Tinubu Begins Lagos Visit, to Commission Wole Soyinka Centre as Nigeria Marks 65th Anniversary

Tinubu Begins Lagos Visit, to Commission Wole Soyinka Centre as Nigeria Marks 65th Anniversary

By Abiola Adigun
Albarka 89.9 FM

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday arrived in Lagos for a working visit ahead of Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary, which the Federal Government says will be marked in a modest way this year.
The President’s arrival in Lagos followed his attendance at the coronation of the 44th Olubadan of Ibadan land, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, in Oyo State on Thursday — a ceremony that drew traditional rulers, political leaders and eminent Nigerians.
According to his itinerary, Tinubu will hold talks with key players in the nation’s private sector as well as senior government officials in Lagos. This engagement continues his longstanding relationship with the business community in the state, which he cultivated during his eight years as governor and has since maintained as a national leader.
A highlight of his Lagos visit will be the commissioning of the remodelled National Theatre in Iganmu, renamed the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts. The project reflects the administration’s push to reposition Nigeria’s creative economy as a driver of jobs and growth, while also paying tribute to Soyinka, Africa’s first Nobel laureate in literature and an icon of cultural activism.
The President will thereafter travel to Imo State on Tuesday, September 30, where he is scheduled to inaugurate infrastructure projects executed by Governor Hope Uzodimma.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the visits form part of the activities marking the Independence anniversary, adding that the President remains committed to national unity and development despite the lean celebrations this year.
Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary, he noted, would be observed “low-key” in line with current realities, but still anchored on reflection, modest festivities, and the commissioning of legacy projects.