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Tag: National Day

  • France celebrates National Day with arts, culture and creative exchange

    France celebrates National Day with arts, culture and creative exchange

    The French Consulate General in Lagos marked this year’s French National Day with strong statements in arts and culture, underlining the growing creative partnership between France and Nigeria.

    Known globally as La Fête Nationale, the July 14 event is a reaffirmation of the French ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity, with this year’s celebration showcasing how Franco-Nigerian ties are thriving through artistic and cultural initiatives.

    Consul General of France in Lagos, Laurent Favier, highlighted the increasing cultural synergy between the two nations, describing it as a vibrant example of diplomacy powered by creativity and mutual respect.

    The French Cooperation and Cultural Department in Lagos, according to Favier, has made significant strides in championing Nigeria’s creative economy. The department’s focus on audiovisual industries—film, animation, documentaries, esports, and video games—has created new opportunities for Nigerian creatives to engage with global audiences and expertise. Equally important are its efforts in the fields of music, performing arts, fashion, heritage, and design.

    Central to this partnership is the Création Africa programme, which has become a key driver of cultural collaboration. The programme supports training and development for Nigerian artists and innovators, provides funding for local initiatives, and facilitates access to international markets, while enabling Nigerian professionals to travel to France for major cultural events and residencies.

    The Consulate also announced the upcoming second edition of the Création Africa Forum, which will take place in Lagos this October. Following its successful debut in Paris in 2023, the forum is expected to attract over 600 participants from across Africa and Europe, broadening its focus to include digital fashion, sound design, and special effects.

    Favier also drew attention to an exciting cultural project currently in the works: a travelling exhibition on the life and legacy of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti. Developed in partnership with the Philharmonie de Paris and supported by the Funds for Cultural and Creative Industries (FEF), the exhibition will debut in Lagos and explore Nigeria’s rich alternative heritage. It is being curated in collaboration with IFRA (French Institute for Research in Africa), based in Ibadan, and promises to deepen understanding of Nigeria’s cultural influence on the global stage.

    The Consul General also emphasised the key role played by Alliance Française Lagos, which remains a cultural anchor in the city. From staging the annual Fête de la Musique to hosting Francophonie celebrations and fashion showcases, Alliance Française continues to be a vital space for dialogue and cultural exchange.

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    In addition to exhibitions and forums, the French government continues to support artist residencies, particularly through institutions like the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. These residencies provide Nigerian curators and designers with the chance to engage deeply with international counterparts and advance their craft in diverse artistic settings.

    France’s investment in Nigerian culture goes beyond showcasing talent, it also helps build structures that empower artists. Whether through vocational training, student mobility programmes, or support for heritage preservation, the emphasis is on sustainable collaboration that benefits both countries.

    Beyond cultural projects, Favier acknowledged the intertwined roles of other French institutions in Lagos, such as Campus France, the French Development Agency (AFD) with its two subsidiaries- Proparco and Expertise France and the Franco-Nigerian Chamber of Commerce with 500 members and the France-Nigeria Business Council, which all support educational, economic, and creative initiatives in tandem. However, he was clear that it is in the arts and culture that the most immediate and human connections are made.

    In a nation where music, fashion, and storytelling are part of everyday life, the growing French-Nigerian cultural alliance is not only timely but transformative. As Favier put it, “Nigeria is not just participating in global pop culture—it is shaping it.” Through ongoing collaboration, shared festivals, joint exhibitions, and creative exchange, France and Nigeria are building bridges that go beyond politics and economics, reaching into the soul of both societies.

  • ‘Why Nigeria needs a national day of praise’

    The Osile Oke Ona, Oba Adedapo Tejuoso, spoke with reporters recently on his life and ministry. Sunday Oguntola was there. Excerpts:

    What is your view on the clamour for restructuring?

    There is nothing wrong with calls for restructuring. However, we need to get our spiritual foundation right. Although I agree that we may need to call a conference to address all those issues that are leading to agitations here and there but in discussing them we have to start everything with God.

    The Bible says a house built on the rock will endure whereas the one built on sand will collapse when there is a storm. A house built on sand refers to us human beings – human beings.

    We are dust but God is the rock and that’s why anything that you do with God that will always endure whereas any venture undertaken with human wisdom are never reliable. We must put God first in whatever we are doing.

    How do you want us to go about it?

