Just like a goldfish that has no hiding place in the water, Senator Folashade Grace Bent epitomizes poise, allure and style as her sartorial elegance speaks volumes of her. The woman who represented Adamawa South Senatorial District between 2007 and 2011 has carved a niche for herself as a senator with several indelible footprints via her pet project that was said to have touched millions of life till date. Even today, she still possess the aura that many described as in-born.
Getting accolades for her good works is a thing she is not new to. She has been honoured with many awards in the past. On Saturday 25th of September, in Abuja at the CLIMA Africa Award 2021, she alongside former President Goodluck Jonathan, was honoured with ‘Positive Impact Peace’ award; Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom and his Taraba State counterpart, Darius Ishaku, and chairman emeritus, DAAR Communications Pls, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, among other eminent personalities were honored in recognition of their outstanding achievements and impacts on humanity.
According to CLIMA Africa CEO, Uwak Mike, the organization “celebrates Christian legends and impact makers in every sphere of life irrespective of age and gender.”
Senator Bent expressed surprise at her choice for the award, saying that the award notification caught her unawares. “I didn’t see it coming, especially against the background that I am not occupying any political office, which some people may have thought was the reason for the award.
“I feel the genuineness of the award coming at a time that I am out of a political office, but have consistently and effortlessly continued to assist indigent Nigerians, less-privileged, youths and the widows with my NGO, Grace Bent Light Foundation.
“I never knew I was been watched, this is one of the very good awards I have received in recent times, it’s obvious that in whatever we do in life, we can only run but cannot hide.
“I congratulate the CLIMA Africa organizers for their painstaking meticulousness in selecting the crop of awardees for this year 2021,” the former federal lawmaker said.
In 2007, Senator Grace Folasade Bent made history when she defeated many of her opponents in the senatorial election to represent Adamawa South, the largest senatorial district in the state, on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with this she became the first female senator in the northeast geopolitical region of Nigeria and also the first female senator based on marital affiliation to be elected to the Senate (apex law-making body) in the whole northern Nigeria (her husband Jackson Bent is an indigene of Adamawa State) and she is the first Nigerian to systematically analyze inter-ethnic marriages in her groundbreaking book titled Inter-Ethnic Marriages In Nigeria: Beacon Of National Unity. What an achievement!
