The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource Centre has conferred the Gani Fawehinmi Impact and Integrity Award (GFIIA) on the Chairman, Unubiko Foundation, Chief James Ume.
HEDA presented the award to Chief Ume, who is also the publisher of The Whistler, during the 6th GFIIA and lecture held in Lagos at the weekend.
The Resource Centre, with the support of the MacArthur Foundation, instituted the annual GFIIA, in honour of the late human rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, to reward acts of Integrity, accountability and whistleblowing to deserving Nigerians of imperturbable character, courage, selflessness and honesty.
According to HEDA, the award aims to encourage, promote, celebrate and protect the uncommon principles of openness, honesty, probity, accountability and transparency in public and private life and whistleblowing to deserving persons and bodies.
“Ume has made a mark quietly in ensuring that others find comfort and convenience and overcome the vicissitude of life.
“He has touched the lives of the less privileged without making noise about it and has perfected the act of giving to become one of the shining and inspirational lights in humanitarian spaces in Nigeria. Hence, he is well deserving of the award,” the organizers noted.
Similarly, the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (PCN), Ketu Parish, Lagos, also honoured Chief Ume with the ‘God’s Mission Ambassadors Award’ for his philanthropy, and in appreciation and recognition of his invaluable work towards the growth of the parish and the church universal.
Reacting to the two awards, Chief Ume, said: “This awards stand for so many things to me. One of which is a call for service.
“It also show that no matter the little things you do to humanity, people are watching, and they are recognising the things you are doing. It also means that you must monitor every one of your activities and everything you are doing because people are seeing it, and they are observing you and taking records.
“It therefore also means that we just have to keep working harder. For me, serving the people is what gives me ultimate satisfaction, and that is what I believe in.
“We are very grateful for the recognition that is coming. And I can tell you, we didn’t know how all these awards came about, just some random guy reached out to me to inform me about the awards.
“For us, it’s just a beautiful thing. And for the Unubiko Foundation, we are not stopping here. We have had many people support us in many ways, with the work we are doing.
“This December, we are handing over a brand new secondary school that we built to the community and the government on December 26, and we will also be handing over N300 million for scholarships to Abia State students.
“So we are not stopping. We will keep uplifting humanity and keep hoping that we will get support from our friends and associates who help us in the works that we are doing.”
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