‘Honest taxi driver’, steward, traffic warden to get houses with national honours

President Goodluck Jonathan has directed minister of the federal capital territory, Senator Bala Mohammed, to give one flat each to presidential steward, Mr Michael Onuh; taxi driver, Mr Imeh Usuah and traffic warden Cpl Solomon Dauda, who were among the 305 “Nigerians and friends of Nigeria” who received national honours on Monday.

Delivering his speech after presenting the awards to the honourees on Monday, the president remarked that those who take to criminality because of poverty “are not right,” as the three honourees had proved by their exemplary actions.
He described three honourees as “people with the true Nigerian spirit”.

“The national honours ceremony is annual ritual of renewal in which our society constantly connects with its higher values. A nation is void and soulless if it does not have those sacred values that it holds dear and individuals which project them,” he said.

Jonathan stated that the nation was experiencing unrest because Nigerians had neglected ennobling traditional value system.

“I believe one of reasons our society is not at peace is that we have neglected our ennobling traditional value system,” he said.

“We must get back those time honoured values so that we can live right. This is what the nation honour seeks to do.”

The president urged the honourees to continue to lead exemplary lives, as receiving the national honours award was an added responsibility.

Usuah the driver returned N18m that was left in his taxi by a passenger in 2007, while Onuh the presidential steward has served at Aso villa for 30 years with little to show for it in material.