Nigerian Afrobeats and highlife singer, Teni the Entertainer, full name Teniola Apata has expressed how she feels getting conferred with national honours in recognition of her contribution to the music industry.
Teni graced the award ceremony which was held on Tuesday, October 11 to get decorated with her national honour; a member of the order of the Niger, by President Buhari himself. Teni, TuBaba and Burna Boy were slated alongside 437 others for the national honours.
After receiving the award from the President, Teni who couldn’t wait for a handshake, walked majestically back to her seat and this didn’t go down well with some Nigerians.
Teni’s critic argued that she was disrespectful to the President of Nigeria for not giving him a honourable handshake.
Reacting to all the brouhaha, Teni The Entertainer via her Instagram page, shared a video of herself storming the award venue and captioned it: “With honour and gratitude to God, it was indeed a joyous moment to receive a National Honor yesterday. I was conferred MON (Member of the Order of the Niger) by His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR @muhammadubuhari President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the National Awards Committee headed by Justice Sidi Bage Muhammad, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, the Emir of Lafia, after diligently going through over 5,000 submissions.
Special thanks to God for this, the Federal Government, my loved ones and to you all supporting me from day 1. This honor is for the entire family of Rt. Brigadier General Simeon Olaosebikan Apata (Ascend), My Father.
I was granted this award for “consistent and meaningful participation in community and/or national development; rendering unsolicited, selfless and philanthropic services to humanity; outstanding sacrifice in the defence of a cause popularly adjudged to be positive, relevant and beneficial to the nation and community.’’
To the all the young girls this one is for you. Let’s not forget to stop dreaming. Nothing is impossible
Back to the work that got me here.
New music soon.”
