Capt. Dele Ore, former Commander of the Presidential Fleet, has expressed his displeasure with the Nigerian government.
WITHIN NIGERIA reports that the octogenarian expressed dissatisfaction with the Nigerian government for failing to honor him with a national award.
Ore made his submission in Lagos at the launch of the annual Aviation Hall of Fame event and the unveiling of a book titled “Nigeria’s Aviation: Unsung Heroes and Heroines” written by Wole Shadare and Gboyega Adeoye.
Ore, a former Director of Flight Operations for the defunct Nigeria Airways, claimed that the Nigerian government’s failure to honor him with a national award cost him an award from the Angolan government.
According to him, the Angolan government wanted to honor him with a national award 30 years ago, but he missed out because he had no concurrent honors in his home country.
He stated that the government of Angola wrote to the government of Nigeria at the time, but there has been no response as of today.
Ore, on the other hand, stated that commanding the presidential fleet as Special Cabinet Fleet and flying many Nigerian Heads of State, diplomats, foreign leaders, and so on was a rare privilege for him.
The octogenarian who was inducted into the hall of fame, advanced that;
I was dining and wining with the President of Guinea. I was given a national award by President Sekou Toure (former President of Guinea) and I was sitting side by side with him and his Prime Minister.
Now, I can walk into any Guinea Embassy in the world and collect my diplomatic passport. I didn’t ask for it.
I feel sad because the government and people of Angola were going to give me a national award but they were following a diplomatic way of doing things by asking the Nigerian government to please give a concurrent award. That is nearly 30 years ago now, the Nigerian government is yet to reply to them. That to me, I felt very, very sad about it.
I have made a case. I feel great for deeming it fit to honour me with this award. I cherish this more than any national award.
Others listed in the Hall of Fame include the former Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Harold Demuren; former President of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Dr. Bernard Aliu, among others.