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2023 AWARDEE
Celebrating Excellence and Shaping History
Welcome to the prestigious BHLA 2023 Awardees page, where we proudly shine a spotlight on those who have not just excelled but have also left an indelible mark on Black history, culture, and lifestyle. These remarkable individuals, organizations, and initiatives represent the very essence of our mission: to honor, celebrate, and inspire.
Join us in Celebrating
We invite you to join us in celebrating the achievements of our remarkable awardees. Their work has not only shaped history but continues to influence and inspire future generations. Through their stories, we hope to instill a sense of pride, unity, and purpose within our community.
As we applaud their achievements, let us also reflect on the positive change that each of us can create in our own way. Together, we can carry forward the legacy of our awardees and continue to make history.
Inspiring Awardees
Each year, BHLA meticulously selects awardees who have demonstrated exceptional dedication and contributions to various aspects of Black history and culture. Their stories are not just a testament to their own accomplishments, but a source of inspiration for us all Our 2023 Awardees come from diverse backgrounds and fields, each bringing their unique perspective and passion to the forefront. From artists and activists to entrepreneurs and educators, they embody the spirit of excellence and resilience.
Discover Their Stories
On this page, you’ll have the opportunity to explore the inspiring stories and accomplishments of our 2023 Awardees. Their journeys, their triumphs, and their unwavering commitment to making a positive impact serve as a source of inspiration for us all.
Fela Anikulapo Kuti (15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also professionally known as Fela Kuti, or simply Fela, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, musician, composer, pioneer of the Afrobeat music genre and human rights activist. At the height of his popularity, he was referred to as one of Africa’s most “challenging and charismatic music performers.
Fela, master of spontaneity, was certainly one of Africa’s most gifted composers and performers. He deployed his remarkable creative energies essentially to conscientize and mobilizes Nigerians and people of color all over the world. He will be remembered always, not necessarily for his strange ways but for his works and incredible life. His caustic lyrics and irreverent rendition and performance, also distinguish him.
POST HUMOUS
FELA ANIKULAPO KUTI
ART AND CULTURE
NIKE OKUNDAYE
Nike Okundaye was born in 1951 in Ogidi, Kogi State, in North-Central Nigeria, and was brought up amidst the Yoruba traditional weaving and dyeing as practised in her home town. Her parents and great grandmother were musicians and craftspeople, who specialized in the areas of cloth weaving, adire making, indigo dyeing and leather. She learned how to use the loom to produce cloth during the time she lived with her great grandmother Ibitola (“Red Woman”).
She is the founder and director of four art centres that offer free training to more than 150 young artists in visual, musical and performing arts, comprising more than 7,000 artworks.
Davies-Okundaye’s adire and batik textiles use visual themes taken from Yoruba history and mythology, as well as visual themes inspired by her own life experiences and dreams.Davies-Okundaye strives to improve lives of disadvantaged women in Nigeria through art. She teaches the unique techniques of indigo cloth-dyeing (Adire) to rural women at her workshop in south-west Nigeria.
Ohimai Atafo professionally known as Mai Atafo is a Nigerian fashion tailor known for his brand, Mai Atafo. He underwent training at the Savile Row Academy in Leeds, United Kingdom, to become a skilled tailor.
FASHION
OHIMAI ATAFO
MEDIA & COMM.
CHAIRMAN JOHN MOMOH
John Momoh (born 1 July 1957) is a Nigerian broadcast journalist and the Chairman and CEO of Channels TV, an independent and multiple award-winning 24-hour news and media television channel based in Lagos. He is widely recognized in Nigeria as a transformative industry pioneer with the 37-year-long career in news television broadcasting.
Martha Eseoghene Najomo is the CEO of Seraphina Gems, a jewellery business that stocks some of the most exotic jewellery in the world.
HUMANITARIAN
MARTHA ESEOGHENE NAJOMO
EXPORT PROMOTION
EZRA YAKUSAK
Dr Yakusak, who is the Executive Director/CEO of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council(NEPC) holds a PhD in industrial regulation from the Ahmadu Bello College. 31-years ago in the year 1990, Ezra Yakusak first walked into the , for his primary assignment in the compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
He was subsequently employed by the organization at the end of his service, and his story is that of the proverbial patient dog that gets to eat the fattest bone. It is the story of a starry-eyed impressionable young man from Kanem in the Kachia local government area in Kaduna state, who rose through the ranks of the council to become its chief executive. A man with great potential and perseverance.
Mustapha Abubakar Gajibo is a young entrepreneur with knack for technological development. Determined to showcase his skill in technology, the Kanuri-born prodigy has blazed a trail by producing electric vehicles.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
MUSTAPHA ABUBAKAR GAJIBO
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