Former special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Niger Delta affairs and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Gen. Paul Boroh (Rtd), has declared that Nigeria is an endowed country whose potentials are yet to be fully unlocked.
Boroh made the declaration while delivering his Chairman’s Address at the 2026 Nigeria’s Pride Award, held at the Barcelona Hotel, Wuse 2, Abuja, under the theme: “Unlocking Nigeria’s Potentials: Pathways to Sustainable Investment.”
He said Nigeria is not a poor country, but a rich country blessed with the largest population in Africa, over 220 million people, mostly young and energetic, oil and gas, solid minerals, vast arable land, a long coastline, a rich culture, and a people known around the world for their enterprise and resilience.
“The question before us today is simple: How do we turn these potentials into sustainable investment? How do we turn investment into jobs, into infrastructure, into peace, and into prosperity for all Nigerians?” he asked.
Boroh described the Nigeria’s Pride Award as an award like no other, where Nigerians converge annually to celebrate the nation’s best, and as a cornerstone in the striving for national excellence.
According to him, the award painstakingly identifies individuals, institutions and organisations making their marks through hard work, excellence, innovation and commitment to uncommon ideals.
“Judging by the array of resplendent personalities and transformational organisations that have over time made the list of awardees of the Nigeria’s Pride Award, we can certainly say that our nation has the capabilities and talents for uncommon greatness and global relevance,” he said.
He said this year’s list is no less spectacular than last year’s, an indication of the versatility and creative virility of Nigerians as a people.
Boroh congratulated all those honoured, Governors, Senators, Ministers, Heads of Agencies, private sector leaders, world class entertainers and innovators.
He thanked the organisers, the First Green White Resource Centre, particularly its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Bonaventure Phillips Melah, for their patriotism and positivity.
“When people and entities are appreciated, they are buoyed and encouraged to do more. Thus, by rewarding excellence, we encourage more excellence. Such events rekindle hope in our dearest and beloved country and become a guiding light in our journey to greatness,” he said.
On the theme, Boroh said it was not just a slogan but a call to action, noting that participants were gathered for two deeply connected reasons: to discuss the future of the economy, and to celebrate those already building that future.
He defined sustainable investment as investment that does not just come and go, but stays, grows, empowers communities, protects the environment, and gives youth a reason to believe in Nigeria.
Drawing from his experience in the Niger Delta as Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, he said: “No investor will come where there is no peace, and no peace will last where there is no investment. Peace and investment must walk together.”
He concluded by calling on the gathering to go past applause and end with partnerships.
“Let it end with pathways, clear, practical pathways to unlock Nigeria’s potentials for sustainable investment that will change lives.”
Some of the awardees includes, Dr. Allen Onyema of Air Peace, Dr. Zacch Adedeji of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Mrs. Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen of NIGCOMSAT, Dr. Obiageli Amadiobi, Chief Executive Officer of NOTAP, Dr. Abba Abubakar Aliyu, Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Archbishop Chidi Ebere, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, Ambassador Ismail Abba Yusuf, Pete Edochie and Patience Ozokwo.