In Nigeria, the idea of conferring of Awards and honours here can be traced back to the National Honours Act No. 5 of 1964 passed into law during Nigeria’s first republic to honour Nigerians and her friends every year who have rendered service to the benefit of the nation.

The national honours in descending order are:
Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (GCFR), Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON), Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR), Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) and Member of the Order of the Niger (MON).

The GCFR and GCON are bestowed on former occupants of the office of the President of Nigeria and the Vice President of Nigeria including former military heads of state of Nigeria and chiefs of general staff. The GCON is also bestowed on the chief justice of Nigeria and the president of the Nigerian senate during their first year in office, while CON is customarily bestowed on justices of the supreme court of Nigeria.

Others such as the CFR, MON, OFR etc. are awarded to members of the public for great achievements, these include public servants, political leaders, traditional leaders, and distinguished persons in various fields of work.

Although this national Awards and Honours ceremony followed the British example in form and structure of the Order, other events ceremonies have been instituted to recognize and celebrate outstanding performance in other categories. The following awards ceremonies are landmark events that catch the attention of stakeholders in the respective industry:

Nigeria Prize for Literature is a Nigerian literary award given annually since 2004 to honour literary erudition by Nigerian authors. The award rotates among four genres; fiction, poetry, drama, and children’s literature, repeating the cycle every four years. The process and judging are administered by Nigerian Academy of Science with an advisory board made up of members from Nigeria Academy of Letters and Association of Nigerian Authors.
The Headies are awards established in 2006 by the Hip Hop Magazine of Nigeria to recognize outstanding achievement in the country's music industry. Hip Hop Magazine is a weekly Nigerian music magazine established in 1995.It has sponsored The Headies award since the award's inception in 2006. The magazine's publisher is Nigerian journalist and music promoter Ayo Animashaun.

The Nigeria Prize for Science is a Nigerian science award given annually since 2004 for excellence achieved in scientific breakthroughs. It is the country's highest scientific award. The award is sponsored by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas company. The prize describes itself as "bringing Nigerian scientists to public attention and celebrating excellence in scientific breakthroughs".

The Nigerian National Order of Merit Award (NNOM) is an academic award instituted in 1979 and conferred on distinguished academicians and intellectuals who have made outstanding contributions to the academic, growth and development of Nigeria. The award is often conferred on its recipient by the government following a nomination and approval of the Governing Board of the Award. It is the highest academic award in Nigeria.

The PEARL Awards Nigeria, an acronym of the “Performance, Earnings And Returns Leadership Awards”, was instituted in 1995, followed by an endorsement by the nation’s apex capital market regulatory authority, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) eight years later in 2003, to annually reward outstanding performance of companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and stakeholders that have contributed towards the development of the Nigerian capital market.
The Nigeria Entertainment Awards established in New York City in 2006 to serve the growing African population in North America. It recognizes the contributions of African entertainers to the entertainment industry. The event aims to promote the image and culture of Nigeria. This has increased the awareness of a new style of African entertainment that has helped promote Nigerian acts in the world.
The Nigeria Media Merit Award established in 1990, a foremost and most prestigious annual celebration of the best in the media industry in Nigeria. The objective is to recognize, encourage and reward excellence in media practice in Nigeria while fostering the mutual symbolic relationship between the media industry and the larger society. Over the years, NMMA has evolved to become Nigeria’s most powerful and influential platform for an Annual re-union of Media Veterans and Practitioners with the crème de la crème of the society and other eminent stakeholders nationally and internally.
The City People Awards has come up with various Awards over the years that cut across different sectors and stakeholders of the Nigerian economy. These include City People Music Awards, City People Movie Awards, City People Entertainment Awards and City People Award for Excellence. The set objectives of these Awards are to stimulate high performance within the targeted sectors and ultimately add value to the national economy.
The Future Awards Africa: is a set of awards given to celebrate young people between the ages of 18 and 31, who have made outstanding achievement in the year under consideration. The award ceremony is a brainchild of the Future Project, a social enterprise communications firm. The awards are given to winners in ten categories and this was trimmed down from the initial 21 categories when the awards ceremony started in 2006.
Nigeria Pitch Awards: These awards are presented to Nigerian former and present sports people, administrators and journalist in recognition of their positive role and contribution to sports development in Nigeria. Initiated in 2013 by Matchmakers Consult International and endorsed by the Nigerian Football Federation. The awards were started with 16 categories and by 2016 6 more categories were subsequently added.
The Africa Movie Academy Awards: Been a subsidiary of the Africa Film Academy which was founded on the best film tradition and geared towards research, training and propagating filmmaking in Africa. AMAA was established in 2005 with the aim of providing a reward and recognition platform for filmmakers on the continent.