President Goodluck Jonathan, will
honour 10 Nigerian-Americans in a special lunch session in the United
States.The president, who is in the country on an official trip, will also
address the United Nations General Assembly and later confer with President
Barack Obama.
Those to be honoured by the
President in a New York hotel are winners of the “Top 10 Nigerian-Americans
Award” instituted by the Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans (CANAN) According
to Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States, Prof Ade Adefuye, the CANAN top
10 winners and other eminent Nigerians and professionals would be present at
the special luncheon and the winners would be introduced to President Jonathan.
A statement from CANAN
Secretariat explained that the association was determined to shine the light on
high-flying Nigerians in America as a counter-point to negative reports and
unnecessary focus on few “rotten eggs” in the community.
President of the Christian group,
Dr. James Fadele, said: “Nigerian-Americans should no longer wait for other
people to define them, nor wait until the next negative illustration on their
behalf. We have the ability to showcase who we are, in our own voices, through
our own stories and by using our own words.”
Professor Babatunde Osotimehin,
the Executive Director of the United Nations Fund for Population Activities
(UNFPA) and former Nigerian Health Minister would be delivering the keynote
remarks at the Gala and Awards Dinner.
Winners of the awards are picked
from a pool of nominees drawn from the Nigerian community in the US and
scrutinised by a panel of eight prominent US-based Nigerians.
In the honours list are Judge
Bunmi Awoniyi (Law category), Augustine Esogbue (Engineering and Technology),
Mr. Emmanuel Ohuabunwa (Youth), Ola Akinboboye (Medicine), Professor Toyin
Falola (Academics), Chief Usua Amanam (Business), Ambassador Ibrahim Gambari
(International Public Service), among others.
Judge Awoniyi, the first Nigerian
to become a Superior Court Judge in California and possibly the highest-ranking
Nigerian-American holding the judgeship of a state high court anywhere in the
United States, lives in California.
Esogbue, the first African to
become a member of NASA’s Safety Advisory Board, is based in Atlanta, while
Ohuabunwa, a Nigerian student who became the first black man to emerge as the
best graduating student in John Hopkins with a 3.98 GPA, is currently an MD
candidate in Yalem
Akinboboye,
a New York-based award-winning nuclear cardiologist is being honoured as leader
of black cardiologists in the US.
Falola,
a Professor of History at the University of Texas, is the most-decorated
Nigerian scholar in the US; while the California-based Amanam probably made the
list because he built the first private refinery in Nigeria.
New
York-based Nigerian diplomat, Gambari, served the United Nations in some of the
toughest diplomatic spots in the world, including Darfur, where he led the
largest UN and international peacekeeping mission ever.
Courtesy
of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), the 2013 edition of the two-day
conference, which has become synonymous with global fight against poverty,
kicks off tomorrow in New York, with Founders of the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation and the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Messrs Bill Gates and Tony Elumelu,
scheduled to discuss effective philanthropy as panacea for markets-induced
gaps.
The
duo will be discussing how effective philanthropy can accelerate progress in
the fight against global poverty.
Organisers
of the event, had, in a statement issued last week, said that the solution to
the world’s most pressing challenges could only be found in ambitious
risk-taking, effective partnerships, and the most efficient use of resources.
“While
market solutions can be used to create economic opportunities, philanthropy is
still essential to solve issues that cannot be addressed by markets alone,” the
statement posited.
Discussions,
according to the Clinton Global Initiative, will focus on how to promote
collaboration among multiple stakeholders, including philanthropists,
governments, private sector, investors, social entrepreneurs, and NGOs to
address intractable global issues.
The
2013 Clinton Global Initiative is expected to design and establish strategies
for innovative financing, such as impact investing, and philanthropic funds to
complement one another, allowing them to scale up exemplary projects.
Hosted
by President Bill Clinton, the annual meeting will bring CGI members together
under this year’s theme of “Mobilising for Impact,” which focuses on involving
the right people and resources needed to drive effective action on global
challenges
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