By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
Faced with the present harsh economic hardship occasioned by Covid-19 pandemic, the Federal Government has opted for a low-key celebration of Nigeria’s 60th Independence Anniversary.
This much was disclosed Wednesday in Abuja by the Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Nigeria’s 60th Anniversary celebration, Mr. Boss Mustapha.
Mustapha who is also the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF) spoke just before President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the anniversary logo and theme at the State House, Abuja.
Below is the full text of Mustapha’s speech:
“Your Excellency, Mr President, upon your approval of the inter-ministerial committee on Nigeria’s 60th anniversary
“I’m very honoured by the opportunity and privilege given by Mr President to serve as the Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Nigeria’s 60th Anniversary celebration.
“Your Excellency, Mr President, upon your approval of the inter-ministerial committee on Nigeria’s 60th anniversary and directive for a low-key celebration that will be highly inclusive, the inter-ministerial committee went to work and agreed on the theme to drive the celebrations.
“One major agreement also was the need to deviate from the norm of celebrating our landmark events with a conclusion of the day of such event. Thus it was agreed that to make the diamond anniversary very inclusive and create opportunities for internalisation and buying by all sectors of Nigerian people, a year-long celebration will be pursued, starting from the date of launching a web portal, to September 30th, 2021.
“Mr President, members of Council, I am happy to inform you today that the unveiling of the logo is the second milestone of the celebration, but it actually marks the official takeoff of Nigeria’s 60th anniversary celebration. Kindly permit me to provide a little background as to the theme, processes for selection of logo, eventual outcome and outstanding elements, as well as rationale for a year-long celebration.
“The inter-ministerial committee had a robust discussion and argument on the theme and finally settled on the one that recognises our sojourn in nationhood, identified challenges faced all through and what is required to move Nigeria to its enviable stage among the comity of nations.
“To arrive at a logo, the inter-ministerial committee had to review 15 different possibilities designed by a patriotic group of Nigerian firms, to whom we have expressed our appreciation for their efforts. Out of these 15 logos, the inter-ministerial committee chose the best four that were then subjected to a diamond, …”.
