It is better to be deserving of an honour and don’t get it than to get an undeserved honour. Truly, the hood does not make the monk. An undeserved honour stinks. A man or woman adorning an underserved recognition is decorated in borrowed robes. He is as uncomfortable as a con man, an unworthy fellow. No matter appearances and bold faces, such a cheat feels empty inside. A deserved honour or recognition is an elixir, a fillip, motivation to do more.
For sundry reasons, awards and recognitions in this clime are often fraught with controversies and heated debates. To put it mildly, many who have been honoured or recognised are by many stretches not deserving. If things were well rendered and ordered, these odious species deserve to be inmates in Correctional Centers instead of parading as venerated guests of enlightened podiums. In unison, Nigerians have come to resent bogus honours and awards of recognitions extended to undeserving persons. There are many in that ilk or mold. In like manner, some awards are not worth it. Two for a penny shenanigan. Noise and no content. Sort of utterly useless and of no valuable significance. In many proven cases too, the awarding bodies are bogus or have no defined pedigree. In serious settings, they will be adjudged to have nothing to give. You cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand. These classes of classless accolades or laurels are either bought or given for pecuniary reasons- money for hand, back for ground. Imagine a full-blooded human with no academic publications agreeing to be conferred with the academic title or rank of “Doctor” or “Professor” in a hotel premises or primary school by a fake local or predatory foreign institution. How do folks feel comfortable doing the wrongest of things? How do they sleep? Tufiakwa! When you work hard and contribute to the society, you will be spotted and recognised. If the honour is academic, it must be honoraris causa. More importantly, it must be from a recognised institution of higher learning!
Some awards or honours remain carpeted and denigrated because they are only good for the optics or designed to massage the egos of the recipients. Many of these useless awards or recognitions are for publicity stunts or political razzmatazz. In some known cases, some persons have declined to accept national honours. It is that bad. On the flip side, Nigerians are not thankless people. Nigerians are not an ungrateful lot. Nigerians, we mean the ordinary Nigerians, remembers, adores, cherishes and celebrates leaders and service providers who touched their lives one way or the other. Sadly, these genres of selfless and altruistic leaders are in short supply. A few examples will suffice. In old Imo State and beyond, the monumental development strides of Dee Sam Mbakwe is celebrated till date. Literally and practically, Dee Sam Mbakwe’s name can open and does open doors notwithstanding that he did not govern Old Imo State [which covered present Imo and Abia States plus significant part of Ebonyi State] for ages. Sages like Zik, Awolowo and Balewa remain celebrated till tomorrow because of what they represented before, during and after the time of Nigeria’s independence in 1960. Nigerians still remember Prof Dora Akunyili and what she did as the helmsperson in NAFDAC.
The gist of this presentation is that awards are best when deserved. Awards are best when they are not paid for or solicited. On 5th June 2025, during the World Environment Day, His Excellency Ikedi Ohakim was honoured by the Imo State University community for his unquantifiable and nationally recognised exploits in the environmental ecosystem when he held sway as Governor of Imo State. Coming many years after he left office in 2011, the Faculty of Environmental Sciences recognised him as the environmental doyen and Mr Clean and Green. Nigerians are really taking notes.
In a related development, during the 2025 NBA Owerri Law Week which held between 19th and 25 May, the Chris Ihentuge Esq led Executive of the NBA Owerri Branch did the unthinkable. During its Law Dinner, the Branch recognised the following persons- Mrs. Nkiru Amakulo as the Most Hardworking Judiciary Staff; Inspector Uche Chidiebere as the Best Traffic Warden in Imo State; and Madam Charity Mezieobi as the Longest Serving Paralegal. Unlike, the practices elsewhere, the NBA Owerri Branch gave plaques and cash donations to the awardees. Elsewhere, rich but corrupt persons could have been the beneficiaries of the awards in return for handsome responses.
This is therefore to congratulate His Excellency Ohakim and other deserving awardees. This is to encourage private and public bodies and organisations to give awards and recognitions only to deserving persons. Praise undeserved, is satire in disguise. This is a famous saying of Alexander Pope.
A new normal is possible!
Prof Obiaraeri, N. O.
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