Nigerian leaders in the past
have sought to confer special awards on deserving Nigerian figures who have
done the country proud in different ways. However, some of these awardees have
turned down these awards stating various personal reasons and ideological
differences. Here are 5 top Nigerians who turned their backs on national awards
in the past:
Wole Soyinka
Akinwande Oluwole “Wole”
Soyinka is a decorated playwright and poet who currently stands as one of
Nigeria’s living legends. He bagged the prestigious Nobel
Peace Prize for Literature in 1986 and became the first African to achieve such
a feat. Wole has numerous accolades to his name and his reputation precedes him
both nationally and internationally. His literary works include popular write
ups like The Trials of Brother Jero and Kongi’s
Harvest. He has always lent a voice to speak against the political ills
plaguing the Nigerian nation and he never hesitated to speak the truth in the
face of harrowing dictatorships. He was imprisoned for 22 months during
the civil war but that did not deter him from publishing pungent critiques of
the government. Soyinka has turned down a number of government awards. Most
recently, he was supposed to be awarded a centenary award conferred on 100
of the nation’s outstanding citizens over the last century but he
turned down the award because he did not want to be regarded in the same vein
as former Nigerian heads of states like Sani Abacha General Ibrahim Babangida,
people he fought tirelessly against. He said, “I
would have preferred that the entire day of infamy be ignored altogether. I’m
even thinking favourably of just ignoring the obscenity, then turning up at the
counter-event.”
Chinua Achebe
The late Chinua Achebe was a
literary inspiration to many across the globe. He was a noovelist, poet and
critic whose first book published in 1958,’Things Fall Apart’
gave him widespread recognition. The literary genius who hails from South
Eastern Nigeria had immense literary acumen as he could paint vivid pictures of
the places he visited and lived in as well as circumstances he found himself in.
His other books which include ‘Anthills of the
Savannah’ and ‘No Longer At Ease’
spoke immensely of the colonial rule in Nigeria and its ills. He had always
being a critic of societal ills. His last publication before his
passing, There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra brought to
the forefront issues pertaining to Nigeria’s civil war. He
rejected national awards time and time again and according to him, it
was his way of protesting the political and economic condition in
Nigeria. He died in Boston in March 2013 after battling an illness. He was
aged 82 when he passed on.
Tunde Bakare
Pastor Tunde Bakare is a
Nigerian many people regard in high esteem. An evangelist and an opinionated
authority on Nigerian political issues, Pastor Tunde Bakare has a large
following. He has keenly made his intention known on various national
issues and has been at the forefront of top conflicting mosts like the fuel
subsidy removal. On Monday, 31 January, the Nigerian presidential
candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, Gen. Muhammadu
Buhari, announced Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain
Assembly, Lagos as his running mate for the 2011 Nigerian
presidential election and he accepted the position. CPC lost the presidential
election to PDP, and Pastor Bakare has not relented in being critic of the
Nigerian government and leadership. He rejected a gift of a cow sent to him at
Christmas by the President himself.
Chief Gani Fawehinmi
Chief Gani Oyesola Fawehinmi
was a lawyer par excellence. He was a author, publisher,
philanthropist, social critic, human and civil rights lawyer, politician
and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). Born in Ondo State, Gani was one
of the best lawyers in Nigeria while he was alive. His Wikipedia page suggests
that he “tenaciously and uncompromisingly pursued and crusaded
his beliefs, principles and ideals for the untrammelled rule of law, undiluted
democracy, all embracing and expansive social justice, protection of
fundamental human rights and respect for the hopes and aspirations of the
masses who are victims of misgovernment of the affairs of the Nation.”
Chief Barr. Gani Fawehinmi
rejected one of the highest national honours that can be bestowed on a citizen
by the Nigerian government – Order of the Federal
Republic (OFR) in 2008. He never failed to be blunt on issues of national
proportion and was always objective till he passed on in 2009.
Femi Kuti in honour of late
Fela Kuti
Femi Anikulapo Kuti is the
eldest living son of late Afrobeats legend. Fela Anikulapo Kuti. He has
travelled the world and has performed in numerous countries helping to export
our own brand of African music heavily laden with the unique African culture.
He has been nominated for four Grammy awards in the world music category
in 2003, 2010, 2012 and 2013. He carried on his father’s
footsteps and has become the beacon through which his father’s
legacy shines on. Femi recently turned down the centenary award dedicated to
his late father. According to him, “the family would not
honour the awards unless the government first of all apologies for the murder
of their grandmother and the burning down of their father’s
house Kalakuta Republic”
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