MUCH ADO ABOUT REJECTING CENTENARY AWARDS – Esesien Ita

It has become a thing of pride, as some think, to reject an offer of honour from one’s own country. Those who do that often give their reason as the government of the day not performing well, or perhaps not performing to their standard (sic). Governments of old experienced it. The trend has continued down to the present.

The Centenary celebration to mark hundred years of amalgamation of Nigeria's Northern and Southern Protectorates is another occasion to remember people in various disciplines who have contributed in their own way to the development of the Nigerian nation.
Of hundreds of millions of people, both living and dead, only a hundred were chosen. To this writer’s mind, the hundred are not necessarily the best, but are only representative of others in similar fields who have equally excelled and given Nigeria an honorable image globally.

Given this understanding, a recipient should be humbled for being chosen out of thousands of other Nigerians who have also done the nation proud and whose only misfortune is that of not being nominated for the award. This, we believe, is a better attitude, than the display of nauseating pride in rejecting the award. Such people usually think they are better or greater than the nation that produced them, and perhaps expect to be applauded for their ‘better than thou’ attitude. We commend the attitude of Chioma Ajunwa. Though earlier honored for her 1996 Olympic gold, she felt gratified to be so remembered again. That is a better frame of mind. We could see the respect for her country that flowed from a humble, patriotic mind. The award well adorns her. It is her type that really projects a good image of the country. What does Nigeria lose if people who feel they are better or greater than their country reject the award? Nothing. Absolutely nothing! They have only shown themselves unworthy of the honour. The President should quickly delist them, and if possible, replace them. Must ingrates hold the nation to ransom? If Jonathan made any mistake, it is that of thinking them honorable who are not. Come to think of it: what exactly have some of these folks mistakenly honored contributed to the peace and growth of this country? Is it not all noise making, self-aggrandizement, and a bloating of ego, not quite unlike a schizophrenic in some obscure land who believe themselves the King of England? Let’s face it! Most of those who criticize the government, usually have no credible alternative to what they criticize. I loved the way Babangida did it. If you talked too much, he would create an office for you to demonstrate your much touted ingenuity. Many failed the test. One was said to relinquish his position out of frustration. He had believed government at a higher level was just as easy as running a school. But, as they say, he learned the hard way that ‘khaki no be leather’. These self-professed messiahs need to learn that too.

People need not be told that honor from one’s own fatherland far exceed any other gotten anywhere else. They are self-deluded who think otherwise. In fact they have some inferiority complex problem who think the soup of another person’s mother is more delicious than their mother’s. Awolowo was a great Nigerian politician, not because he was President, but because he was well respected and accepted at home. He lived an exemplary life that people loved. When this writer heard of his death in 1987 he exclaimed, ‘…then Nigeria is dead…’ Awo was a man who, though disagreed with Shagari’s government, placed decency above partisanship and accepted the highest honour of the land from that government. Ironically, most of those who reject their award claim to be followers of Awolowo. They probably do not even know what the man stood for.

It is no thing of pride to reject an offer of honour from one’s own country. The nation produced us, and not we, the nation. Learned people distinguish between government and the people running it. An award comes from the nation that produced us, not from the person(s) running the government. The latter are mere servants who are there for the time they would be there. When they leave, the nation will continue. And so would the award. In fact, they are only privileged to sign the certificate. If the award is accepted, the nation is accepted. When rejected, the nation, and not the government, is rejected. Let those who think otherwise please have a rethink.