British-Nigerian actor David Oyelowo has said that Nigeria helped put the ‘Great’ in Great Britain.

The 40-year-old star was honoured on Tuesday by the Duke of Cambridge in a ceremony held at the Buckingham palace. He was honoured as Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE).

He told Associated Press after being honoured: “Being of Nigerian descent and Nigeria having been a colony, my country of origin, its resources and its people have contributed to the ‘Great’ in Great Britain and so, for me, to be honoured by Great Britain is something I value because of the contribution in terms of my African heritage.”

“I am here accepting the award because I am proud of the acknowledgement and I am proud to be British. Every country has good and bad parts of its history, but the fact is that Britain is a country I am proud to be a citizen of.”

Oyelowo became a citizen of the US two weeks ago. He naturalised after acting in America for several years.

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