i know you all saw the papers last week. well, i won't call them newspapers, because there was hardly any news in them. and that was because a few people who are inarguably rich and alligned with the ruling party, but who are arguably undeserving of as much as a standing ovation for their contributions to their villages, were given national honours and hijacked whatever little credibility that our national dailies had by buying up page after page in congratulations to themselves under different pseudonyms.
i browsed with shock as page after coloured page of intellectual space was wasted congratulating the governor of kwara state - Bukola Saraki, the owner of an oil company - Femi Otedola and my absolute favourite, some unknown Hajia who's claim to fame in the minds of all right thinking people, is her uncanny ability to appear in glossy softsell magazines, profiling her attendance of every elite party in town.
to be honest, there isn't much to say, so i wont bore you with any idealist philosophisings, however, three things need be said.
1. growing up, i always regarded the national honours as something that is given to outstanding citizens of a country who have excelled in their chosen fields and are the bastion of public admiration. the national award is meant to be an expression of the will of the general citizenry, in the recognition of the immense contributions of an individual who is largely accepted by the public as an epitome of model citizenship.
with the likes of hajia bola shagaya and patricia etteh being awarded, i'm sure i am wrong about my presumed formula for giving these awards. but hey, if they are the role models for today's generation, then it shouldn't be hard to get my own national honours in a few years time (pretty low standard, if you ask me) .
2. i may be wrong, but to give a sitting governor (who in my opinion, hasn't done in all his years as governor, a good fraction of publicly acknolwdged work as the enviable governor of agos state, Raji Fashola) a national award for doing the work for which he was elected in the first place, is quite like me winning an award for just being black. senseless.
3. femi otedola had a whole eleven full coloured pages of advertisement in thisday newspapers of Thursday 22nd July 2010 ostensibly from his business associates. i do not begrudge a man or his friends from spending their money in any way they deem fit especially when they do not hold public office, with which comes the public trust that must be guarded at all cost. however, as with chief adenuga's buying up of ovation magazine to splash his daughter's sinfully flambouyant wedding in the face of hungry nigerians, some things are still distasteful, even if absolutely acceptable.
so here's my thought on the whole brouhaha. nigerians need to start thinking about how to use their money for the common good. if mr. otedola had anything to do about those congratulatory mesages, would my respect for him not have doubled if he had directed his friends and associates to contribute any congratulatory message monies towards the building of a community primary school block in ijebu igbo or some remote village in the east of nigeria, in his honour to commemorate his award? would the total cost of 11 coloured full pages of advert not have paid the school fees of some children in some random orphanage.
its about time for our generation, who's time has come to be the watchdogs of our public moral inclinations, to remind the older generation that the acceptable standards of public spending and flambouyance have shifted...and that what has become admirable and fashionable is the action of one that positively impacts the lives of others around him in the most noble of ways.
i know you will say i never see anything good about anything, even an awards ceremony, but please tell me your own thoughts on the issue. it is time for change...and it starts with you speaking up. the more people shouting, the more the likelihood of being heard at the right quarters, especially now the president is on facebook.
i browsed with shock as page after coloured page of intellectual space was wasted congratulating the governor of kwara state - Bukola Saraki, the owner of an oil company - Femi Otedola and my absolute favourite, some unknown Hajia who's claim to fame in the minds of all right thinking people, is her uncanny ability to appear in glossy softsell magazines, profiling her attendance of every elite party in town.
to be honest, there isn't much to say, so i wont bore you with any idealist philosophisings, however, three things need be said.
1. growing up, i always regarded the national honours as something that is given to outstanding citizens of a country who have excelled in their chosen fields and are the bastion of public admiration. the national award is meant to be an expression of the will of the general citizenry, in the recognition of the immense contributions of an individual who is largely accepted by the public as an epitome of model citizenship.
with the likes of hajia bola shagaya and patricia etteh being awarded, i'm sure i am wrong about my presumed formula for giving these awards. but hey, if they are the role models for today's generation, then it shouldn't be hard to get my own national honours in a few years time (pretty low standard, if you ask me) .
2. i may be wrong, but to give a sitting governor (who in my opinion, hasn't done in all his years as governor, a good fraction of publicly acknolwdged work as the enviable governor of agos state, Raji Fashola) a national award for doing the work for which he was elected in the first place, is quite like me winning an award for just being black. senseless.
3. femi otedola had a whole eleven full coloured pages of advertisement in thisday newspapers of Thursday 22nd July 2010 ostensibly from his business associates. i do not begrudge a man or his friends from spending their money in any way they deem fit especially when they do not hold public office, with which comes the public trust that must be guarded at all cost. however, as with chief adenuga's buying up of ovation magazine to splash his daughter's sinfully flambouyant wedding in the face of hungry nigerians, some things are still distasteful, even if absolutely acceptable.
so here's my thought on the whole brouhaha. nigerians need to start thinking about how to use their money for the common good. if mr. otedola had anything to do about those congratulatory mesages, would my respect for him not have doubled if he had directed his friends and associates to contribute any congratulatory message monies towards the building of a community primary school block in ijebu igbo or some remote village in the east of nigeria, in his honour to commemorate his award? would the total cost of 11 coloured full pages of advert not have paid the school fees of some children in some random orphanage.
its about time for our generation, who's time has come to be the watchdogs of our public moral inclinations, to remind the older generation that the acceptable standards of public spending and flambouyance have shifted...and that what has become admirable and fashionable is the action of one that positively impacts the lives of others around him in the most noble of ways.
i know you will say i never see anything good about anything, even an awards ceremony, but please tell me your own thoughts on the issue. it is time for change...and it starts with you speaking up. the more people shouting, the more the likelihood of being heard at the right quarters, especially now the president is on facebook.
Comments
The idea of honours in other countries like the UK, is that they are given out to inspire ordinary citizen's to do more for their country. In Nigeria, they just seem to be given to the overly rich and undeserving.