From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Borno State Govenor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, has been announced as the winner of the Community Development Institute (CDI) Nigeria’s 2020 Community Pillar Award.
CDI Nigeria, a non-profit research and training organisation with headquarters in Abuja, explained, in a statement released in Abuja, at the weekend, that Zulum was chosen as winner of the award by the award selection committee due to his community development initiatives in his state, in spite of insecurity and insurgency.
Executive Director/Registrar, CDI Nigeria, Andrew Ogara, who signed the statement, explained that the objective of the award is to promote leadership, creativity and innovation in addressing community and social development challenges in Nigeria.
He said: “Evidently, communities in Nigeria are faced with diverse developmental challenges that range from widespread poverty to increasing social and economic inequality, and even violent extremism.
“The scope, scale, and urgency of these problems have all sharply increased in recent time. Disappointingly, finding solutions that address these diverse problems has also posed a great challenge.
“Every year, CDI Nigeria reviews media reports and receive nominations from the public on the activities of individuals and organisations who are making outstanding contributions to communities for award in all or any of the four areas of teaching, research, policy and practice.
“This year, the institute continued in the rich tradition. Expectedly, insecurity and insurgency issues were dominant in the entries received and the newspaper reports. Zulum, whose state suffers from insecurity and insurgency, emerged as the winner of the award for the proactive steps he adopted in handling these challenges.”
Ogara maintained that Zulum has been proactive in addressing the twin problem of insecurity and insurgency in the state with their devastating impact on the lives of millions of citizens and their communities.