UPDATED: Tinubu confers national honour on Premium Times’ Publisher, other heroes of Nigeria’s democracy

President Bola Tinubu has conferred the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) on Dapo Olorunyomi, the publisher of PREMIUM TIMES. The president also conferred national honours on other Nigerians who fought for the country’s democracy, including those who have died.

Mr Tinubu announced these on Thursday while addressing lawmakers at the House of Representatives chambers in Abuja to mark Nigeria’s Democracy Day.

Mr Olorunyomi, a veteran journalist, was one of those who used journalistic tools to demand Nigeria’s return to democracy during the Sani Abacha dictatorship. He was attacked by security agencies and assaulted alongside his wife, Ladi. He and the family had to seek exile abroad. His colleague, Kunle Ajibade, was imprisoned by the Abacha junta and was only freed after Mr Abacha’s death. Mr Tinubu also conferred the OON title on Mr Ajibade. The president also conferred the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) honour on presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga. Messrs Onanuga, Olorunyomi and Ajibade are co-founders of The News magazine, which played a prominent role in Nigeria’s fight to return to democracy in 1999 after almost two decades of military dictatorship.

In his address to the lawmakers, Mr Tinubu also conferred national honours on other heroes of democracy, including Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, late journalist Bagauda Kaltho, and journalist Ayo Obe.

Other recipients of the national honours include Olatunji Dare (CON), Nosa Igiebor (OON), Dare Babarinsa (CON), Matthew Kukah (CON), Shehu Sani (CON), Uba Sani (CON), Femi Falana (CON), Shafideen Amuwo (CON), and Luke Aghanenu (OON).

Others are Tokunbo Afikuyomi (CON), former information minister Labaran Maku (OON), Tunji Alausa (CON), Nick Dazang (OON), Abdul Oroh (OON), Odia Ofeimun (CON), Seye Kehinde (OON), Felix Morka (CON), Ledum Mitee (CON), Olawale Osun (CON), Amos Akingba (CON), Segun Gbadegesin (CON), Mobolaji Akinyemi (CFR), Kayode Shonoiki (CON), Julius Ihonvbere (CON), Bayo Williams (CON), Abu Ibrahim (CFR), and Ame Ebute (CFR).

All the awardees played major roles to fight military dictatorship and return Nigeria to a democracy.

Mr Soyinka was honoured with Nigeria’s second-highest honour, GCON. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1986. He left Nigeria in exile in November 1994 after the former Head of State, Sani Abacha, confiscated his passport.

Mr Soyinka had led protests against military rule and in support of the recognition of Moshood Abiola, the winner of the 1993 presidential election.

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Shehu Sani, a former senator and human rights activist, was conferred with the CON honour. Like many others who protested the annulment of the 12 June 1993 elections, Mr Sani was arrested and detained in 1995 during the Abacha regime.

He was charged with treason and sentenced to life imprisonment by a military tribunal. The former senator spent four years in prison and was released by the Abdulsalami Abubakar administration after the death of Mr Abacha.

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Like Shehu Sani, Uba Sani, now governor of Kaduna State, also joined the pro-democracy movement against the Abacha dictatorship.

President Tinubu also honoured veteran journalist Sam Amuka, the publisher of Vanguard newspapers. The president described Mr Amuka as “a legendary journalist and publisher who remains true to his lifetime calling as he marks his 90th birthday tomorrow, June 13.”

He was popularly known for his column, “Sad Sam.” The column was devoted to either pillorying power abuse or satirising the foibles of society’s indulgent elite.

The president also honoured Bagauda Kaltho, an investigative journalist who was killed in a bomb blast at the Durbar Hotel in Kaduna State during the military regime.