Dr. Sunday Akinbiola, Publisher and Chief Excecutve Officer (CEO) of Hero Magazine International on Sunday, received “Philanthropist of the year award” at the just concluded Leadership Excellence and Dignity (LEADS) awards held at the Dome international event center, Akure, Ondo State capital.
The publisher who was represented at the award ceremony by the Managing Editor of Hero Magazine International Comrade Joshua Umukoro and was honoured with the award in recognition of his outstanding performance as the philanthropist of the year in Ondo State, and his immense contributions to the transformation of lives of many widows, youths and promotion of young talents in the state.
The award is a testament to the highest standard that the publisher has attained in carrying out philanthropist activities yearly.
Wife of the Governor of Ondo State, Chief Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu speaking as a guest lecturer at the maiden edition of the LEADS Awards 2022, themed: ‘Rewarding Tenacity, called for attitudinal change in not being perseverance and enduring hardships, which, according to her contributed to the ills in the society.
In her speech titled: ” Rewarding Tenacity: An Example for the Next Generation”, she maintained that “For any man or woman to grow from nothingness to consequence, the firmness of mind and strong will to follow through a difficult path, even when things look bleak, is essential “.
The Ondo First Lady continued that to be tenacious is to have the mental and moral strength to resist ‘short cuts’ and endure hardship for a worthy eventuality.
She described tenacity as a great quality an individual must possess to attain greater heights in life.
While encouraging the younger generation of Nigerians to set goals for themselves, she acknowledged that the country waa blessed with incredible youthful talents,
Akeredolu charged them to focus on the future rewards of hardwork, rather than seeking shortcuts to success that has short-term gain.
”I stand before you today as a typical example of Nigerian from a humble background who endured all sorts of temptations and distractions to come this far. My background, training, marriage and attainments are all evident products of tenacity.
“Absence of tenacity in the younger generation of Nigerians forms part of the problem we battle as a people.
“Of the prized value system that the society seems to have lost, delayed gratification ranks high. By delayed gratification, I mean the ability to suspend the desire for immediate gain in favour of later and greater reward. This value, great as it is, has become virtually non-existent, and its absence, a threat”.
The Governor’s Wife, while quoting the words of a famous American polymath writer Benjamin Franklin “Haste makes waste”, decried the ills in the society caused by haste, and enjoined young Nigerians to imbibe tenacity by showing capacity for endurance and consistency in order to revive the country.
At the event, the Director General of the Performance and Project Implementation Monitoring Unit (PPIMU), Engr. Babajide Akeredolu, bagged the man of the year award, while the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice was also honoured as the legal icon of the year; Ceci Supermarket bagged the supermarket of the year in Ondo State, among others.