A Nigerian medical doctor, Festus Oluseye Babarinde, has been honoured with the 2025 Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award in the United States for his lifetime of volunteerism, public service, and dedication to underserved communities in Nigeria and the diaspora.
In a Thursday statement posted on the official X handle of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Babarinde received the award at the 44th Annual Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Ceremony held at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore.
NOA disclosed that he was honoured alongside professors and senior research fellows of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and his recognition was for his outstanding contributions to community health and human capacity development across borders.
According to the statement, Babarinde, who currently serves as an intern at the Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Centre and a Master of Public Health (MPH) candidate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is a graduate of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
The statement further revealed that Babarinde serves as a corps member in the country, noting that his commitment to service earned him national recognition as a recipient of the National Youth Service Corps’ Presidential Award for the 2019/2020 service year.
The statement reads, “Babarinde’s achievement reflects the growing global influence of Nigerian-trained medical professionals, reinforcing their role in advancing healthcare delivery, education, and humanitarian service within and beyond the shores of Nigeria.
“For his diligence, dedication and commitment to service, and his relentless pursuit of excellence, Dr Babarinde embodies the values enshrined in the Nigerian Citizen Codes, and is, therefore, our Real Nigerian of the Week.”
