Welcome speech by Mr. Tony Iji, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of The Top10 Magazine at the 2023 Man of the Year and Excellence Awards ceremony on Sunday, November 19, 2023 at Rockview Hotel Royale, Wuse II, Abuja, Nigeria
It is my privilege and pleasure to, on behalf of the Board, Management and staff of Toncam Communications Limited, publishers of The Top10 magazine, welcome this distinguished audience to this evening of glitz, glamour, entertainment and excellence.
This is the third edition of The Top10 Magazine’s Man of the Year and Excellence Awards ceremony. It is a night when we celebrate excellence as well as people and organizations that are associated with excellence.
It is not by coincidence that ‘excellence’ is the catchphrase for this evening’s event. It derives from the focus and tradition of the organizers, The Top10, the Lagos-based Nigerian Magazine published by Toncam Communications Limited.
The magazine was born eight years ago with a mission to profile and celebrate organizations, businesses and personalities that distinguish themselves as leaders in their various areas of endeavour. It introduced the Annual Excellence Awards in 2021, premised on the need to leverage on the magazine’s culture and leadership in its profiling prowess by moving from the level of identifying and celebrating excellence to that of recognizing, acknowledging and honouring the best of the best with awards. The objective was to present them with something tangible; something to cherish and display, a plaque for the rest of the world and posterity to behold as a physical testimony to excellence and distinction.
The Excellence Awards itself was preceded by the Man of the Year award introduced since the inception of the magazine but, before 2021, announced without ceremonies. While The Top10 Man of the Year is an award that honours one outstanding individual who has distinguished himself or herself by impacting outstandingly on society in the year under review, The Excellence Awards, on the other hand, celebrate and honour outstanding personalities and organizations that have made the difference in various endeavours in Nigeria and beyond. The objective is to celebrate and reward excellence in line with the core value of the magazine
which is to celebrate individuals and organizations that represent excellence in the various sectors of the Nigerian society.
As in the previous years, we searched very far and dug deep to identify this year’s winners. By the time you read their profiles in the dedicated edition of our magazine now in your hands, you would be left in no doubt why they emerged tops in their respective categories.
The first two editions of this event took place in Lagos. We decided to stage it in Abuja this year for change of environment, to add spice and to allow a new set of audience to have the unique experience of what the awards are all about.
We congratulate the Man of the Year award winner, Mr. Muhammad Nami, and other award recepients. We also congratulate all the supporters and well-wishers of the honorees; since you value excellence and have decided to associate with it, through the winners, we pray that it will be your turn to be celebrated for excellence in future.