    It should take the form of worship and thanksgiving. For anything we want to do, we should first of all appreciate God through thanksgiving. I have advised the President should call all Nigerians out irrespective of religions to call us out for a day of thanksgiving and praising God. On that day we would do nothing but praise God, dancing singing and appreciating God

    If we can repent, God will heal us and heal our land. But God wants us to repent first and if we can organize a day of thanksgiving and praises, it will go a long way in appeasing God. Thank God President Muhammadu Buhari is trying his best but he alone can’t do it. He and his cabinet can’t do it alone. We all have to invite God to intervene through our thanksgiving and praises.

    But some people have asked how does Kabiyesi reconcile being an evangelist with also being a polygamist? 

    These three women with me who are my wives I had them before I became king. As at that time, I was not born-again. I became born-again in 1992. The three of them as at 1992 had bore children for me.

    So if I have accepted Christ into my life and said I want to be a monogamist and insisted   that they should go away, what about the children? Am I showing them love that way?

    The Bible says whosoever sent his wife away will make such a woman to commit adultery and that would amount to sin before God and I would be held responsible for that.

    The most important thing is if you are a polygamist before accepting Christ, the key thing is that you must make sure you don’t marry more wives because you have given your life to Christ.

    Then, secondly you have admitted Christ into your life. The three wives should also admit Christ into their lives and which they have done in my case. I don’t believe there is any problem. I go to crusades with my three wives. We evangelise and preach Christ together.

    My three wives, children and I are all immersed in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is in us and we are all in Christ. We are not leading our lives again but leading the lives of Jesus Christ. We have all become members of Jesus family. We are now a family fortified by Jesus Christ.

    You organise the annul Kings Day of Praise. What is it all about?

    The Kings Day of Praise is a day set aside for kings to meet and worship God. It usually take place second Thursday of October every year after independence celebrations just to thank God.

    Although we call it Kings day of Praise but if you are a believer in Christ and Christ has made you a king and a priest you are welcome to the programme.

    God created us for just one purpose. That’s to worship him, to praise him and thank Him for all he has done in our lives and that’s the essence of life. That’s what we will do when we get to heaven and by the grace of God we will make it to heaven.

    We will do nothing there else but worship God 24 hours of the day. We will join the 24 elders who put their crowns aside worshipping God saying Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord 24 hours of the day.

    That’s the essence of our being here and that’s what we will continue to do till eternity. So that’s the essence of Kings Day of Praise.

    Talking about the inspiration, how did the inspiration come about?

    It is very interesting talking about how it started. I just received a letter here in the palace and the letter stated that God was looking for a king who will gather other kings together to praise God. I got this letter but it was a mysterious letter because I didn’t know where the letter emanated from. I don’t know the origin or source of the letter.

    That was 15 years ago. I can’t even remember how the letter was delivered to my palace but the funny thing is that soon after I started the programme, I couldn’t find the letter again.

    But in the letter, it was stated that God will bless the king who comply and start the Kings Day of Praise programme.

    Coincidentally, during one of those occasions when we were having my yearly coronation anniversaries, suddenly while making my speech, Ebenezer Obey just walked in and this is a man who has been doing praise altar programme with me for the past few years and my spirit just told me, wait a minute, what am I delaying this Kings Day of Praise programme for since Obey is here?

    I told the audience about the letter I received concerning the Kings Day of Praise and how God said He would bless whosoever starts the programme. That was in May 2004. Believe it or not by October 2004 we held the first edition of Kings Day of Praise and since then we have been holding the programme every year.

    I give all the praises and glory to God for the programme because it is only God that can sustain that kind of a programme for that long.

    How does a typical day look like while holding Kings Day of Praise?

    It is a day set aside for praising God 24 hours of the day. The day is devoted to thanking God for what He has been doing in our lives.

    The best approach to get to God’s heart or seek His face for favour is to praise God. Psalm 100:4 says enter into God’s gate with thanksgiving, enter His court with praise. That’s the key to get into the kingdom of God and to request for whatever you want from God.

    Psalm 22:3 says that God inhabits the praises of Israel, the praises of His people.

    Once you can praise, God will always listen to you. King David told us He usually prayed three times in a day but he praises God seven times a day. No wonder He was so successful. All you need to do is just to praise God.

    Let me give you an example how praises work like a miracle. When you go to a function where a notable musician like Ebenezer Obey is playing, Ebenezer Obey would not be praying to you that you should bring money.

    What Obey would just do is to start praising you until your head swells and you now put your hand in your pocket and you start spraying him currency notes.

    That’s the same thing with God. When you praise God, when you acknowledge his goodness in your life, then doors of blessings will be opened for you.

  • Buhari’s National Day Broadcast

    Reassuring message, sad omissions

    In his national broadcast marking Nigeria’s 56th independence anniversary, President Muhammadu Buhari faced a daunting task:  providing a balm on the pains occasioned by the recession, nudging the nation from despondency to optimism, and rallying it to embrace his administration’s plan for turning the tide.

