Thereafter, Dr. Emanso Umobong (permanent secretary in the SGF’s office), announced “that the President has approved the report of the National Honours Award Committee for 2024 and 2025, as well as special awards that were earlier bestowed by the President from January 2025. She added that the National Honours Committee, chaired by retired Hon. Justice Sidi Bage (CFR), screened over 5,000 nominations and recommended 824 recipients for the 2024/2025 national honours and 135 special awardees, totalling 959 honourees.”
Earlier, Mr. President had honoured Bill Gates (for contribution to public health), Uncle Sam Pemu (for contribution to journalism), the Super Falcons and D’Tigress (for excellence in sports), and Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, immediate past chairman of INEC (for service to Nigeria’s democratic process). Then, on 27th December 2025, Mr. President personally took the second highest rank of GCON, to Sir (Dr.) Kessington Adebukunola Adebutu (popularly called “Baba Ijebu”) at his residence in Lagos. This action attracted huge public criticism as a breach of established procedure for the conferment of the national honours. In January 2026, Mr. President also announced the conferment of GCON on Ambassador Gilbert Chagoury (a Lebanese-Nigerian businessman and friend of Mr. President, who once had a questionable business record in Nigeria). Never in the political history of Nigeria have the award been dished out in piecemeal at different times like now.
Therefore, one is prompt to ask, why both Chief Adebutu Kessington and Amb. Gilbert Chagoury singled out and conferred as GCON in December 2025 and January 2026 respectively, whilst the compiled list of the 2024/2025 nominees has been pending? At this juncture, I make bold to say without fear or favour that Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu (chairman of BUA Group) is one of the few most qualified eminent Nigerians, who ought to have been recognized years back, for the rank of GCON, going by his proven track records, particularly, his immense contributions to human and socio-economic development, within and outside Nigeria.
In commemoration of Nigeria’s 64th independence anniversary in October 2024, Mr. President conferred the rank of GCON on Distinguished Senator Godswill Akpabio (senate president). At the same time, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen (speaker, HoR) was also conferred with the rank of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR). But the leadership of the House of Representatives raised an objection; and lobbied for a uniform ranking for the speaker and senate president. Thus, Mr. President reversed and subsequently conferred the rank of GCON on the speaker; while the deputy senate president and the deputy speaker were conferred as CFR, respectively. This development marked a sharp departure from the established ranking order, whereby the immediate past speaker (HoR), Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, and his predecessors were conferred as CFR. At this juncture, it has now become very pertinent for the federal government to review the wide disparity, which probably occurred as an error of judgement in the ranking of both Senator Ame Ebute (former senate president), who has just been recognized for the rank of CFR last year, and late Rt. Hon. Chaha Akaai Benjamin (former speaker), being the only top-ranking public office-holder, conferred with the lowest rank of MON. It is most deserving for the ranking of these political leaders to be regularized and properly placed, as they were both Nigeria’s Numbers 3 and 4 political leaders. It is unarguably that “when equals are treated unequally; or when unequals are treated equally, there’s injustice.”
In fact, the haphazard manner by which recipients of the national honours are being ranked has also been a big concern. For instance, some patriotic Nigerians, like our sports men and women, who have been striving to put Nigeria on global records, are usually conferred with the lowest rank of MON, right from time. Moreover, some unsung heroes/pre-independence freedom fighters, like Habeebu Raji Abdallah, late Chief Mbazulike Amechi, among others, died without being given a well-deserved national recognition. Even, late Prince Tony Momoh (former minister of information) and former national chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), who played some strategic roles in the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which eventually brought late former President Muhammadu Buhari to power in 2015, has been suddenly forgotten since he died in February 2021. More so, late Gen Tunde Idiagbon (rtd.), who was the second-in-command and ardent loyalist of late Gen Muhammadu Buhari, when he was Nigeria’s military Head of State, was not on the national honours list of 2022, under the watch of late President Muhammadu Buhari. In this vein, I boldly posit that the national honours should be strictly reserved for real achievers, whose patriotism and achievements are very visible and enviable enough, and who can genuinely serve as societal role models. Without fear of contradiction, I boldly posit that late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, as a “patriot and dogged freedom fighter” was better qualified for a higher honour than most of our unpatriotic public office-holders, who cannot even recite the national anthem. Yet they are being automatically rated as GCON, CFR, CON, OFR, OON, on a mere platter of gold.
Another big concern regarding government negligence is about late Professor Emeritus J. P. Clark, a renowned and well-respected literary giant, who was posthumously honoured by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) through a presidential pronouncement, declaring a street to immortalize him and late Professor Chinua Achebe in Guzape district of the federal capital territory on 8th of June 2024. But as at today, Mr. President’s pronouncement is yet to be respected, as there’s no trace of a street named after the late Prof. J.P. Clark, anywhere in the FCT till today. This lapse is an indictment on the federal capital development authority (FCDA). It is very disappointing, as our heroes and societal role models are hardly recognized or celebrated.
As minority leader of the federal House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, CFR (immediate past speaker and now, the incumbent CoS to the President), moved a motion for the amendment of the National Honours Act in 2011. But the bill did not sail through and it seems to have been set aside since then. Therefore, a review of the National Honours Act is long overdue for overall national interest, in order to restore the sanctity and prestige of the honours. At the same time, the National Youth Award Scheme also needs to be revived, as it’s been in the lull for almost three decades.
It is now expected that the federal government will fast track the process of releasing the names of prospective 2024/2025 awardees for investiture, without further delay; rather than dishing out the much-respected national honors in piecemeal, as it is presently being witnessed. The continuous suppression of the 2024/2025 national honours list is a breach of the process, as the duly screened nominees are continuously being bye-passed, since 2024. This development is being witnessed for the first time in the annals of the Nigerian national honours. Finally, the inscription of “GCFR” along with Mr. President’s name on the auditorium hall of Abalti Barracks in Surulere, Lagos as well as at the ongoing/uncompleted construction of the 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, which has already been named as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu “GCFR” Coastal Highway, is setting a bad precedence on our national monuments with the inscription of GCFR together with the president’s name.
*Concluded
*Comrade Abdullahi, a concerned patriot, writes via leadershipcompendium@ gmail.com
