Adesina, Onobrakpeya Conferred With 2017 National Merit Award by VP Osinbajo in Aso Rock

 

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday, conferred the 2017 Nigerian National Merit Award (NNMA) on a notable Nigerian scholar, Prof. Adesoji Adesina, and a celebrated artist, Mr. Bruce Onobrakpeya at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

 

Daily Sun reports that Osinbajo, who stood in for President Muhammadu Buhari, who is on a two-day official visit to Kano, lauded the research and intellectual qualities of the recipients, assuring that the federal government would continue to support research innovation in the country.

 

According to him, posterity would not forgive government functionaries if they fail to provide support for research activities, adding that every winner of NNMA was unique, describing the recipients as “milestones of Nigeria’s checkered history.”

 

The Vice President said both recipients bear awesome responsibilities, commending them for the intellectual feat they attained, challenging them to further deploy their experiences to advance the course of the society, recalling the words of Bernard Baruch that “man can’t retire his experience but must use it.”

 

The Vice President also praised the Governing Board of NMA, noting that the board had identified 75 recipients of the award, observing that the award “epitomises the finest of Nigerian innovation” as he welcomed Adesina and Onobrokpeya into the “prestigious league” of Nigerian National Order of Merit Investiture.

 

Osinbajo also observed that the works of Adesina in engineering and technology span over three decades in various fields including mining, defence, manufacturing, among others, with over 400 publications and competitive research grants.

 

The Vice President also said Adesina had trained a number of students including 42 PhD holders whom are now professors, executives in petro-chemical industry and captains of engineering designs in various parts of the world.

 

“To date, Prof. Adesina is credited with nearly 450 refereed publications, patents and books. He has supervised more than 100 graduate students to completion, including 42 PhD alumni with a truly global hue. Among these former students are university professors in highly-ranked institutions, executives of the petrol-chemical processing industries, government dignitaries and captains of engineering design and consulting firms located throughout China, South-east Asia, Middle East, Europe, USA, Canada and Australia. He has won over $15 million in competitive research grants from government and industry sponsors,” he said.

 

The vice president who said the works of Onobrakpeya in arts and humanities have spanned six decades, described the celebrated artist as a painter, initiator of art, author and philantropist.

 

According to him, Onobrakpeya had received over 30 awards and appointments in recognition of his excellent and intellectual contributions to humanity as well as lifetime awards.

 

He further described Onobrakpeya as a social commentator, whose works of art date back to 1957, the period he described as the early development of arts in the country. He further described him as an advocate of social causes who focuses on social developments.

 

Furthermore, Osinbajo said Onobrakoeya’s art works included painting on divine prayer for help. According to him, his works also address political instability, sociological problems while his contemporary works border on the murder of Ken Saro-Wiwa and broken pipes.

 

Responding on behalf of the recipients, Adesina who said they were thankful for being recognised at the highest level of government award, described the episode as memorable. He also expressed appreciation for all the efforts made by the Governing Board of the Nigerian National Merit Award towards the success of the award.