    To an appreciable extent, he succeeded.

    He framed the recession in human terms. He spoke of families that could no longer pay school fees for their children, of the high cost of food, local and foreign travel, of salaries that no longer meet the basic needs of families,  of unpaid salaries, and of the agony of joblessness among young university and  polytechnic graduates.

    Buhari also framed it in personal terms, saying he ran for office four times “to make the point that we can rule this nation with honesty and transparency; that we can stop the stealing of Nigeria’s resources so that the resources could be used to provide jobs for our young people, security, commerce, education and healthcare.”

    “I ran for office” he said, “because I know that good government is the only way to ensure prosperity and abundance for all. I remain resolutely committed to this objective.” He commended Nigerians for their patience, steadfastness and perseverance.

    Buhari outlined concrete plans and programmes designed to address what he identified as the nation’s key problems, namely, security, corruption and the economy, especially unemployment and what he called “the alarming level of poverty.

    Few will dispute the progress in the Northeast in the war against the Boko Haram insurgency. But some long-running security challenges persist, such as the ravages of herdsmen, cattle rustling and syndicated kidnapping, not forgetting the incipient insurgency in the Niger Delta, where militants have blown up oil and gas pipelines.

    Buhari expressed sympathy for “the good people” of the region, and said the administration was in touch with state governments and the region’s leaders. His empathy seemed genuine. But he still felt impelled to wield the big stick.

    “No group can unlawfully challenge the authority of the Federal Government,” he warned.

    What of those who lawfully challenge the government? Challenges will persist if, by acts and omissions, some groups are led to believe that protest, especially armed protest, is the only way to draw attention to their plight. The wisest approach is to ensure justice and equity.

    It is not enough to be fully sympathetic to the plight of people of the Delta, or indeed to the plight of any group in other regions of Nigeria. The government must pursue, and be seen to pursue plans and programmes rooted in justice and equity.

    The President reiterated his commitment to the war on corruption, saying that the fight will restore  the nation’s moral health and free up resources for development. He pledged that the government will adhere strictly to the rule of law. Those who have been critical of the way the war on corruption is being waged, and indeed the entire nation, will find that declaration reassuring.

    The central element in the speech was the administration’s CHANGE agenda, of which large sections of the public have grown sceptical. The President spelled out an ambitious agenda, which includes reviving the nation’s 12 moribund river basin authorities, achieving domestic self-sufficiency in local production of staples by 2018, expanding agricultural credit, boosting power generation, which has already shown an uptick, exploiting wind and solar technologies, building or rehabilitating major highways nationwide, and modernising the railways.

    Some of these projects are on-going, and provided for in the current budget. What remains is to add that they must be followed through and completed within the timeline specified by the President. They must not end up as another batch of abandoned projects.

    Disappointingly, the President was silent on the insistent clamour for political restructuring, which he has often mistaken for a call for the country’s dismembering. The present structure, which stands the concept and practice of federalism on its head, is not working and is not sustainable. Unless the economic reform is undergirded by political reform, it is unlikely to achieve the desired goals.

  • Traditional worshippers seek national day recognition, others

    African Traditional Religion (ATR) worshippers have called on the Federal government to declare August 20 as a national holiday for them.

    The worshippers who noted government’s recognition of festive days for Christians and Muslims stated that their annual festival known as “Ise se” Day should be given the same consideration.

    They blamed the current economic recession in the country on Christianity and Islam, which they called colonial religions, calling on the government to include the deities in the swearing-in of public officers in order to curb corruption.

    According to a statement issued by the group’s chairman and Ogun monarch, Oba Ifarotimi Balogun, the annual event was a day the worshippers celebrate all traditional gods (deities) in the country.

    He said this year’s edition which would hold at the June 12 Cultural Centre in Abeokuta, Ogun State, aims at fostering peace and unity among the deities.

    “It is high time the country recognised the importance of Olorisa/Ifa Priest. Muslim/Christian leaders consult us for the progress of the country and they have public holidays in their respective festivals.”

  • A nation under water

    A nation under water

    It was perhaps just as well that the Federal Government declared several weeks ago that Nigeria’s 52nd independence anniversary would be observed, again, on a “low key.”

    Nigeria is celebrating its National Day literally under water. “Low key” doesn’t get lower than that.

    Those of a decidedly malignant disposition, whom we shall always have among us, may even see the whole thing – the encircling waters and the objects drifting listlessly in the deluge – as an apt metaphor for the national condition.

