Whenever men of vision with a proactive instinct hold sway in any establishment or organisation, their productive aura and capability will not be only felt at that particular organisation, but the nation will have the reverberating effects of their positive and progressive strides.The 51 independence anniversary of Nigeria would have gone without any remarkable event to cheer Nigerians on the day they were set free from the entanglement of British colonialism, if not for the Unity Concert planned by Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, which took place at Tafawa Balewa on Friday 30 september, 2011,The security situation and atmosphere prevailing in Nigeria prior to the date of celebration was not only alarming but chaotic, bearing in mind the various threats and counter threats from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and the fear of Boko Haram insurgency.The fear was palpable .The security alerts were over the country. The fear was that Nigeria would collapse if there was any celebration at all anywhere and in any form.This was so intense and hot that even the nation had to adopt a very, very low profile style to celebrate what used to be a glamorous and exciting affair.The Federal Government had to shift the yearly celebration which normally takes place at the Eagle Square to the confines of the Aso Villa.In fact, Otunba Runsewe were man of agrarian determination who never looked back whenever he put his mind on a project, the mere fact that no event was allowed to take place in Abuja would have killed the programme and prevented the masses from having a feeling of their glorious day.This is because, just about 74 hours to the kick-off of a programme, which all the logistics for its success in Abuja were ready, venue secured, artistes engaged, mass invitation of guests and security assured, the directive came that no flambouyant or elaborate event should take place in Abuja.Going by the template of the early warning signals of insecurity, only an insensitive and irresponsible government would have taken chances and refused to take pre emptive action to prevent another catalogue of woes and gnashing of teeth as a result of the dastardly actions of some few disgruntled nihilists.Realising that there was no way the event could take place in Abuja, Otunba Runsewe swung into action and announced the shifting to Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, the very spot where the Union Jack, the symbol of British imperialism and colonisation was lowered for the hoisting of the Green'White ' Green flag which symbolises freedom from the shackles of colonialism of the Imperial Majesty Service.That Friday, September 30, the Tafawa Balewa Square collected a mass of people who had the feel of celebration which the evil ones tried hard to prevent. Even when the TBS was not filled to the brim, participants were thrilled to a day of glory as the venue was not only right for the event but also a significant point of reference, being was the same spot where the Union Jack was lowered for the green-white-green flag on October 1, 1960.The main bowl of the TBS once again wore radiant looks as it was beautifully decorated with a green-white-green apparel, reminding all and sundry of the sesame trio word (unity, peace and progress) that bond the diverse ethnic groups in Nigeria together, making them one people, different culture, one vision and one destiny.For those Nigerians, who were either 'big brothers, uncles or fathers' to Nigeria national day, the pre-independence show revived old memories of activities and clusters of dignitaries that graced the first independence celebration in 1960. For those who were too young or not born at that time but were able to read or watch a video recordings of that memorable day, it was a dream come true as they all united in the euphoria and mood of the celebration at the venue to mark the 51st anniversary.Subsequently, at all the designated points of entry to the main bowl of the TBS, togetherness was demonstrated by the scores of different security operatives deployed to man the entrance. Even as they were armed to the teeth because of the calibers of dignitaries expected, their interaction with people trooping into the venue was mild and warm, as they waved the Nigerian flag distributed to them at people as they approached the entrance of the venue.Also, all those that participated in the pre-independence concert had one or two souvenirs to take home and a set of over 51 lucky people who were selected among the crowd for their exceptional combination of green-white-green design attires and other with different national colours paintings on their hair and faces went home with special collections of NTDC-branded promotional souvenirs and Ankara textile print material.The concert, which hosted notable music artistes and popular Nollywood actors, actresses and comedians, added glamour to the event, as their electrifying performance attracted all and sundry to the floor.Sunny Nneji, Alariwo of Africa, Sir Shina Peters, Lagbaja and Paul Play Dairomade the best of the time to thrill spectators.The organisational ability of the Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, Chief Olusegun Runsewe, which enabled him to package such a wonderful outing, was noted by Sir Shina Peters, who pointed out that 'We all prepared to converge on Abuja for the carnival to celebrate Nigeria at 51, until some hours ago when I learnt that it had been shifted to TBS Lagos.'I thought it would be possible taking into cognizance what was needed to put up a good show. But I am pleasantly surprised and impressed at what we are seeing now. This man called Olusegun Runsewe is a miracle worker.'The ace-musician, who thrilled the crowd endlessly with his melodious music and super statesmanship, commended President Goodluck Jonathan for 'appointing a man who understands tourism sector and who is always coming out with the superb tourism products, which boost the image of Nigeria.'The highpoint of the celebration, which impressed the spectators most, was the celebration cake, which told the political history of Nigeria.The cake, designed in the national colours, had photographs of presidents who had governed the country, right from independence to date. A 70-year-old woman, Mrs Rukayat Adele, who claimed to be at TBS when the Nigerian flag was hoisted said: 'This is creativity at its peak. These founding fathers would be proud of what we did today, because the same spot where the flag was hoisted is the same spot where the 51 anniversary is being cut today.'Pointing out the economic impact of the 51 independence celebration, Mrs Ogunbiyi, one of the food vendors, praised the NTDC for bringing the celebration to the same spot where the independence flag was hoisted.Mrs Ogunbiyi, who works for Cowries Event Planning disclosed that 'Apart from the fact that I came here with my food, for which I have made good money, you can see that we the people of Lagos are happy with the Federal Government for this event. We too now feel that we belong. It would have been too bad if the celebration was only in Abuja.'An IT expert, Mr Soji Adewunmi, who works with Pragmatic Technologies, remarked that 'Nigeria must be grateful to the NTDC which organised the carnival at TBS today. What they have done is to tell the whole world that despite the dark news of bomb and insecurity, Nigeria is still a safe, secure and peaceful place.'Mr Adewunmi pointed out: 'If the carnival had not been held, Nigeria would have sent a wrong signal, which would have been an affirmation that things are not really well with us. For the world might be thinking that a situation where the sense of insecurity and fear of bomb attack prevented the nation from celebrating its 51 independence anniversary might indeed be grave.Honestly, the pre-51 independence anniversary held by the NTDC at Tafawa Balewa Square, apart from being a remarkable event, was a generational statement made by the NTDC under Runsewe to tell the world that despite all negative perceptions, Nigeria is peaceful, safe and secure.
Click here to read full news..
