba, I have involved the youths in several projects and programme, things like having annual spelling competition, essay writing competition and debates. We do it in conjunction with one other academy, we do it every year and the next one comes up in September. We have also done skill acquisition called care, education, and skills for young adolescence where we teach them soft skills. You can learn to be a mechanic, cook or fashion designer. There are some other soft skills like anger management, time management conflict resolutions, planning strategy for interview and how to write essays. We teach them all those things. We have also had COVID conversations where we link with the public on how to manage COVID and things like that. We have also had a programme where we give little amount of money to young people to start up their business. Somebody is a barber and he does not have a sterilizing machine, you give him money to buy such equipments. We do that under Ubili endowment”.
While declaring open the Award Ceremony, the Special Guest of Honor, and Senator representing the good people of Delta North Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Sen. Ned Nwoko, tasked the convener of the award to also seek out less privilege individuals who had contributed to the advancement of humanity in one way or the other in their little corners unnoticed by the larger society.
According to him, “Unfortunately most of the deserving awardees are silently and quietly out there unknown, the unsung heroes. How do we bring them up? You don’t need to be a president or governor to be acknowledged. They could be security men, drivers or cooks, but they have done so many wonderful things for humanity. These are the people that I expect in the future for an event of this nature to seek out, look for them, ask the people to identify those who had done remarkable things to assist the society and celebrate them”.
While addressing journalists at the red carpet event, the Delta State born legal luminary, also seized the opportunity to speak on burning national issues.
On the minimum wage impasse between the state and the organized labour, Sen. Nwoko, urged the Federal Government (FG), to reconsider its stance on the minimum wage for workers and increase it to at least one hundred thousand naira to cushion the effects of current hash economic realities.
The Federal Government recently announced decision to pay N62,000 minimum wage following a successful strike action embarked upon by organized labour, to press home their demand for a pay rise. Regrettably, the state Governors and the private sector players are already up in arms against FG for accepting to pay more than N60, 000 minimum wage, insisting that any figure above N57, 000 may not be sustainable.
But reacting to the ongoing debate on minimum wage, Sen. Ned Nwoko, while, fielding questions from journalists at the Nigeria’s Silent Heroes Awards in Abuja over the weekend, said that the minimum wage should not be less than one hundred thousand naira.
“If you ask me about minimum wage, I will say that the workers deserve a better pay, even if it is a minimum of one hundred thousand naira. One hundred thousand naira is the ideal thing. What can one hundred thousand naira even do for any body now? How many bags of rice can it buy? How many times can that fill the tank of your vehicle? So, we have to be realistic about our economy, the least we can pay workers is a hundred thousand naira,” he said.
On the new national anthem, Nwoko, said, that he was not present at the chambers of national assembly the day the bill was passed, adding that the change has come to stay and there is nothing anybody can do about it.
According to him, “Incidentally, I was not in the chambers that day, that particular week I was off because I was ill and was attending to my health. But all the same, it has come to stay. For me, we have more pressing national issues to occupy our attention than talk about national anthem, but it is done and there is nothing we can do about it until another president comes and wants to revert back. But for now let us look at the things that we need to do that can address the myriad of challenges confronting us as a nation. There are many problems in Nigeria, from economy, to security etc”.
Earlier in a good will message at the award night, the Governor of Kogi State, Usman Ododo, who was represented at the event applauded the organizers for fishing out silent heroes for recognition and celebration of monumental proportion.
The galaxy of awardees include but not limited to Delta and Kogi State Governors, Sheriff Oborevwori, and Usman Ododo, Senators Ned Nwoko and Ifeanyi Ubah, Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Matawalle, Chief of Defence Staff, General CG Musa and Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ikechukwu Ogalla, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, amongst others.
The memorable night was brought to a close with a presidential dinner served by Wells Carlton Hotel restaurant. The awardees and other invited guests relished the sumptuous meals, in joy and laughter, while at same time bed each other farewell.
End.