    From the parched Sahel in the grip of the furiously retreating Sahara desert to the mangrove swamps of the Atlantic, a vast swathe of Nigeria is under water. Swollen by record rainfall and by water said to have been released from dams in neighbouring Cameroun to avoid a looming disaster, Nigeria’s major rivers, the Niger and the Benue, rage as never before, swallowing up houses and washing away bridges and roads and farmlands, sparing nothing in their ravenous wake.

    For four days, the national capital was cut off from traffic from much of the South, portions of the road linking Lokoja with Abuja having been washed away. Lokoja itself, like many other cities caught up in the floods, evoked scenes of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which our own Poet Laureate Niyi Osundare has memorialised for the ages in epic verse.

    Some 130 persons, most likely a gross undercount, have been reported killed in the floods. At least as many are missing. The number of displaced persons has to be in the millions, and damage to private property must be reckoned in trillions of Naira.

    Given just the dilatoriness, the studied evasion with which Nigerian insurance companies typically handle claims, those who lost their homes and property to the flood cannot rest easy that help is forthcoming. And here I am talking of those who took the trouble and expense to buy insurance cover, or were corralled to do so by a mortgage institution.

    Most of the victims probably do not fall in this category and are entirely on their own. With the sluggish economy and rising cost of everything, and the predilection of the mercantile class for profiting from the misfortunes of others, a good many of them are not going to be in a position any time soon to repair or rebuild their homes.

    The fortunate among the millions of displaced persons will be housed in camps for months if not years, and the rest will have to fend for themselves as best they can

    The National Assembly has not met in emergency session to deliberate on legislative measures to cope with what is without question the greatest natural disaster to have struck Nigeria in recent memory.

    Perhaps its members are waiting for President Goodluck Jonathan to propose a supplementary budget. But what stops a private member from proposing an appropriate bill and shepherding it through the legislature in readiness for the President for assent?

    As for Dr Jonathan, he was half a world away, in New York, addressing the United Nations General Assembly and trying once again to charm those elusive foreign investors into coming to Nigeria to seek their fortunes as the flood waters rose steadily, turned entire cities into flotillas, and cut off Abuja from the south-western part of the country.

    The churlish would say that he should not have travelled out at all, or should have headed back as soon as he was made aware of the enormousness of the unfolding catastrophe. But it may well be that his aides never told him how dire the situation had become so as not to distract him from making the most of a moment on the world’s stage that comes only once a year.

    Besides, the vice president, cabinet ministers and officials Specialised agencies and a sprawling were on hand to deal with any emergencies. And, to his great credit, Dr Jonathan took time off his hectic schedule in New York to direct the designated ministers and officials to take charge. If they did not rise up to the occasion, it cannot be the President’s fault.

    But, wearing another hat, the President is also griever and consoler-in-chief; he sets the mood of the nation in times of rejoicing as well as in times of calamity. It would have been a gesture of enormous significance if, on his return from the United States, he had visited some of the beleaguered communities offering words of sympathy and assuring them that his Administration would do all its power to bring them succour.

    In politics, perception is almost everything. Dr Jonathan needed to be perceived as a President who cared, who feels their pain, and is firmly resolved to translate his concern into practical relief measures. Such a gesture could have bridged somewhat the widening gulf between the general public and his Administration.

    In this respect, time is still on his side, even if not on the side of the beleaguered, who will no doubt see it as a fresh disappointment that their privations rated just four perfunctory sentences in his National Day broadcast.

    It will no doubt be remarked that it was foreign contractors who made the national capital accessible by road from the South-west some four days after a stretch of the Lokoja-Abuja highway was washed away by flood waters.

    And it will be asked: Where were the indigenous contractors? Where, for that matter, were all the hardware that the government relief agencies ought to have stockpiled all these years – rescue vehicles and river craft especially. Where are the mobile emergency health centres? Where are the emergency water-treatment plants? Where was the emergency communication system?

    It will be asked even more insistently: Why was there so little preparation for a disaster so clearly foretold?

    Meanwhile, the Jonathan Administration will have to shed its preoccupation with fringe issues and devote all its energies to coping with this unfolding tragedy. The Weather Bureau says the worst may still lie ahead. This means designing comprehensive measures to deal with the present emergency and proactive measures to contain the coming one.

    I am thinking of food and shelter for the displaced; of schooling arrangements for children, and of their general safety.

    I am thinking of the vast farmlands now under water, and the harvest now lost, and the livestock that perished; the food shortage that is sure to follow, and the high prices everyone will have to pay for a piece of whatever is available.

    At a time like this, the usual posturing will simply not do. It will have to yield to fast-paced, coordinated and sustained action designed to bring relief urgently to communities of the beleaguered across the nation.