President Bola Ahmed Tinubu says the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) conferred on Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was in recognition of his decades-long commitment to improving lives in Nigeria.
The award ceremony, held Tuesday in Lagos, marks a significant acknowledgment of Gates’s contributions to Nigeria’s healthcare, agriculture, and digital economy sectors, Mr Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
President Tinubu describes Gates as “an inspiration to leaders across the world,” citing his relentless efforts in lifting the poor and vulnerable.
“All I need to say is thank you, Bill Gates, for your indivisible commitment to humanity. It is highly remarkable. It is an inspiration to leaders across the world, including the one standing before you,” the Nigerian leader says while conferring the honour.
“Bill Gates and Alhaji Aliko Dangote have been working together to transform lives across the country. The Gates Foundation has invested over $2 billion through various initiatives targeting health care, agriculture and the digital economy,” Pate says.
Gates received the CFR honour in the presence of top government officials and partners, including Alhaji Aliko Dangote, billionaire industrialist and long-time collaborator with the Gates Foundation.
Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, Minister of Health and Social Development, says the honour reflects Gates’s long-standing partnership with Nigeria in health and development.
“Bill Gates and Alhaji Aliko Dangote have been working together to transform lives across the country. The Gates Foundation has invested over $2 billion through various initiatives targeting health care, agriculture and the digital economy,” Pate says.
He highlights how the Foundation played a pivotal role in eradicating polio in Nigeria by partnering with traditional leaders to boost vaccine acceptance, particularly in the North.
Gates, in his acceptance speech, says the honour is not just personal but also a recognition of his Foundation’s team.
“I am very happy to receive the honour for myself and the incredible team at the Foundation,” Gates says. “In the 25 years we’ve worked in Nigeria, we’ve achieved a lot — from reducing child mortality through new vaccines to eradicating polio and now tackling cervical cancer with the rollout of HPV vaccines.”
According to Gates, Nigeria has outperformed many countries in deploying the HPV vaccine to girls aged 9 to 14, a single dose of which offers lifetime protection against cervical cancer. He commends President Tinubu and Pate for prioritising health and pledges to expand their shared work into tackling malnutrition and malaria.
“Some of our goals will seem ambitious; for example, in the next twenty years, we hope to eradicate malaria,” Gates says, reaffirming his intention to invest the majority of his wealth in Africa over the next two decades.
Also in attendance at the ceremony were Zephaniah Jisalo, Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs; Dr Ayuba Burki Gufwan, Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities; and executives of the Gates Foundation.
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