Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has been named the 2026 recipient of the Quintessence Award, the preeminent Pan-African Leadership Award in North America, becoming the first governor from Northern Nigeria to receive this honour.
This was contained in a statement signed by Dauda Iliya Special Adviser to Borno State Governor (Media/Spokesperson) issued to newsmen
It said Zulum, who is currently in New York for the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 81), is part of the Nigerian delegation to accompany the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, who is leading the Federal Government team to deliver Nigeria’s national statement at the General Debate and will also participate in several sideline engagements, including the Nigeria Investment Forum.
According to the statement,before proceeding to the United States, the Governor held a series of high-level strategic engagements in Canada, where he signed a Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of Borno State Government with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) on technical education, workforce development and skills transfer among other areas designed to strengthen the human capital base driving Borno’s post-insurgency recovery.
The Governor’s nomination was conveyed in a letter from the Executive Director of the African Writers Endowment (AWE), the New Jersey-based non-profit organisation, Dr Ugorji O. Ugorji, who said Zulum was selected in recognition of his “remarkable accomplishments as an academic, scholar and educational administrator,” alongside his distinguished tenure as Governor of Borno State, particularly for stemming the tide of insecurity and significantly reshaping the infrastructural landscape of the state.
The award will be presented at the “Quintessence Ball: A Celebration of African People in World History,” which brings together African people from Africa, North America, and the Caribbean. This year’s ceremony will be held on Friday, September 25, 2026, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, New Jersey, United States of America.
According to Dr Ugorji, the Quintessence Award is presented each year to at least one continental African leader and one African American leader, “for distinguished accomplishments in the person’s field of endeavour, and for outstanding contributions to the history and heritage of African people.”
This year’s edition of the Quintessence Conference and Awards will be chaired by Professor Ibrahim Gambari, CFR, former Chief of Staff to the late President Muhammadu Buhari and one-time Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, who was himself the maiden recipient of the award in 1998.
A major highlight of the conference will be a special symposium titled “Investment Opportunities in Borno State: Doorway to the Chad Region.” The interactive session will spotlight the vast economic, agricultural, and cross-border trade opportunities opening up in Borno State, as well as the Governor’s development record in rebuilding communities, restoring livelihoods, and repositioning the state as a strategic gateway to the Lake Chad Basin.
With this recognition, Governor Zulum joins a distinguished roll of past laureates that includes Professor Chinua Achebe, Professor Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, Congressman Donald Payne, Professor Toyin Falola, Professor Molefi Kete Asante, and former Governors Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and Kayode Fayemi, among other eminent Africans and African Americans.
The organisers disclosed that the Quintessence Award is traditionally accompanied by a proclamation from the Governor of New Jersey and a joint resolution of the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly in honour of the recipients.
Governor Babagana Zulum is a multiple award-winning governor who received the Forbes Magazine African Leadership Award in 2024.