A civil society organization the Resource Centre for Human Rights&Civic Education (CHRICED), has paid glowing tributes to the Director of the Africa Office of MacArthur Foundation, Dr. Kole Shettima and Senior Programme Officer, Dr. Amina Salihu, as they turn a year older today. CHRICED in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Comrade Dr. Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi described the two colleagues as patriots who have been working tirelessly for a better Nigeria. Dr. Zikirullahi enthused that both Shettima and Salihu have an “abiding faith in the possibility of a better world in which justice, equity and respect for human dignity prevails.”
Dr. Zikirullahi further commended the collective commitment of the MacArthur Foundation duo to the well being of fellow human beings. This he said was well reflected in the dedication, passion and belief with which they have been working for “a just and verdant” world.
He said: “Kole and Amina, in spite of the many challenges see great possibilities in the future of Nigeria, and have against the many odds been working with a team of other great colleagues to contribute towards realising it. CHRICED particularly celebrates the MacArthur Foundation duo for their stellar contributions to policies, plans, and programmes, which have empowered and mobilised civic agencies in Nigeria to deepen the conversation around human rights, accountability and good governance.
He continued: “The renewed vigour in citizen action, and resonance of the civic voice in Nigeria, particularly the reinvigoration of grassroots efforts to promote citizens demands for accountability in the use of public resources, are some of the results of the hard work, which the celebrants and their colleagues at the Foundation have put into the collective push for a better country. These are no mean feats considering the complexities of the transparency and accountability deficits Nigeria currently faces. Notwithstanding the scale and difficulty of these challenges, the two patriots celebrating today have continued to believe and persevere.”
Zikirullahi informed that as an organisation, CHRICED had taken a lot of encouragement from the optimism, belief and dedication of the MacArthur birthday celebrants. He said on such a special day, it was worthy to join the celebrants’ friends and well-wishers across the world to celebrate them for the inspiring roles played in galvanising civic actors in Nigeria to work for the citizens of our country.
“As they celebrate the milestone today, we wish them more joy, strength and God’s bountiful blessings as they continue to serve the nation and humanity. Happy birthday Kole and Amina! We wish you many more joyful returns of this special day,” Zikirullahi said.
