The Northern group, under the auspices of Arewa Media Publications and Event Company on Wednesday, honoured the former President Olusegun Obasanjo for his commitment to the unity of Nigeria.

The group said Obasanjo was also honoured for his performance and leadership quality at providing excellence and commitment to peace, unity and development of Nigeria and Africa at large.

The Special Assistant on Media to the former president, Kehinde Akinyemi said Obasanjo was given two

awards as “Most Outstanding Promoter of Unity, Patriotism and National Development Award of the Decade” and “Outstanding Personality Iconic Award for Exuding Excellence in Leadership Qualities, Professionalism & Commitment to Duty of the Decade”

Akinyemi said the award was given to Obasanjo based on merit.

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Joshua Olatunbosun Adeleke, who led the delegation to formally present the awards to the former President in Abeokuta described Obasanjo as one of the greatest figures of the second generation of post-colonial African leaders.

According to Adeleke, without doubt, you are one of the greatest figures of the second generation of post-colonial African leaders and, as a matter of fact, your Pan- African efforts to encourage peace and development across the continent cannot be overemphasised.

He added, “you remain true and committed to one Nigeria and believe strongly that Nigeria should be retained as a single nation-state, rather than being broken along ethnic lines.

“Your Excellency, in 2001, you said that your long term goal was “the nullification of all forms of identification except Nigeria citizenship. Till date, you are still unshaken in this resolve. This is not so with others.”

The Publisher further said, “there is no gainsaying the fact that your administration must also be credited for implementing a range of important reforms; like the introduction of EFCC in 2000 which breathed new life into the anti-corruption agenda.

The former President, however, appreciated the organization for the awards and tasked them to remain focused in educating and informing their targeted audience.