Gbajabiamila rejects national honour


Convinced that he has not done enough to be awarded the Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR) medal, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives and leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (AC N) caucus, Femi Gbajabiamila, yesterday rejected his nomination for the national honour.


According to the opposition leader in the lower chamber of the National Assembly, the honours list usually contains names  of people with  questionable character.


In a memo addressed to President Goodluck Jonathan, Gbajabiamila, who based his rejection on principle, said he might be so deserving of such award in the near future.


He said: “Whilst I believe with all modesty that I have done my best as a legislator and diligently carried out my responsibilities as the leader of the opposition in the  legislative arm of government, I do not believe my best for now is sufficient or enough to have earned or otherwise made me deserving of a national honour as required under the enabling law or  international best practices.
Perhaps God willing, I may be so deserving in the near future.


The letter, entitled: “Nomination as recipient of National Honours 2011, the lawmaker said the honours list has had many “rotten eggs” on it every other year and this has “reduced what otherwise was a well intended and noble idea to a national joke.”
The letter reads in part: “I wish to thank you very sincerely for finding me worthy of the nomination for national honours (OFR). I am truly touched by the recognition which came to me as a surprise.
“Unfortunately Mr President Sir, it is with every sense of responsibility and what I believe is in the best interest of our great country and the coming generation that I politely and respectfully must decline the nomination. My reasons are as follows:
“As you are probably aware, about two  years ago, I authored and sponsored a Bill (The National Honours Amendment Bill) in the House of Representatives. The Bill generated a lot of controversy both in the House and  public. By the Bill I sought amongst other things to reform the process by which national honours are awarded. I believed then as I do now that the process had been abused and the award was no longer what was intended by the National Honours Act of 1964. The Bill was eventually passed by the House but there was insufficient time to pass through the Senate before the end of the 6th Assembly. I intend to re introduce the same Bill in this 7th Assembly.
The lawmaker noted that National Honours anywhere in the world are reserved exclusively for those who have distinguished themselves in their chosen field of endeavour and that such distinction have stood them apart and head and shoulders above their peers in contributing to the political, economic or social development of the country.

http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/25200-gbajabiamila-rejects-national-honour.html

[s]What a name. Pronunciation sounds like a Yoruba curse. I'm sure that he's mixed with a Bini mother/or father. [/s]

[size=28pt]“Nomination as recipient of National Honours 2011, the lawmaker said the honours list has had many “rotten eggs” on it every other year and this has “reduced what otherwise was a well intended and noble idea to a national joke."[/size]

Mai dia, may God bless you for speaking it as it is.

A country being ruled by clowns.

Expect to make "national" enemies with this award "rejection"

Rejection my foot- who says he is not among the rotten eggs? because he is in ACN? Abegi - y'all the same thieving niggers.

werepeLeri:

Rejection my foot- who says he is not among the rotten eggs? because he is in ACN? Abegi - y'all the same thieving niggers.

I'm sure you were paid wonderfully to type that. Na hunger dey make the crayfish bend, they say.

Why is gej not doin enuf 2 halt de waste of our resources,the organizing of dis award alone cud nutch higher our recurrent expenditure by some micropercentages. Yet all dat concerns him is spend!spend!!spend!!!. I really tink now he actually spent de money given 2 him 2 buy shoes those days

Let him resign in protest, we will understand

@okosodo

Can't you people appreciate good leaders when you see one? The guy refused the offer unlike all the others and you are asking him to resign. What for? Let's keep it sane.

Nice one oga femi, the man na real surulere boy! Unfortunately he belongs to a party which like all others except maybe labour party is rotten to the core. Now back to the national honours freakshow - how on earth can they overlook that bright lad from imo state nnaemeka ikegwuonu, the boy reaches out to over 2 million peasant farmers everyday for free by radio. He gives them priceless tips using simple internet tools, instead ppl like orubebe are getting national recognition, shior!

I am very proud of Representative Femi Gbajamiala for rejecting his nomination for a national award as Officer of the Niger (OON). This is the stuff greeat men are made. I know of a former Governor who is now the National Chairman of a Political Party who made strenous efforts to be given a national award no matter the category. Femi who is the leader of the Action Congress in the National Assembly told Mr President that although he has done his bit as a legislator, it is not enough to earn him a national award. Until we have men like Femi Gbajamiala NIgeria will continue to reain a mockery of a nation. May God save the federal republic.

