Carrington to head Tinubu Spirit of Africa Awards selection team

Former American Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Walter Carrington, has been selected to head the final selection team for the newly instituted Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Spirit of Africa Awards.

The awards are instituted by the Lagos State University, LASU, Ojo, in honour of the former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu and it would be held annually, starting this year.

The Vice-Chancellor of LASU, Prof Olarenwaju Fagbohun, who made the disclosure on Tuesday at a news conference, said the diplomat was chosen for the assignment based on his grassroots acumen, untainted integrity and global acceptability of his person.

He said the former envoy, who was in Nigeria as US ambassador between 1993 and 1997, had accepted to serve in the team whose other members he refused to disclose for now.

According to him, the public would nominate deserving award recipients from across professions in Africa from whom the panelists would now choose three most worthy for the award.

He noted that each edition would feature a special lecture with leaders in government, corporate and business world, academics and other areas of endeavours from across Africa participating, giving this year’s lecture theme as “Africa: A new dawn or a newer colonialism.”

Fagbohun, a Professor of Law also disclosed that the university would earlier hold two important events this August, tagging the first as: “An afternoon with Baroness Lynda Walker” and the second as a distinguished lecture.

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He noted that while Baroness Walker, the former Minister of State at the UK Foreign Office and now Chairman, African Matters Limited would speak on “Africa in a comparative world, development, and business,” at the former event, the trio of Mrs Dan-Faparusi Ogugua Enitan Anne (a pilot), Joke Jacobs and Segun Arinse (both renowned artistes) would speak on “Life skills education for employment and entrepreneurship learning in the 21^st Century” at the latter.

He said the sole essence of these activities was to further build a synergy between the university, the private sector and the government at all levels for a knowledge-based and driven development.

Speaking about Tinubu, the VC said the former governor had contributed so much to the socio-political and economic lives of Nigeria and Africa at large and therefore worthy of honour.

He said part of his philanthropy gestures was his readiness to single-handedly build the faculty of arts complex for the university.

He said the faculty complex would greatly aid quality learning and teaching in the faculty.‎