Imam, Fela, Soyinka, others to be honoured
Afrobeat creator,
Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, his brother, Olikoye, Nobel Laureate, Wole
Soyinka, and novelist, Abubakar Imam, are among 28 eminent Nigerians to
be inducted into The Nigerian Hall of Fame for Letters and The Nigerian
Hall of Fame for Science.
The induction
ceremony of the quartet and others including the late mathematician,
Chike Obi; psychiatrist, Adeoye Lambo; neurologist, Benjamin Osuntokun;
artist, Ben Enwonwu; poet, Christopher Okigbo; and Oladipo Akinkugbe
will hold at a gala night on Saturday, October 9.
Honour for excellence
A statement from
Ifeanyi Mbanefo, manager, corporate communications and public affairs
of Nigeria LNG Limited, said, “They will be honoured for outstanding
contribution to science and letters, which has put Nigeria on the world
literary and scientific map, promoted learning and scholarship, and
bettered the lives of Nigerians.”
The gas company is co-organising the ceremony with The Nigerian Academy of Science and The Nigerian Academy of Letters.
Mr. Mbanefo added
that the list of 28 people was arrived at after “three months of
extensive consultations and scrutiny by eminent panellists empowered by
The Nigerian Academy of Science and The Nigerian Academy of Letters.”
President, Nigerian
Academy of Science, Oye Ibidapo-Obe, and two other academics, Ekanem
Braide and Sunday Bwala, were on the science panel; while Romanus
Egudu, president, Nigerian Academy of Letters, worked with Ayo Banjo
and novelist, Zaynab Alkali.
Author of the popular ‘Things Fall Apart’, Chinua Achebe; the late
master potter, Ladi Kwali; and Gordian Ezekwe of the Biafran Ogbunigwe
fame, are also amongst the 28 people that will be honoured at the event
where winners of The Nigerian Prize for Science and The Nigerian Prize
for Literature will receive their prizes.
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