Professor Osinbajo announced this on Friday at the award ceremony held  in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

He directed that the recipients of the awards be employed immediately into the Federal Civil Service.

In a related development, the Vice President also announced automatic scholarships for the awardees to undertake postgraduate studies of their choice.

The event had in  attendance, former Head of State and founder of the NYSC, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd).

Also, dignitaries that attended the event include the Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung, and the Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, among other dignitaries.

The event was organised for corps members who served in the sets of 2015, 2016, and 2017.

The President’s NYSC Honours Award, which was introduced in 1974, is aimed at encouraging corps members to contribute to national development by embarking on community development projects among others.

It was also instituted to reward excellence in service and to encourage coming corps members to imbibe the spirit of dignity in labour and national integration.

One of the criteria used for the selection of winners was corps members who carried out community development services diligently and completed them.

Another measure was those whose community development projects had direct and positive impacts on the communities where they served and those who were committed during the orientation course.

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The event which took place at Harbour Point in Victoria Island, Lagos, also had in attendance former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, traditional rulers, serving and former governors as well as other prominent Nigerians.

Delivering a speech, former commonwealth general, Chief Emeka Anyaoku noted that Afe Babalola becomes the third awardee of the leadership prize after nobel laureate professor Wole Soyinka and former president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki.

The award recognizes excellence in political and corporate governance, education and service to under-privileged among others.

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The personalities who spoke at the maiden Abiola Ajimobi Roundtable organized as part of the activities marking the 69th birthday of the Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi in Ibadan, included a former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd.), National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Stuart Symington and wife of the governor, Dr (Mrs) Florence Ajimobi.

Others were former Interim National Chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande, former Governor of Osun State, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, Senator Majority Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi and an industrialist, Chief Kola Daisi.

Speaking on the theme: “The Imperatives of Building Institutions for Lasting Legacies”, they all affirmed that while strong individuals were necessary for visionary leadership, it was only strong institutions that could enhance proactive leadership, good governance, effectiveness of the rule of law and inclusiveness of the citizenry.

Touching on the theme of the discourse, Gowon identified the civil service as one of the key institutions that any government must strengthen, noting that “protecting the integrity, confidentiality and impartiality of civil servants would enable them give political leaders the right advices.

For Tinubu, while institutions are important, a leader cannot be deemed to have succeeded, no matter how much he has achieved infrastructural renewal and other areas of development until he developed people who could succeed him and nurture the institution that he had built.

He said: “We have seen infrastructural renewal across the state; we have seen demolitions, emotions, expressions, reforms of traditional institutions. You have proved that you don’t lack courage but you can be successful as a leader not only in terms of bricks and mortals but how many other leaders you have developed who can succeed you and build on your legacies; otherwise, as you leave, the empire crumbles; the institutions you have built will go into ruins.”

Tinubu declared Ajimobi as a leader who demonstrated the rare combination of thinking and doing, adding that he had exhibited the quality of a good leader who had the courage of not only taking actions but being ready to face the consequences of his actions.

While agreeing on the need to build strong institutions, Akande however warned against what he called the growing institution of bullies who, he said, derived satisfaction in benefitting from the public purse without providing the commensurate value.

He noted “regardless of your profession, if you take money for the job you have not done, you are a third. In other countries, when people go on strike, they do not take salary for the period. All you leaders who allow people to steal from public purse should henceforth watch it.

In his own submission, Aregbesola recalled that one of the reasons why a former US President, Barack Obama shunned Nigeria and chose to visit Ghana during his visit to Africa was due to the lack of will by our leaders at the time to support the growth of institutions.

“During that visit, Obama observed that African leaders should look at building institutions and not individuals. And for me also, even though we need strong, thoughtful, resilient, idealistic and iconic people to look up to as pace setters, but Africa can only be great if we shift our focus to building institutions which will outlive these individuals,” he said.

The US ambassador, who address the gathering the gathering via an amplified telephone call from Abuja, said it was time for the people of Oyo State, Nigeria, development partners and business associates to shift attention from sustainable development to profitable development because without profit, development cannot be sustained.

