Award
By Ismail Abdulaziz
Abuja, Jan. 17, 2021 (NAN) Musu Sawo, a Gambian change maker and women rights advocate, has emerged winner of the 2020 Daily Trust African of the Year award.

A statement by Nura Daura, acting Chief Executive Officer of Daily Trust, said a seven-member award selection committee, announced 30-year-old Sawo as the winner.

The committee, led by the former President of Botswana, Dr Festus Mogae, said the award was for her commitment to ending violence against girls and women including child marriage and female genital mutilation.

Married at the age of 14 and widowed at 21 with no inheritance, Musu, who had also gone through female genital mutilation as a child, is also engaged in addressing the injustices women face daily across Africa.

“I say to the girls: come out and be the change that you can be because your children may be victims,” Sawo said while explaining her motivation.

Sawo, who is an Internationally Human Right Law lecturer at the University of The Gambia, started advocating for girls’ rights at age nine, including against child marriage, which she fell hostage to five years later.

National Coordinator for Think Young Women, she is a recipient of the 2017 Vera Chirwa Award from the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. South Africa and recognized as one of the 100 most influential young persons in West Africa by the Confederation of West African Youths in 2018.

She also received the ‘Inspiring Gambian Award 2018’ by the People’s Choice Award for Excellence in The Gambia.

Sawo’s selection by the Daily Trust was that in this period of COVID-19, women have been particularly impacted negatively, especially during the lockdown when a lot of husbands lost their jobs, resulting in domestic violence in the homes.

“So, with Musu’s championing the rights of women in Africa, which is largely a traditional society, she is deemed to be promoting a great cause, and therefore found worthy of selection for the award.

“Musu Bakoto deserves the award for her continuous work to end violence against girls and women, including child marriage and female genital mutilation”.

The African of the Year Award project was instituted in 2008 by Daily Trust to recognize and reward Africans who have made extra-ordinary contributions to human development in any part of the continent, and in any sphere of human endeavour.

Congolese medical doctor, Denis Mukwege, was the first winner in 2008 and 11 years after the recognition, he won the Noble Peace Prize for his work of treating abused and raped women in his war-torn country.

The award comes with a cash prize of 10,000 U.S. dollars.

The presentation of the this year’s award will be done sometime in March in Banjul, The Gambia. (NAN)
ISMA/

By Ismaila Chafe
The Presidency has frowned at the reported ultimatum given to the Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev Matthew Kukah to tender apology to the Muslim Ummah over his recent “malicious comments” against Islam, or leave the state.

The ultimatum was said to have been handed over to Kukah by a group based in Sokoto, Sokoto State.

Reacting to the ultimatum in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, condemned the decision of the group, saying their action was contrary to the nation’s Constitution.

He said groups such as the Muslim Solidarity Forum must be seen to share and uphold the country’s multi-religious principles.

Shehu, however, cautioned that individuals like Kukah must respect the feelings of his fellow Nigerians in his private and public utterances.

The statement read in part: ”The reported ultimatum by a group based in Sokoto, “Muslim Solidarity Forum,” calling on the Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev Matthew Hassan Kukah to tender an unreserved apology to the entire Muslim Ummah over his recent “malicious comments” against Islam, or quietly and quickly leave the state, is wrong because it is not in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

”Under our Constitution, every citizen has the right to, among others, freedom of speech and expression, the right to own property and reside in any part of the country, and the right to move freely without any inhibitions. Nigeria’s strength lies in its diversity.

”The right for all religions to co-exist is enshrined in this country’s Constitution. The duty of the government, more so, this democratic government, is to ensure that the Constitution is respected. But all must respect the rights and sensitivities of their fellow Nigerians.

”Father Kukah has greatly offended many with his controversial remarks against the government and the person of the president, with some even accusing him of voicing anti-Islamic rhetoric.

”On matters such as these, responsible leadership in any society must exercise restraint. Knee-jerk reactions will not only cause the fraying of enduring relationships, but also the evisceration of peaceful communities such as Sokoto, the headquarters of the Muslim community as beacon of pluralism and tolerance.

”The Sultanate has historically had good relations with followers of all faiths. That is why Father Kukah was received on his arrival in Sokoto with friendship and tolerance.

”Under our laws, groups or factions must not give quit notices, neither should they unilaterally sanction any perceived breaches. Where they occur, it is the courts of law that should adjudicate. Unilateral action is not the way to go.

”Groups such as the Muslim Solidarity Forum must be seen to share and uphold the country’s multi-religious principles. And individuals like Father Kukah must respect the feelings of his fellow Nigerians in his private and public utterances.”