Perpetua Egesimba
The Arewa Youth Council (AYC) is set to honour the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin, with the award of Garkuwan Matasan.
The group says that it is motivated to reward him for his sterling leadership qualities, adding that the award would encourage the emergence of credible leaders in the country.
In a statement issued, in Abuja, by its president, Comrade Dogo Shagari, the AYC disclosed that the award was first of its kind in its 40-year history and expressed the hope that it would help throw up credible leaders across the country.
“It is noteworthy that in our 40 years of existence, this category of award, the Garkuwan Matasan Arewa Nnajeriya was preserved because it was difficult to identify any person who was befitting of the honour.”
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Comrade Shagari also said that the award would be formally presented to Gen. Olonishakin on December 6, 2018, while expressing happiness with General’s contribution to the Nigerian Military in its quest to ensure peace and security in the country.
“True leadership is exemplified by a leader who understands the worth of his subjects and is ready to unite all efforts towards the attainment of organisational or traditional goals.
“Through this, transparency in the military will be encouraged.
“We devised a way of verifying nominees for this year’s award. In our effort to encourage fairness in the selection process, an effective online poll was employed.
“It is our greatest honour to announce that the incumbent Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Olonishakin, emerged the winner of this inaugural edition, defeating incumbent governors, heads of foreign missions and security agencies in Nigeria.”
The group said that it was heart warming that Gen. Olonisakin had re-oriented the Nigerian military to better understand its special duty of securing and preserving Nigeria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It said this had enabled the military to play various roles in reclaiming most of the Nigerian territories annexed by Boko Haram terrorists.