CBN’s Sarah Alade Bags Kwame Nkrumah Leadership Award

The West Africa Students Union (WASU) has conferred the 2012/2013 Kwame Nkrumah Leadership Award on the Deputy Governor (Economic Policy) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Sarah Alade, OON, in recognition of her immense contribution to Nigeria’s economic growth.
The Kwame Nkrumah Leadership Award, which is conferred on institutions, corporate concerns and eminent persons of West African origin, who have distinguished themselves in their chosen endeavour, was presented to Dr. (Mrs.) Alade on Thursday, July 11, 2013, at the Headquarters of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The Students’ Union, which was represented by four of its Executive members, also inducted Dr. (Mrs.) Alade into the WASU Hall of Fame, making her the 57th member of this elite class of West African achievers with a global reach.
According to the Secretary General of WASU, Comrade Bamikole Oladele Babs, who led the delegation, the award is in recognition of Dr. Alade’s leadership and patriotic role in contributing to the development of not only the West African sub-region but also the greater African continent.
“Dr. (Mrs.) Sarah Alade is an amiable leader, an erudite scholar, a woman with an enviable profile, an administrator of international repute, and a philanthropist of many parts,” the WASU scribe declared.
The organizers of the award also noted that the contributions of Alade have had a significant impact on the Nigerian economy and indeed those of other West African economies, therby making her a bridge to the hopeless.
“Our decision to confer this honour [on Dr. Alade] is not just the celebration of the achievement of an outstanding performer, but to also to serve as a call on the awardee not to relent in her efforts towards redefining the standard of economic development in West Africa. The award should also serve as a wakeup call on others to realize that there is a critical observation of their efforts and deeds; either good or bad,” Babs added.
In her acceptance remarks, Dr. (Mrs.) Sarah Alade expressed gratitude to God, Whom she noted paved the way for her success. She also thanked the Executive and Congress of the West Africa Students Union for ratifying that the award be conferred on her from a long list of successful professionals of West African origin. She was particularly grateful to the sub-regional student body for choosing to confer the award on her in Nigeria, thereby breaking from their tradition of conferring the award at an elaborate ceremony in Accra, Ghana, which served as the operational base of the late Pan-African Leader, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
Dr. Alade dedicated the award to staff of the CBN, particularly those in the Economic Policy Directorate, who she said were instrumental to her professional successes. Recounting her days as a lecturer at the University of Ilorin, she also thanked her former students for inspiring her to provide quality leadership in and outside the classroom.
Hoisting the Kwame Nkrumah Leadership plaque, the elated Deputy Governor said she was humbled that the award was given by students who identified with her as a role model. While promising not to rest on her oars, she urged the students to remain focused and pursue their respective dreams of making a difference not only in the sub-continent, but also on the world stage.
In separate remarks, Directors and other senior staff of the Economic Policy Directorate lauded the leadership qualities of Dr. (Mrs.) Alade as well as her evident positive contributions to the stability of the Nigerian economy.
WASU is the Continental Representative Organization of Democratic Students’ Unions founded in 1975 at the University of Science and Technology, now Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, with 54 member unions from West African countries.