Organisers of African Heritage Concert and Awards are set to confer an award on former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for being the first leader to concede power to an opposition government on the continent.
Also to be honoured are: former President of Tanzania, the late John Magufuli; Vice President of Liberia, Dr. Jewel Howard-Taylor; former President of Botswana, Lt.-Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama (retd.), and many other prominent Africans.
Announcing this in a statement, the organisers said the awards ceremony will hold in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, on April 1.
According to the organisers, Heritage Times (HT), The African Heritage Concert and Awards will celebrate and honour distinguished African personalities who have dignified themselves through remarkable achievements across the globe.
Their actions and activities, the organisers said, have made it imperative to foster the African culture of excellence and promote Afro-centrism.
The organisers said the awards will be a celebration and global recognition of outstanding achievements recorded by Africans, including those residing in the Diaspora, in the areas of business, politics, philanthropy, entertainment/arts and culture, science and technology, and social innovation.
The statement noted that Dr. Jonathan, who was Nigerian President from 2010 to 2015, will be honoured with the African Democracy and Peace Icon Award.
The former President’s name, the organisers said, is written in gold for being the first incumbent Nigerian President to cede power peacefully to the opposition in the aftermath of an election.
“I’ve always affirmed, nobody’s ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian,” Dr. Jonathan had said in response to the declaration of the 2015 presidential election results.
His administration brought on board professionals and technocrats, including Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the current Directo General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and President of Africa Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, whose expertise helped in revamping Nigeria’s economy.
Ian Khama, who was Botswana’s fourth Head of State, will be honoured with the African Philanthropist Award for stamping his reputation as an advocate of human rights and respecter of the rule of law. His foundation, the SKI Khama Foundation, has immensely empowered youths, contributed to the health, education and sports sectors of the country.
Currently serving as Liberia’s 30th Vice President, Howard-Taylor will be bestowed with the African Humanitarian Award. She has been a visible and involved stateswoman with a vision for affordable but quality education, transparent justice system, improved and accessible health system, women’s economic and political participation, and an accountable public service system.
The late Magufuli will receive a posthumous African Icon Award for his giant strides during his short rule as President of Tanzania. His government worked to banish a lot of the chronic problems in governance and political leadership. He fought a structure riddled with systemic corruption, characterised by ghost workers on payroll, underperformance and laxity in public service and extravagant spending.
Other awardees are: Victoria Nalongo Namusisi, Founder and Executive Director of the Bright Kids Uganda and Uganda’s first female sports journalist; Simbi Kesiye Wabote, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB); Prof. Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, Kenyan legal practitioner and Advocate of the High Courts of Kenya and Tanzania; Sir Benedict Peters, Founder and Managing Director/CEO of Aiteo Group.
Also on the list awardees are: Olumide Akpata, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA); Hajiya Hafsat Kolere Buni, wife of Yobe State governor and Founder of Ma’aruf Foundation; Fred Swaniker, Founder of African Leadership University; Christelle Kwizera, Rwandan mechanical engineer and social entrepreneur; and Triple Ghetto Kids, a dance group founded in 2014 and composed of children from the Katwe slum in Kampala, the Ugandan capital.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe as well as Ivorian/Chelsea football legend, Didier Drogba, will also be honoured.
Industry players – Afrexim Bank, CEOs of MTN and Sonangol – will also get the awards.
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