A global goals activist and Executive Director of Brainbuilders Youth Development Initiative, BBYDI, Olasupo Abideen, was on Friday, honoured at the 5th Gani Fawehinmi Impact and Integrity Awards which held in Lagos.
He won the Outstanding Integrity Award category for refunding the sum 2,397 USD dollars that was mistakenly paid into his account in by a foreign organisation he consulted for. Olasupo emerged winner of the award category ahead of few other nominees.
After receiving the award that was presented to him by a human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, Olasupo dedicated the award to his parents whom he said, instilled a culture of honesty and transparency in him.
“When I was a young, my mum always checked my bag when I came back from school. I never knew why until I was in secondary school and challenged her, she said she wanted to ensure I didn’t mistakenly park anything not mine. My Dad always tells me and my siblings not to ever take what doesn’t belong to us, that we have a duty to always protect the name of our family,” he said.
The young entrepreneur and climate justice advocate who disclosed that he had had reasons to reject contracts because of kickbacks, said “when I got the over 2,397USD erroneously paid to my account, I never thought it twice to return it because it is not mine and I know mine will surely come.”
Olasupo expressed gratitude to organisers of the awards and Nigerians who voted for him.
According to the organisers of the Awards, Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource Centre), the group received 271 nominations and entries.
“Of this number, 21 persons were shortlisted for voting in the four categories of the Awards: six for Outstanding Impact, eight for Outstanding Integrity, four for Valuable Whistle-Blower and three for Nigerians-In-Diaspora Integrity Ambassador.”
While The Outstanding Integrity Award was won by Olasupo, the Valuable Whistle-Blower Award was won by Mr Paul Alaba Lawani, a winner of the Global Town Crier Media Award and the Outstanding Impact Award was won by Mr Baba Muhammad Dzukogi, a former National Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Authors.
Other prominent personalities at the Awards ceremony include members of the Board of the Award Comrade Achike Chude, Barrister Nurudeen Ogbara and Mr kule Adegoke, SAN.
Olanrewaju Suraju, Chairman of HEDA Resource Centre, noted that the overall objective of the Award ceremony was to promote transparency.
The Gani Fawehinmi Awards was instituted by HEDA Resource Centre with the support of MacArrthur Foundation in honour of the late human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Gani Fawehinmi.
