Buhari canvasses greater involvement at NNOM ceremony
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated the need for greater involvement in science and technology, the bedrock of STEM – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – that drives today’s global knowledge economy.
Nigeria will continue to celebrate scholarly achievements to spur the younger generation to aim for the peak of their careers in whatever field, but particularly in STEM, he said.
Buhari was speaking on Tuesday in Abuja where he conferred the Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM) Award for 2020 and 2021 on three Nigerians who have distinguished themselves in the field of science and medicine.
In his view, Nigeria’s collective future rests on active participation in science and technology.
Recipients of NNOM are divided into four categories:
- Medicine
- Science
- Engineering and Technology
- The Humanities, including Education and Culture
Recipients of the award for creative, intellectual, and academic contributions that are of national and global importance receive a cash prize of N10 million each.
The 2020 and 2021 awardees are
- Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye (Medicine) – 2020
- The late Professor Charles Chidume (Science) – 2020
- Professor Godwin Ekhaguere (Science) – 2021
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Beacons of hope and inspiration
”Please endeavour, at all times, to serve as beacons of hope and aspiration for the younger generation of Nigerians, reminding them that our survival and collective future as a nation ultimately rests on our being active participants in global developmental efforts, especially in science and technology,” Buhari told them.
The Nigerian National Merit Award (NNMA) was established 43 years ago and the three new awardees bring the number of recipients to 79 which, to Buhari, confirmed the high standard and the merit-driven evaluation for selecting laureates.
He congratulated the awardees and expressed the government’s appreciation for the patience of the 2020 Award winners who waited close to two years to receive theirs due to the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020.
He also congratulated members of the NNMA Governing Board chaired Professor Shekarau Aku and members of the Four Specialised Committees of Assessors and External Assessors for their integrity, transparency, and excellent work.
”The noble idea of constituting the Assessors Committees, whose membership is not disclosed to the public, ensures credibility that could be emulated by other Government Agencies performing similar functions.
”The fact that transparency and love for the nation have been the hallmark of your stewardship is well borne out by the fact that the NNOM Award is one of the enduring national legacies that are held in high regard globally and nationally and your decisions have been well acclaimed and controversy-free over the years.
”Let me assure you that the government and people of Nigeria appreciate your efforts and I enjoin you all to keep up the good work.”
Support for NNMA
Buhari promised that the government would provide special intervention to the NNMA within limited resources available, as was done in 2020.
”I wish to reassure you that this administration is fully committed to giving the NNMA the recognition that it deserves, by immortalising its recipients who have taken this country to greater heights both in Nigeria and in the diaspora.
”We are a nation keen on fostering excellence across board and we will continue to celebrate those who have attained measurable levels of excellence in their professional life.”
Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister George Akume said the three intellectuals were selected from more than 1,200 applications received by the NNMA governing board.
”It is important to state that Prof Charles Ejike Chidume died after he was selected and recommended for approval to Mr. President and he will be given the award posthumously,” he explained.
Oluyinka Olutoye
Olutoye led a team which performed ground-breaking surgical procedures on foetuses before they are born.
He performed in 2016 a surgical procedure on a foetus with sacrococcygeal teratoma – a tumour that develops before birth and grows from a baby’s tailbone – the first by an African.
He received his medical degree at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife) in 1988 with distinctions in anatomy and pathology, interned at the Lagos State University, then left for the United States for specialised training in surgery.
Olutoye is the Surgeon-in-Chief at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
Charles Chidume
Chidume was the acting President of the African University of Science and Technology, Abuja before his death on October 7, 2021.
The works of the globally renowned professor of mathematics encompass several fields, including Nonlinear Functional Analysis, Nonlinear Operator Theory and Differential Equations, Nonlinear Optimisation.
He bagged his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1973, MSc in mathematics in 1977 from Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, and PhD in mathematics from Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
Godwin Ekhaguere
Ekhaguere is a professor of mathematical physics.
He created and pioneered the theory of Quantum Stochastic Differential Inclusion (QSDIs) that has greatly improved understanding of pathological quantum systems whose governing equation involves discontinuous coefficient.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Ibadan (1971), DIC in mathematical physics from Imperial College of Science and Technology, London (1974), and a PhD in mathematical physics from Bedford College, University of London (1976).
