The posthumous birthday of Chief Obafemi Awolowo will hold tomorrow, March 6.
The event, which will start with a memorial service at the family chapel of the Awolowos in Ikenne-Remo, Ogun State at 8.30 a.m. will also feature a memorial lecture entitled: “The Awolowo legacy and its message to Nigerian youths,” organised by the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation.
Friends and political associates will join the family in celebrating the icon with the memorial lecture which will hold at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos, at 11.00 a.m.
Professor Banji Akintoye will be the guest lecturer, while former head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, will be the chairman on the occasion.
The sage, Chief Awolowo, was born on 6 March, 1909. He lived a fulfilled life as a father, lawyer, politician and nationalist and left legacies that forever marked him out as unequalled among his contemporaries. He transited to eternal glory on May 9, 1987.
Papa Awo remains the only Nigerian to have received the national honour of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) without serving as president or Head of State, with his remarkable integrity, ardent nationalism and commitment to the ideals of democracy, rule of law and true federalism still widely celebrated till date.
Papa Awolowo’s political influence and ideology-based politics have continued to remain popular across the country.