Borno’s Zulum Clinches 2026 Quintessence Leadership Honour In US

By Abdullahi Alhassan

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has been named the 2026 recipient of the Quintessence Award, the leading Pan-African Leadership Award in North America.

With the honour, Zulum becomes the first governor from Northern Nigeria to receive the award since it was established.

The announcement was made in a letter signed by Dr. Ugorji O. Ugorji, Executive Director of the African Writers Endowment, AWE, a New Jersey-based non-profit. According to the letter, Zulum was selected for his “remarkable accomplishments as an academic, scholar and educational administrator,” and for his record as governor, particularly in stemming insecurity and reshaping Borno’s infrastructure after years of insurgency.

The award will be presented on Friday, September 25, 2026, at the “Quintessence Ball: A Celebration of African People in World History” at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in New Jersey, United States. The event draws Africans from the continent, North America and the Caribbean each year.

This year’s conference will be chaired by Professor Ibrahim Gambari, CFR, former Chief of Staff to the late President Muhammadu Buhari and one-time UN Under-Secretary-General. Gambari was the maiden recipient of the Quintessence Award in 1998.

Zulum is currently in New York for the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA 81, as part of the Nigerian delegation led by Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima. The Vice President will deliver Nigeria’s national statement at the General Debate and also participate in side events including the Nigeria Investment Forum.

Before travelling to the U.S., the governor held strategic engagements in Canada. On behalf of the Borno State Government, he signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, NAIT.

The agreement covers technical education, workforce development and skills transfer, all targeted at strengthening human capital for Borno’s post-insurgency recovery.

A key part of the New Jersey event will be a special symposium titled “Investment Opportunities in Borno State: Doorway to the Chad Region.”Organisers say the session will focus on economic, agricultural and cross-border trade opportunities in Borno, and highlight the administration’s work in rebuilding communities, restoring livelihoods and positioning the state as a gateway to the Lake Chad Basin.

The Quintessence Award is given annually 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,” Dr. Ugorji said.

Zulum now joins a roll of past recipients that includes literary giants Professor Chinua Achebe and Professor Ngugi wa Thiong’o, legal icon the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, scholars Professor Toyin Falola and Professor Molefi Kete Asante, U.S. Congressman Donald Payne, and former governors Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and Kayode Fayemi.

The organisers added that the 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.

This is not Zulum’s first international recognition. He received the Forbes Magazine African Leadership Award in 2024.

Announcing the development, the Special Adviser to the Borno State Governor on Media, Dauda Iliya, said the recognition further underscores Borno’s transition from a conflict zone to a state attracting global partnerships for development.