The National Diaspora Merit Award (NDMA) 2024, hosted by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), on Friday honored 24 individuals from various fields for their contributions to national development.
It was a gathering of eagles at the State house Auditorium, Presidential Villa Abuja, where Dr Fene Osakwe was honored along with other outstanding Nigerians at the 2024 National Diaspora Merit Awards
The awardees were recognized in 13 categories, including Agriculture, Education, Engineering, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Medicine and Healthcare, Leadership, Media and Entertainment, Philanthropy, Science and Technology, Sports, Transportation, Volunteerism, and Distinguished Service.
Dr Fene Osakwe was awarded with the National Diaspora merit award for his contributions to ICT in Nigeria and also for being a role model to Nigerians in diaspora.
Dr Fene Osakwe is a multiple award-winning cybersecurity professional, International Conference speaker and Forbes published author. Fene has consulted for several Financial Institutions, Telecoms and FinTechs, holding over 10 internationally recognized professional cyber security Certifications.
He has spoken at the biggest Technology conferences in London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Switzerland, Dubai, South Africa, Alabama, Israel, Nigeria, Thailand, Abu Dhabi and Morrocco.
He has been a career mentor to universities in 3 continents. In September 2022 he was awarded the Cybersecurity Mentor of the year in the UAE.
Some of his other awards include Forbes under 40, Top 100 Inspiring global personalities (2022), Outstanding Leader 2023 (Dubai) Cybersecurity Excellence award (Dubai), Top 10 Business Coaches (New York City Journal), Top 10 Global cybersecurity leaders under 40 (CIOLook India), Business Leaders shaping 2024 (CIOMEDIA USA) and the Global Cyber Educator of the year award (London) 2023.
Dr Fene’s book titled Climbing the Corporate Ladder with Speed became number one on Amazon worldwide, 24hours after its release in January 2023, in Strategic management. Dr Fene was the only Nigerian to win an award at the Global Book awards in 2023 and at the America Book First Awards.
Dr Fene has also been giving back to Nigeria for over 5 Years. Firstly, his Foundation, FENE OSAKWE Foundation has been running 2 initiatives for several years. First is the International Women’s Day scholarship program, where the Foundation pays for the school fees of children from single mothers, nominated by the public. The second initiative is Christmas with a Smile which is geared towards giving financial support and feeding poor families at Christmas. The Foundation has over the last five years supported over 250 families and pays for the tuition fees of 87 children.
The event took place at the presidential villa in Abuja with several dignitaries including the first lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu in attendance, Minister of Health Muhammad Ali Pate, and the CEO of NiDCOM Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