He further noted that oil and land were not the important asset of the country but the people of Nigeria themselves, adding that “how the people of Nigeria, working together to transform and strengthen institutions from inside out is the only way for creating trust that will ensure development, trust for people to take their hard earned capital and their very lives and invest in the country because they will be welcomed and well treated”

According to the envoy, institutions don’t have memories and reputations, it is the leaders that drive them.

In his own submission, the Senate Leader said strong institutions were created and nurtured by strong men; leaders of vision and integrity who were focused, noting that after Tinubu had created strong institutions in Lagos State, he made sure that strong and competent leaders succeeded him to make the institutions sustainable.

“We also have such a leader in Governor Ajimobi. He came with a vision; he had courage and competence; he believes in probity and that is why Oyo State has had a smooth primary; the governor is more interested in people who can sustain his institutional reforms and other legacies and not in his own personal preferences,” he said.

Speaking about the governor, Oba Adeyemi noted “Ajimobi is the 20th governor that I have worked with. I have worked intimately as a son and as governor. If you are brilliant, truthful and hardworking, he will work with you. He runs an inclusive government but you can only get something from him if you key into his vision of RTR, meaning reformation, transformation and repositioning”.

During the panel discussion that was moderated by Prof. I. A. Adeyemi, the discussants including Prof. Tunji Olaopa, a retired federal permanent secretary and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. (Mrs.) Oluyemisi Bamgbose, also harped on the need for building institutions that would ensure sustainable development.

While expressing gratitude to the guests, Governor Ajimobi noted that “all developments are sustained by visions, intellectualism, principle and the courage we need to implement what we have envisoned; we started this roundtable because we believe no social or physical development can be achieved without intellectual and human capital development.

The governor added “no leader is successful until he has chosen a worthy successor; all actions that I have taken were guided by God and the determination to make a difference. When we came, we saw broken bricks but we are leaving Oyo State with marbles.”

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Prof Osinbajo leads other dignitaries and leaders from scientific research, education, and corporate organizations from African countries and beyond, in celebrating the 50^thanniversary of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) on Monday, 24 July 2017 in Ibadan. He will be joined by former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (Rtd), and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is also IITA Goodwill Ambassador.

The event provides Nigeria’s acting president the opportunity to address more than 300 international, regional, and national experts, and to further unveil the country’s thinking towards agriculture especially in the context of economic diversification. He will also speak on the critical role of IITA—Africa’s biggest international agricultural research institute—in the transformation of Africa’s agriculture.

Dr Nteranya Sanginga, IITA Director General, said the world is waiting for Nigeria to take leadership in the agricultural space…and the acting president’s message would be critical in helping participants to understand the country’s agricultural development agenda.

“Since our inception 50 years ago, IITA has evolved into a strategic partner for research-for-development in sub-Saharan Africa with over 200 scientists working in over 18 countries. This event is therefore an opportunity for us to celebrate our past successes with all our partners, friends, and beneficiaries and reflect on our future role in our efforts to transform agriculture in the next 50 years,” says Sanginga, ahead of the celebrations.

The event is slated to showcase the strides made by IITA researchers in collaboration with a range of partners and their impact on agriculture in the region in improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. These include adoption of almost 400 varieties of cassava with increased yields and better resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses; developing nearly 200 improved soybeans, and 78 improved yam varieties. Besides, over 70% of the over 300 maize varieties with IITA germplasm and drought-tolerant maize developed in partnership with CIMMYT has been adopted in 13 countries with projected economic gains of US$907 million.

Impact has also been felt in improving nutrition through promoting legumes such as cowpea and soybean, developing biofortified yellow cassava with enhanced vitamin A and the effective and safe biocontrol solution, Aflasafe, to control aflatoxins in maize and groundnut that is being rolled out in a number of countries.

“We are also expecting to hear bold statements on Africa’s agriculture and the commissioning of the IITA Youth Agripreneur building by the President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akin Adesina,” Sanginga added.

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