By Nneka Nwogwugwu
DAILY TRUST Nigeria has called for nominations of exemplary personalities for the coveted African of the Year 2021 award.
Nominations are open from August 22, 2021 to midnight of October 22, 2021, it stated in a statement on Sunday.
The winner will emerge, strictly based on the selection criteria and not the number of entries submitted on his/her behalf.
According to the statement issued by the Ag. CEO of Media Trust Limited, publishers of DAILY TRUST, Mr. Nura Daura, the ideal nominees should be ordinary Africans who have made extra-ordinary contributions to humanity in any field from any part of the continent.
Daura disclosed that the award consists of three components, namely, a permanent plaque, a certificate of merit and a cash reward in aid of the awardee or his/her chosen charity project.
“Valid entries for the 2021 award will be for works, events or activities undertaken by the nominee between October 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021, and nominations are to be made online at award.dailytrust.com. The eventual winner will be selected by a six-member prize committee chaired by His Excellency, Mr. Festus Mogae, former President of Botswana.
“Other members of the Committee who represent Africa’s regional blocs are: Ambassador Mona Omar (North Africa), Mr. Amadou Mahtar Ba (West Africa), Ms. Gwen Lister (Southern Africa), and Pastor Rigobert MINANI BIHUZO (Central Africa). The Chairman of the Board of Media Trust Limited, Mr. Kabiru Yusuf represents the award promoters,” the statement noted.
He also said that the presentation ceremony for the 2021 edition of the African of the Year Award will hold in Abuja, Nigeria, in January, 2022.
The African of the Year Award was inaugurated in 2008 by DAILY TRUST in fulfilment of the newspaper’s commitment to African unity and sustainable development across the continent.
Daura said that with its 14th edition, the newspaper hopes to entrench the culture of selflessness among Africans with the aim of creating a pool of role-models for others to emulate.
The maiden award was presented to a Congolese gynaecologist, Dr. Denis Mukwege, in recognition of his exemplary humanitarian offer of free reconstructive surgery to victims of rape in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC. He also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018, which is 10 years after DAILY TRUST had recognised his remarkable humanitarian gesture.
Last year’s award was won by Musu Bakoto Sawo, a Gambian changemaker and tireless women rights advocate, for her continuous commitment to ending violence against girls and women, including child marriage and female genital mutilation.