The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, is billed to be honoured
with the prestigious Zik Prize in the Professional Leadership category in
Lagos, next week.
The award will be presented to Danbatta by Public
Policy Research and Analysis Centre (PPRAC), during an elaborate ceremony
slated for Sunday, December 6, 2020 at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos
State by 6 p.m.
This year’s event, which also coincides with the
25th anniversary of the Zik Prize series, will be chaired by Nobel Laureate,
Prof. Wole Soyinka, while the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe is to
function as the royal father of the day.
The PPRAC had, during a virtual conference on
Thursday, September 24, 2020, named Danbatta and the Group Managing
Director/Chief Executive Officer of United Bank for Africa (UBA), Mr. Kennedy
Uzoka, as the joint winners in the category.
Danbatta, Uzoka and other prominent personalities
who emerged in different categories of the Zik Awards, were carefully selected
through a rigorous and meticulous process for their notable contributions to
national development, said Prof. Jubril Aminu, Chairman of the PPRAC in a
statement on the grand award ceremony.
Described by the organisers as a square peg in a
square hole, Danbatta, through dint of hardwork as NCC boss, was acknowledged
to have led the charge to drive Nigeria’s industrial revolution and
knowledge-based economy leveraging telecommunications.
According to them, telecommunications’ contribution
to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria has grown by 70 per cent from
2015 to 2020, whilst broadband penetration has increased significantly to over
45 per cent.
“Danbatta’s leadership has enhanced transparency and innovation in the sector, such that recently, NCC was acknowledged by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), as one of Africa’s foremost regulators” they observed.
According to the organisers, the NCC boss has
transformed the Commission into a regulator of global acclaim, as they noted
the establishment and implementation of the NCC’s auspicious strategic 8-Point
Agenda, under Danbatta, which has given the direction to activities of the
Commission.
Organisers of the award also acknowledge that
Danbatta has, through several breathtaking and far-reaching innovations, such
as Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) registration and 112 Emergency
Number, helped in the effort against insecurity in the country.
They also noted that the sector’s improved
contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as well as improvements in
Quality of Service (QoS) delivery, broadband infrastructural development,
broadband penetration, effective spectrum utilisation, consumer empowerment,
technology innovation, have been phenomenal under Danbatta’s leadership.
Earlier in a letter of nomination in July 2020,
signed jointly by the Aminu and Utomi, the NCC boss was described as “an
outstanding public servant, whose initiatives and reforms had contributed to
Information and Communications Technology (ICT), playing a leading role in the
socio-economic development of Nigeria.”
Zik Prize center was set up in 1994 in honour of
the first President of Nigeria, late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, with a view to
encouraging and nurturing quality leadership in Africa and in the diaspora.
The impending event literally puts Danbatta in the
prestigious category of eminent intra-continental figures so honoured by
the foundation, like late former President of Ghana, Jerry Rawligs (1995); Late
President Nelson Mandela, President Yonweri Muzeveni of Uganda and former
Chairman of NCC’s Governing Board, Alhaji Ahmed Joda.
Among this year’s winners, however, are the Senate
President, Dr. Ahmed Lawal and the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, Mr. Boss Mustafa, who won in political leadership and public
service categories, respectively.
Others are Governor of Borno State, Babagana Umara
Zulum, his counterparts from Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa and Oyo State
Governor, Engr. Oluseyi Makinde, who have bagged the award for good governance.
