NEXT publisher honoured
Source: Online Nigeria
Country, Language: Nigeria, English
The World Forum for Ethics and Business based in Belgium has awarded the publisher of NEXT, Dele Olojede, this year’s Ethics in Business Award in the outstanding individual category.
The award is an annual prize conferred by the World Forum for Ethics in Business to honour individuals and companies that have shown the highest regard for human values and ethics in life and in the business arena.
The Award which was instituted in 2006, was presented at the annual International Leadership Symposium organized by the Forum at the European Parliament in Brussels on Friday. Birgitte Bohn, chairwoman of the Bettelsman Foundation who presented the award to Mr. Olojede, talked about his passion for his work, concern for human rights and people’ suffering. She noted the Pulitzer award won by Mr. Olojede in 2005 and referred to his desire to return to Nigeria and make a change.
In his acceptance speech, Mr. Olojede, recalled his youth in Modakeke and his desire to bring about a return to the values of trust and honesty he grew up with using the one vehicle he knows; journalism. He narrated a story about how in carrying out his assigned duty of buying the morning paper for his father, sometimes, the vendor was not there but he would just take a copy of the paper and leave the money there . There was a basis of trust in the community, Mr Olojede said. He went on to talk about the difficulty of bringing back the practice of these values in a place where people have forgotten about them but said awards like this which really belong to the staff of NEXT give one the inspiration to go on against the odds.
Earlier in the year Mr. Olojede was also named one of the 100 most creative people in business globally.