A Nigerian based in the UK, Mrs Olusubomi Iginla-Aina has bagged the third highest national honour of Member of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
Aina, while presenting the award to Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman/CEO, Nigerians In Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) in Abuja said that her passion for uplifting the less privileged earned her the award.
She said that through her NGO, Lightup Foundation, she had been able to impact the lives of thousands of people through various humanitarian programmes both in Nigeria and in the UK.
“Most of the time I spend everything I have and after doing that you find there is always a problem on ground. My goal is to ensure that we solve the problem. So whatever I have got goes into it.
“I cannot count the number of people whose lives I have impacted. I started it in secondary school and when I got to the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, that was when I started Lightup Foundation,” she said.
Iginla-Aina joins other Nigerians who were conferred with similar awards in the past, among them Dr Nneka Abulokwe, the Founder, MicroMax Consulting.
Abulokwe was honoured for her excellent services in the business.
Nigeria’s Nneka Abulokwe was also conferred with the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth for her excellent works.
Responding, Dabiri-Erewa praised Aina for her humanitarian service and urging her not to relent in the good work of impacting the lives of the less privileged.
According to Dabiri-Erewa, Iginla-Aina is a reflection of true Nigerian ideals and also represents what the real Nigerian in the diaspora should be.
The NIDCOM chief who described Iginla-Aina as Diaspora Ambassador said that her recognition as such was for her efforts at enhancing the lives of Nigerian youths and because “she has alone touched the lives of more than 10,000 youths”.
She added that because of her service to humanity Iginla-Aina deserved to be celebrated.
She said that the future of Nigeria depended on its youth population, stressing that getting the best of talented Nigerian young people should remain Iginla-Aina’s priority.
Dabiri-Erewa said that the commission would partner with her in that area.
She called on all Nigerians both at home and in the Diaspora to emulate Iginla-Aina in order to uplift the lives of the less privileged.
