The Nigerians in Diaspora Awards, organised by Friends of Nigeria, is a prestigious platform dedicated to recognising and celebrating outstanding Nigerians who continue to make remarkable contributions across the globe. Through this initiative, Friends of Nigeria honours excellence, leadership, creativity, and service across diverse fields including Business, Sports, Academia, Social Enterprise, Culture, Fashion, Music, and Country Representation. The awards serve as a powerful reminder of the global impact of Nigerian talent and the enduring spirit of innovation, resilience, and pride that Nigerians bring to the world stage.

Words iBAND Editorial team | Don’t Keep Your Art in the Finger! Photographs – Hassan Aliyu Archives

Paris glittered in diaspora pride the night Hassan Aliyu walked onto the stage to receive the prestigious Curator of the Year award at the Nigerians in Diaspora Awards. Yet, for those who know the man behind the honour, this moment was less an arrival than a continuation of the steady unfolding of a life devoted to art, thought, history, and the elevation of Nigerian creativity on the world stage.

Aliyu’s acceptance was characteristically modest. A quiet smile, a soft “thank you,” and a message that echoed across the hall. He was indeed Grateful. Inspired. Motivated. But beneath that simplicity is a career shaped by discipline, scholarship, and a deep, serious commitment to the dignity of art.

On his social media space, Aliyu connects and appreciates the organisers;

“A huge shout-out to @friendsofnigeria!
Honoured to receive the coveted Curator of the Year award at the Nigerians in Diaspora Awards in Paris last night.
Sharing the stage with incredible trailblazers across Business, Sports, Academia, Social Enterprise, Country Representation, Music, Fashion and more. This is a true reminder of how powerfully Nigerians shine around the world.
Grateful. Inspired. Motivated.”

A Curator Whose Vision Began With Books

iBAND Magazine has followed Aliyu’s artistic voyage closely, and one constant in his story is his library, a sanctuary of books that shapes the intellect behind his curatorial voice. In our feature “Hassan Aliyu and Books of Freedom”, shelves of history, theory, and African scholarship towered behind him like creative guardians.

It was there he offered one of his most enduring pieces of advice to young Nigerian artists; “Young artists should read and read and once again read, so they can practice with vision.”

This is the philosophy that underpins his work. His curating is never superficial; it is rooted in knowledge as in understanding where we have come from as Africans, how our stories have been told or erased, and how art can restore what history neglected.

The Curator Who Demands Space for Art to Breathe

In his iBAND Cover edition conversation, “Let the Art Fly!”, Aliyu spoke with an honesty that startled many in the Nigerian art ecosystem. He lamented the frequent overcrowding of exhibition spaces and the tendency to place too many works on a single wall, suffocating the stories they are meant to tell.
“There are so many times, the works are very jam packed and not well hung. Much too sandwiched together.”

But he did not leave the criticism without guidance. For him, curating is not a commercial scramble; it is a refined, emotional, and intellectual labour.
“The business of organising exhibitions, is not just about hanging works on the wall. It is also about trying to connect the stories the works are telling.”

This philosophy of art as narrative and not a mere merchandise is what sets Aliyu apart. It is also what makes his Paris award so befitting. The world did not merely honour a curator but honoured a thinker, a teacher and a cultural custodian.

A Lagos Story Written Through Memory and Reckoning

iBAND recently explored Aliyu’s powerful collage Deep Blue Sea which is a chilling re-animation of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, created from everyday packaging materials transformed into symbols of Africa’s historical wounds. It is work like this that reveals the full dimension of Aliyu’s artistry as not just a curator but an interpreter of memory.

It is no surprise then that the diaspora community in Paris embraced him with such warmth. Aliyu does not simply exhibit art he excavates the past, interrogates the present, and ushers his audience into new seeing.

Friends of Nigeria

The Paris award night was star-studded. The event was filled by innovators from Business, Sports, Academia, Music, Fashion, and Governance all celebrated for their global impact. Yet Aliyu’s moment felt particularly symbolic. In a world where Nigerian talent dazzles across continents, he represents the cultural backbone who is the one who interprets, organises, contextualises, and elevates.

From his humble beginnings to his London base, and now to a Paris stage bursting with applause, Aliyu’s journey reflects the best of Nigerian excellence: thoughtful, disciplined, grounded, and global. His award is a personal triumph but it is also a national reminder that Nigerian art is rising because of custodians like Dr. Hassan Aliyu.