LEADS Africa Confers LEADS Africa’s Patriotic Award On George Uboh

The League of African Development Students (LEADS Africa) has conferred the “2018 LEADS Africa’s Patriotic Personality Award” on Dr. George Uboh, the chairman of George Uboh Whistleblowers Network (GUWN).

The award, according to LEADS Africa, is in recognition of the patriotic strides of George Uboh Whistleblowers Network.

The award presentation took place by 12pm today, Thursday, August 16, 2018.

The award came barely three weeks after the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) bestowed on Dr. Uboh award of “ICON of change to Nigeria” for pioneering whistleblowing.

See below the acceptance speech on Thursday, August 16, 2018, by Dr. George Uboh after the award presentation by the League Of African Development Studies (LEADS Africa):

As it is in my nature and character not to lobby for any recognition, I was highly elated when I received the unsolicited and unilateral phone call on Tuesday, August 14, 2018 from the “League of African Development Students (LEADS Africa)” informing me that I have been chosen for the “2018 LEADS Africa’s Patriotic Personality Award” in recognition of the patriotic strides of George Uboh Whistleblowers Network, and that award presentation is slated for today Thursday, August 16, 2018.

This is within three weeks after the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) bestowed on me unsolicited award of “ICON of Change to Nigeria” as the foremost whistleblower in Nigeria.

Permit me to say thank you for finding me worthy of this award. Honesty, when I started whistleblowing in 2013 against the EFCC, I never thought Nigeria would one day embrace whistleblowers policy.

It is my dream that Nigeria harness the full potentials of whistleblowing which in my opinion can be used to tackle corruption and insecurity, the hybrid problems plaguing Nigeria today, same way the U.S used whistleblowing to eradicate false claims during the civil war in the 1840s which metamorphosed into the “false claims act” or qui tam action.

I have squarely proffered this solution, among numerous other, in my blueprint called “Bureau of Integrated Technologies for Security and Anti-Corruption (BITSAC) which is modelled after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S; a robust outfit under which 22 security organizations in the U.S function.

While appreciating the Buhari administration for promulgating the whistleblowers policy, I call on the legislative arm of government to enact the original bill I drafted, which was completely watered down in leaving out the percentage of reward and protection of whistleblowers, I equally call on the executive to ensure that there is a separate and distinct office for whistleblowers and witnesses protection, rather than domiciling it at the ministry of finance hence running afoul of conflict of interests.

My whistleblowing netted N1.993 Trillion Naira the EFCC failed to remit to the Federal Government of Nigeria from inception to 2013; N473 Billion Naira Federal Government funds trapped in Banks which I traced in 2016; 15% of $3.1 billion a Justice awarded through judicial fraud in collusion with contractors in 2014.

I call on students to fully embrace whistleblowing in order to tackle the phalanx of vices found in our schools including but not limited to cultism, political violence, murder-for-hire etc.

As a patriot who severed his relationship with the EFCC, an organization to whom I was providing security services, an organization who had written former President Jonathan to release over N1 billion Naira to my company Panic Alert Security System (PASS) for a second phase of service provision, I call on students to exalt patriotism over financial gain.

According to JFK: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”. If we do not imbibe patriotism and deep love for Africa and our respective countries, we can never move forward.

I have blown the whistle against the executive, legislative and judiciary, the three arms of government; I have blown the whistle against the PDP and APC, the two major political parties; whistleblowing is my life, and if need be, it is a cause for which I am prepared to die.