Why we are honouring Nigerians at Leading From The Streets… Launch, by Onyibe

Magnus Onyibe, a erstwhile commissioner successful the Delta State authorities (2003-2007) media columnist and ideology advocate, volition merchandise his caller book, titled: “Leading From The Streets. Media Interventions By A Public intelligence (1999-2019)” connected Wednesday, May 8 astatine the Alliance Française de Lagos / Mike Adenuga Centre.

The publication is simply a compilation of articles written and published successful the wide media by the writer betwixt 1999 and 2019, spanning the full scope of Nigeria’s socio-economic and governmental life.

Also, the trio of Gen. Yakubu Gowon, erstwhile Nigerian caput of state; Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka; and Mr. Lekan Alabi, who wrote an unfastened missive to Gen. Gowon requesting Prof. Soyinka’s merchandise from incarceration during the Nigerian civilian warfare , whitethorn conscionable connected signifier unneurotic for the archetypal time.

According to him, “among those to beryllium conferred with the ‘Leading From The Streets’ awards are Prof. Wole Soyinka, Barrister Allen Onyema of Airpeace, Alh. Aliko Dangote of Dangote Industries, Dr. Olisa Agbokoba, Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (rtd), and Chief Mike Adenuga of Globacom.

Prof. Soyinka, who volition beryllium turning 90 years aged connected July 13, was committed to jailhouse successful 1967 by the Federal Government of Nigeria for 22 months due to the fact that helium wrote and published an nonfiction successful the wide media trying to dissuade the national authorities from going to warfare against Biafra.

“Instead of heeding his omniscient counsel of urging some sides to travel to a negotiated colony helium was incarcerated for allegedly being an accomplice of the separatist Biafran side,” helium said. “When the guns from some the Federal and Biafran armies stopped booming, an estimated 1 cardinal Nigerian souls had been mislaid with properties and infrastructure worthy aggregate billions of naira destroyed, mostly successful the eastbound portion of our country. That is simply a catastrophe from which our state is yet to retrieve to from, till date. Perhaps owing to his patriotic effort to halt an avoidable warfare and his intelligence excellence, Professor Soyinka was awarded the Nobel laurel successful lit successful 1986.”

He said, “Onyema, with his hose Airpeace, has been rescuing Nigerians stranded successful overseas countries during periods of conflicts, escaped of charge. This ranges from Airpeace flying to South Africa during xenophobic attacks against Nigerians to going to Libya, Sudan, and Ukraine to bring Nigerians location erstwhile they were stranded during wars successful those countries. To headdress it all, Onyema/Airpeace has dramatically crashed the outgo of formation tickets from astir N4m to N1.2m for the lucrative Lagos to London way that had been monopolised by United Kingdom based airlines.”

Onyibe said: “Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has demonstrated passionateness for Nigeria and Nigerians by investing a whopping $20 cardinal dollars into gathering the precocious commissioned 650,000 barrels a time Dangote Refinery. The mega refinery is aimed astatine stemming the hemorrhaging of scarce overseas speech to Europe for the acquisition of refined petroleum products, of which African countries person not been capable to nutrient and had alternatively been importing.

With the coming connected watercourse of the refinery, the terms of diesel has been crashed from astir N1,700 per liter to beneath N1,000 per liter. As we each know, diesel, different known arsenic Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), is captious to the accumulation of goods and services arsenic good arsenic power the terms of transport and logistics. It is the spike successful the outgo of surviving owing to the withdrawal of subsidies connected petrol and naira that brought astir existent hardships connected Nigerians, particularly the susceptible ones among us.”

For him, “with the caller crashing of the terms of diesel by Dangote Refinery, which is simply a humanitarian gesture, determination would importantly beryllium a downward inclination of the outgo of surviving successful owed course. That is isolated from the N15 cardinal that helium precocious expended successful procuring palliatives similar atom for organisation to the masses crossed the state to ameliorate the pervading effect of hunger.” He said Dangite did each of the supra not arsenic a nationalist servant, but arsenic an entrepreneur/philantropist. It is for that crushed that Aliko Dangote/Dangote Refinery volition beryllium honoured with the award.

Onyibe arsenic noted that Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) was successful the forefront of the conflict to entrench antiauthoritarian enactment successful the state aft a agelong play of subject rule. “Through his pro-democracy activism platform, the Civil Liberty Organisation (CLO), helium and like-minded Nigerians teamed up to agitate for the exit of the subject from governmental enactment backmost to their barracks until the subject gave mode to antiauthoritarian enactment successful 1999. He has remained committed to the pursuit of nationalist bully without occupying immoderate nationalist office.”

Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar, a retired service serviceman who had served arsenic subject politician of Kaduna authorities nether the ticker of Gen. Yakubu Gowon arsenic subject caput of state, was a disciplinarian and a antheral that is afloat of integrity. While successful the military, helium was immensely fashionable and could person transitioned into authorities similar his erstwhile colleagues by contesting to go president oregon politician successful our existent antiauthoritarian setting. But helium chose to proceed to pb extracurricular the corridors of power.

“During the contiguous past medication of President Muhammadu Buhari, helium wrote an unfastened missive to the president protesting the hold successful confirming Justice Monica Dongben-Mensem arsenic President of the Court of Appeal owed to immoderate archaic and primordial sentiments. After owed information of his articulated points, her assignment was confirmed arsenic Appeal Court president by past president Buhari without further delay. For that singular accomplishment and related nationalist bully that helium has spearheaded without being successful the corridors of power, Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (rtd) is adjudged arsenic 1 of the notable Nigerians committed to Leading From The Streets.”

Adenuga, who turned 71 connected April 29, is the sixth recipient of the Leading From The Streets grant for his dogged determination to positively alteration the people of past for Nigerians by democratising entree to telecommunications services.

Apart from his outstanding relation successful philanthropy, it is his telecommunications firm, Globacom, that introduced per-second billing for GSM telephone work to Nigerians aft the overseas work providers had been operating the per-minute billing strategy that compelled subscribers to wage for minutes of telephone calls adjacent if they lone made a fewer seconds of call. When Globacom made its debut successful the Nigerian market, it besides crashed the terms of SIM cards from N30,000 to N7,900 only, frankincense precipitating the putting of telephone work successful the hands of fundamentally each Nigerian irrespective of their presumption successful society-high oregon low.

“For that singular motion of positively touching the lives without being wielding governmental powerfulness , Chief Mike Adenuga with his Globacom has been Leading From The Streets, hence helium is being conferred with the honour,’ Onyibe said.