Three Nigerians who emerged as winners of the Nigeria National Order of Merit Award for 2020 and 2021 went home with N10 million each.
Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye was named winner in Medicine (2020), Prof. Charles Chidume clinched the award in Science (2020), while Prof. Godwin Ekhaguere emerged winner in Science (2021).
Olutoye, a renowned Surgeon and Scientist, was selected for the award for having performed in-utero surgery on foetus with large tumours while still in their mother’s womb, making him the first African and indeed the first Nigerian to perform this feat.
Chidume, a Professor of Mathematics at African University of Science and Technology, Abuja, was selected for the award for introducing a new and powerful interactive algorithm, which is the only one in the literature that does not involve the resolvent for approximating a zero of the maximal monotone map.
Ekhaguere, a Mathematician was selected for creating new directions in Mathematics and deploying the outcomes to solve outstanding problems in a branch of Mathematical Physics called Axiomatic Quantum Field Theory.
Announcing the winners at a press conference in Abuja, the Chairman, Governing Board of the Nigerian National Merit Award, Shekarau Yakubu, said the three winners were found worthy of the award for distinguishing themselves in the various areas of their chosen careers.
They were selected, according to him, out of 46 nominations by specialized committees, including external assessors, and considered by a committee of chairmen and the Governing Board of NNMA before President Muhammadu Buhari approved it.
Each awardee took home N10 million, a medal and NNOM certificate.
The award was established by Act No. 53 of the 1979 constitution and was amended by Act No. 96 of 1992 now LFN 122 of 2004, organised by the Governing Board of the NNMA.
It was named Nigerian National Order of Merit and is a separate Order of Dignity in the Highest Honours Category in the fields of Science, Medicine, Engineering/Technology, and Humanities including Arts and Culture.
Each year, the NNMA advertises for nominations of candidates for the NNOM Award in the four categories of Engineering/Technology, medicine, Humanities including Arts and Culture and Sciences.
The investiture of the three awardees would be statutorily performed by the President on a date to be announced by the Presidency at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa.
Nominations open for 2022
Meanwhile, NNMA said nominations for 2022 has begun and would end by March 31, 2022.
The award could not hold in the past two years due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the NNMA was able to hold the assessment of 2020/2021 concurrently and got the Presidential approval on Thursday of the successful recipients of the NNOM Award.
The award has consistently produced the NNOM Laureates including the last year’s recipients with universal acclaim.
The award recipients were usually selected by a committee of assessors and external assessors.