Atleast, somebody get a little sense of what being upright in principle is all about, there maybe hope for this country afterall  

@Ileke-idi, I'm a new member(bout a week) and I have known you for a very long time even B4 I joined nairaland, nywz quick question, are people actually paid/sponsored to talk/post/support antagonize other opinions or perception on this forum? If true that would be a real eye opener for me.

@amaham. U r damn so right, dat guy likes spending like a bitch. Dats y he wnts to increase petroluem pump price to raise more money to waste on frivolities like this but will find it real hard to cut down their pay pack n allowances which is evn more dan d so called mny they wana save tru subsidy removal. Im sorry for digressing a little bit but it really hurts when people u think will be a bit reasonable comes on board and still maintains d status qou. D president seems 2b on a pendulum swinging on all directions. Thank u mr femi for being dat modest cos i truely belive that both u and most nominees in that list dont deserve that award and i do appreciate u 4 recognising dat. Wsh other criminal elements in dat list will do us d favor of nt insulting our sensitivities further and decline accepting d award but unfortunately mr president is hell bent on awarding all knwn thieves in nigeria and dat breaks my hrt.

Well done Gbajabi.

Putting aside his reponse to the joke called 'national honour', he's probably one of the few people I respect in this country. T sdoesnt come as a surprize to me. You need to have seen his contributions in the assembly. Kudos!

Can someone pronounce his last name, record it as a mp3 and post it online somewhere?

Gbaja I know how to pronounce. This "biamila", I've not the slightest clue

a laudable gesture!!!

^^^

Very common name in Yorubawood.

Watch more Yorubawood, you lost son of Oodua.

Hehe

Man most of those naija movies bore the hell out of me. If you have anything entertaining yoruba movies that you want to recommend, I'm all ears.

Back in the days I saw saworoide, tolu wa nile, Igodo, those were classics. Check out for stuffs like that. Don't let's derail the thread lol!

Before the elder said it (Chinua Achebe). now, another youth is saying the same. I think it is high time we reform this nation honour of a thing. being appointed to a post should not be the criteria for one to qualify, i can't imagine some names on the list. Where is the reward for hardworking?

Let's gv it to d man.Evn if he has his faults,d basis on which he cited his rejection were very sound & thought provoking.We shud encourage such people& contnue hoping they follow in paths of honour

doctokwus:

Let's gv it to d man.Evn if he has his faults,d basis on which he cited his rejection were very sound & thought provoking.We shud encourage such people& contnue hoping they follow in paths of honour

Indeed.

Wonderful to see someone show some PRINCIPLES in Nigeria, the award is a poor imitation of the British Awards system and the nomination process is a comedy on a good day. Well done to mr Gbajabiamila

@ekt i am really not a follower of yoruba movies though a Yoruba person but try and watch "madam dearest". It is a triller that was well produced and financed by former gov of ogun state. YOU WILL ENJOY IT

Nice one.
At least we still have people of integrity.

The Rep. Gbajabiamila has done very well in not only rejecting the national honour but also for the very valid reasons he gave for doing so.
However, he can do better.
He should also reject that portion of his outrageous salary and allowances that are beyond what is approved by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).
Then we will know he is very serious about reforming Nigeria and not only playing to the gallery as most smart politicians do.

Why hasn't beaf and PointB responded to Femi on GEJ's behalf , awaiting your rebuttal please

What will they say if they comein

I would have appreciated this man more if he also REJECTS the BIG SALARY being paid to them

ric123:

@okosodo

Can't you people appreciate good leaders when you see one? The guy refused the offer unlike all the others and you are asking him to resign. What for? Let's keep it sane.

just because he refused a national honour does not make him a good. It is now sane.

toking abt him rejectin his salary so as 2 show dat hes serious, is he d one who fixes his salary nd where do u xpect him 2 feed 4rm?

manjuninho:

toking abt him rejectin his salary so as 2 show dat hes serious, is he d one who fixes his salary nd where do u xpect him 2 feed 4rm?

He was NOT the one who fixed the salary and he was NOT the one who nominate himself for the National Honour
I did not say he should reject his salary, but my assertion was ''BIG salary'' or call it ''FAT salary''

Try to understand other people's view before jumping into conclusion, better still THINK before you post!