2024 Vanguard Personality Award: Choosing awardees: Path to recognition

Guided hallucination! That’s how Roger Shepard, an American psychologist, cognitive scientist and author, described perception.

But, there is the concept of perception as reality, which, in itself, has its drawbacks, because of neglect of objectivity or its potential for manipulation once it is steeped in deliberate bias.

Therefore, the saying that one man’s meat is another man’s poison reflects the need to understand that what an individual perceives as being good may not necessarily be shared as something good by another.

And this is not just a matter of perception but of reality. In fact, the origins of this classic idiom can be traced to ancient Rome, “where the poet Lucretius wrote: “Quod ali cibus est aliis fuat acre venenum” (“What is food for one man may be bitter poison for another”). The modern English version was first recorded in the 16th century.” What this leads us to is the need to respect differences, avoid judgments and attempt to understand and relate to perspectives of others on any issue or any person.

The debate and eventual choice of awardees for Vanguard’s Personality of The Year, is largely based on informed perception of the individuals by the editors, in relation to how he or she has impacted on Nigerians. Call it choices made based on factive evidence, that is evidence that is understood in terms of truth. It is said that it is ‘based on the idea that success is explanatory and that evidence should be understood in relation to truth”, and not just perception. Some psychologists believe that behaviour without environmental cues would be absurdly chaotic.

But the debate by Vanguard editors in choosing the PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR did not need any cue and was spared the chaotic absurdity because the nominations and conversations that followed were not products of a choreographed engagement for the purpose of arriving at a predetermined end. It was an exercise which had no no-go areas. . You are not looking for just any group of persons. Therefore, this question becomes very pertinent: What motivates an individual to do good and great things? What’s the level of curiosity and insight available to ensure a determined engagement of a good deed or a good pursuit? Things that happen occur because of some forces of conscience and or nature.

It is in relating with such events, particularly the personalities behind such, that determines our collective humanity. Some of those events or pursuits in life may be for good or for bad – good causes or bad causes, sometimes evil. A deeper interrogation of the thinking behind and the forces propelling such actions sometimes reveals motives that are at once plebeian and devoid of altruistic intentions.

Therefore, in nominating individuals with a profundity of immense relevance to the objective of meeting the set criteria for PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR, there is a need to always ensure you get the buy-in of colleagues around the table. Choosing the Personality of The Year is not a new concept. It started in 1927 by editors of TIME magazine.

But they posed a valid question then, “whether sufficiently prominent people could be found in subsequent years to warrant the designation, MAN OF THE YEAR” Worse, in the light of a manifest drop in the value, content and context of leadership construct in Nigeria, the ghost loomed large, thereby, once again, bringing forth the relevance of the premonition of 1927 by the editors of TIME.

Therefore, the task to locate that ‘sufficiently prominent individual’ who touched the lives of Nigerians, whether for good or for ill, in ways that were so profound as to be voted PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR, confronted the editors of Vanguard once again.

In a season that has suffered a dearth of genuine emancipators, where chaos and scant regard for virtues and values continue to dominate the public sphere, making informed choices takes up the toga of a daunting task. In the over-a-decade of the awards, many big names have been chosen and they can not be recycled year-in, year-out, hence the daunting task of choosing somebody.

In the end, the star award, PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR, went to Dr. Deji Adeleke. The choice is as interesting as it comes with tantalising possibilities because of what he has done and what he is doing. Among other pursuits, he is a very, very big player in the power (energy) sector.

And Nigeria needs power so that it can unleash its potential for greatness. His power plants at Olorunsogo and Omotoso both generate 15% of Nigeria’s total power. But he is as good as completing another mega power plant in Ajebandele village in Ogun State.

That should generate 1,250 MW of electricity – a project that was almost going to be sabotaged by systemic inertia. That would be more than 35% of what the country oscillates around in generation terms. But beyond that, he is a strict disciplinarian who appreciates the values and virtues of education as openly confessed to by his son, the music maestro, David Adeleke.

For what he has done and what he is doing in the power sector, undaunted by environmental and systemic challenges, Dr. Adeleke is the star awardee. There are other categories as listed below and each nominee went through a process of rigorous debates before emerging.

PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

Dr. Adedeji Adeleke, CEO Pacific Holdings Limited

GOOD GOVERNANCE AWARD:

–Governor Duoye Diri

–Governor Biodun Oyebanji

–Governor Abba Yusuf

–Governor Sheriff Oborevwori

–Governor Umar Namadi

–Governor Charles Soludo

–Governor Hope Uzodinma

WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR:

Aisha Achimugu, Chief Executive

Officer, Felak Concept Group

Ngozi Ekeoma, Founder Nepal Group

YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR:

Kaine Edike

Managing Consultant, AquaEarth

BUSINESSMAN OF THE YEAR:

Sir Emeka Offor, Chairman Chrome Group

EDUCATION ICON

Oba Adedokun Abolarin

HUMANITARIAN AWARD:

Lady Mary Dinah, Founder, Mary Dinah Foundation

.Sen Biyi Fadeyi

.Dr. R. Usula Miku-Atu, Chairman Rosula Foundation

PRIVATE SECTOR ICON:

Manish Mandara, Managing Director,

Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals

PUBLIC SECTOR ICON:

Wale Adeniyi

Comptroller General of Customs

ENERGY ICON:

William, CEO Tetraco Energy

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

–Oyin Jolayemi

–Wale Adenuga

–Aba Folawiyo

–Benson Idonije

–Onyema Ugochukwu

–Peter Odili

–Sule Lamido

–Engr.Joana Maduka

–Chief John Oyegun

–Nike Ekundayo

POWER SECTOR ICON:

Prof Bath Nnaji

Founder Geometric Power Limited

OIL AND GAS ICON:

Daniel Chukwudozie,. Founder, Dozi Oil

FINTECH ICON:

Mitchell Elegbe

CEO, Interswitch

DIASPORA INVESTMENT ICON

Franklin Neji, Chairman, Optiva

INDUSTRIALIST OF THE YEAR:

–Lanre Shittu

–Dr. Alexander Chika Okafor, Chairman of Chicason Group

COMPANY OF THE YEAR:

Sublime Industries

REAL ESTATE ICON:

–Chima Anyaso

–Chairman, CEO, Caades Group

–Sam Ogrih, CEO Delta Mega Trend