The Nigerian National Honours' Awards, instituted by the National Honours Act No. 5 of 1964 during the Nigerian First Republic, is to honour Nigerians who have rendered highly valuable services to the benefit of the nation.The awards in descending order of seniority are:1. Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (GCFR)2. Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON)3. Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR)4. Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON)5. Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR)6. Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON)7. Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR)8. Member of the Order of the Niger (MON)While the GCFR and GCON were conventionally the exclusive preserve of Nigerian presidents and vice-presidents, including the military Heads of State and Chief of General Staff respectively, the GCON is traditionally conferred on the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the President of Nigerian Senate.Although, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1979-1983, broke the award convention in 1980, when he conferred the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) on Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the erstwhile leader and presidential candidate of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), no other Nigerian, except the designated public officers, was ever privileged with the title until 2011 and 2012 when Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Chief Mike Adenuga were honoured with the prestigious title of GCON by President Goodluck Jonathan.In recent times, however, the award of National Honours, which used to be viewed as a symbol of glowing veneration and accolade, has turned to visible disdainfulness and utter triviality. In fact, some notable Nigerians who were selected for the awards tactfully rejected them to avoid the 'viral' contact of the awards' plague, which the National honour is systematically and unfortunately symbolising due to a faulty selection process and undue proliferation.For instance, the 2011 National Honours' Awards ceremony witnessed avoidable hiccups bordering on insufficient medals for the awardees, missing names and a host of other embarrassing organisational ineptitude which are symptomatic of the inherent planlessness in the nation's execution of projects and therefore her inability to achieve a defined goal. If the country could so abysmally perform in a mere presentation of a National Honours Awards, and in effect exposed Nigerians to global odium, it could be imagined the goings-on in other areas of the nation's socio-economic landscape, which of course, speak volumes of the country's perennial laggardness and its inability to reach the promised land after 52 years of political sovereignty.The year 2012 National Awards made up of 149 honourees, that were selected from diverse fields, have continued to attract the most vociferous criticisms in the annals of bequeathal of honours by the country to its citizens. The National Honours list, which according to reports, consists of names of some of those being probed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-graft agencies, if proved to be true, will definitely taint the exercise, thereby neutralising the very essence of the awards. We strongly believe, just like many Nigerians, that the award of National Honours to deserving individuals is a rare privilege which, aside from showcasing the beneficiaries' virtues in order to serve as role models to others, also identifies and dignifies the honourees at both national and international forums. To now reduce the awards not only to political patronages but to cheapish doles for potential crooks and fraudsters is to demean the whole exercise and unwittingly expose further, the image of Nigeria to global ridicule.It is also noted that the history of National Honours Awards in Nigeria has been utterly skewed towards the business and political class, thus alienating the silent but honest Nigerians who have contributed and are still contributing immensely to the benefit of the nation. The late Alhaja Sawaba Gambo of blessed memory, who devoted her life-time to taking care of the under-privileged and sponsoring them to university without taking a kobo from the government, is a typical example. Another heroine of our time is a junior staff of the Nigerian Civil Defence Corp who resisted election rigging despite the tempting offer of a huge amount of money to compromise her professional ethics. Except the recognition of Silverbird Television, which exposed her ordeal and good deeds with a plaque and cash, complimented by some state governors who gave bountiful cash to the woman, the state government for which she put her life on the line to protect its winning votes did not even recognise her risk not to talk of the Federal Government or the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) whose image she valiantly fought to protect.We like to remind Mr President that the award of National Honours, if properly dispensed, remains the potent instrument for engendering moral rehabilitation in Nigeria.
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