Dr. and Dr. (Mrs) Jonathan....Congrats in advance to Ma Patience Jonathan
On Thursday, in Seoul, South Korea, First Lady Patience Jonathan will receive an honorary doctorate degree “in recognition of her contributions to the downtrodden in Nigeria.”
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Dame Patience will receive the award specifically “for her contributions toward advancing the cause of women in Nigeria.”
Mrs. Jonathan arrived in Seoul on Tuesday, accompanied by the wives of the governors of Ebonyi and Benue States. The award is being given by Hansei University for her work in social welfare and administration.
Before returning to Nigeria, NAN said Mrs. Jonathan is also scheduled to attend an annual conference organised by the Yoido Full Gospel Church, and visit a Samsung hospital.
According to the CIA World FactBook, “South Korea over the past four decades has demonstrated incredible growth and global integration to become a high-tech industrialized economy. In the 1960s, GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. In 2004, South Korea joined the trillion dollar club of world economies, and is currently the world's 12th largest economy.”
The country has an unemployment rate of 3.2% (2012), compared to Nigeria’s 23.9% (2011 estimate); while its population below the poverty line is 16.5% (2011 estimate), compared to Nigeria’s 70% (2010 estimate).
An analyst who heard of Mrs. Jonathan’s Seoul award today congratulated Mrs. Jonathan. “But when she comes back we would like to hear from the presidency where her work for the poor in Nigeria is being undertaken, and where the people are who are benefiting from it. This is serious!”
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