HID Awolowo, Mbeki, Kuffour, others win African Peace Award

The matriarch of the Awolowo dynasty, Chief (Dr) Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo; South African president, Mr Jacob Zuma; his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki; Liberian president, Mrs Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; former head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar; Lagos State governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola and his predecessor, Senator Bola Tinubu, as well as 23 other notable African leaders have been named as winners of the 2012 edition of the African Peace Award organised by the National Peace Initiative Forum (NAPIF), a continental body which promotes peaceful co-existence among the peoples of Africa.In a release on Monday by NAPIF, signed by the president, Dr Olapade Agoro, a copy of which was made available to the Nigerian Tribune, the awardees were considered worthy of the honour because they had deliberately promoted peaceful co-existence on the continent of Africa through their various engagements and actions.The release also added that many of the award recipients had been contacted and had accepted the offer of award.According to the release, 'the awardees' good lives have proved right the saying of Mahatma Ghandi that 'non cooperation with evil is as much a duty as cooperation to do good.''Chief Awolowo, who will bag the highest award, Grand Commander of the Order of Melchizedek (GCOM), has been considered for the honour because of her 'employment of human benefitting endeavours, resources and strategies focused on the fear of God to (a) stand by her husband, the sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo, in life and after his death, to promote the culture of honour and industry in business growth thus engendering the peace and happiness of so many people; (b) promotion of peace and peaceful co-existence in Nigeria andAfrica at large through the Nigerian Tribune (Nigeria's oldest, boldest and most courageous newspaper of our time).'Mr Mbeki, who also bags GCOM, is to be honoured 'for the employment of political understanding to promote peace and peaceful co-existence in Africa at large.'The presentation of the awards is slated for August 31 at the Trenchard Hall of the University of Ibadan.
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