‘No qualified nominee for 2017 Awolowo leadership prize’

The Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership Award would not be presented to any recipient this year “because all the nominees were unable to meet the laid down standard for the prestigious award.”

The Executive Director of Obafemi Awolowo Foundation (TOAF), Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu, who made the disclosure yesterday at the Ikenne, Ogun State country home of the Awolowos, noted: “The prize is not being awarded this year, not because the nominees were not eminently accomplished individuals in their various fields of endeavour, but because the award is based on demonstrable evidence of substantial achievement across the board of the criteria laid out by the Selection Committee.”

Speaking ahead of the 2017 memorial events slated for the sixth of next month in honour of the late sage, she emphasised that no prize would be given out at the occasion.

Clarifying further, Awolowo-Dosumu said: “The nominees were good and distinguished personalities. But each was unable to scale the hurdles because the bar set for the award was high and the criteria so many to satisfy.”

Consequently, the foundation would only host a lecture titled: “The Awolowo Legacy and Its Message for Nigerian Youths” which would be delivered by eminent scholar, author and historian, Prof. Banji Akintoye, in Lagos on that day.