Nigeria 1914 Exhibition, a showcase of historical portraits, artifacts and paintings, which chronicles Nigeria’s history from the 1914 amalgamation through the 1960 Independence, debuted in the nation’s capital.
The opening ceremony of the week-long exhibition was held on Saturday night at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja.
Mr Akin Laniyi, Project Director of ‘Nigeria 1914’, said that the exhibition with the theme “The Story of Nigeria’s Birth, History, Milestones and Icons”, was scheduled to hold from October 1 to 8.
According to him, the project, which received the endorsement and support of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture and other relevant bodies, is packaged to coincide with the commemoration of Nigeria’s 62nd independence anniversary.
“Nigeria 1914 exhibition is a government endorsed educational exhibition of pictures, portraits, artifacts and paintings based on Nigeria’s history, milestones, icons and culture from the 1914 amalgamation and through 1960 independence to more recent times.
“We felt that at a time like this, Nigeria is in need of such a project because it will provoke our consciousness as a people to reflect on our great history and the much needed social order.
“It will hold for eight days here at the Transcorp Hilton, starting from our independence day, and it is aimed at promoting our education, nationhood and good things about us as a richly diverse people.
“Each day of the exhibition has been titled and named after a reputable foundation for good cause in Nigeria, to encourage and appreciate their work especially in education.
“The exhibition will host the public and dignitaries from all walks of life, who will come and relish our journey from 1914 till date,” he said.
Laniyi said the historic artifacts and pictures, works of modern Nigerian artistes drawn from across the country, including Kola Ogunwale, would also be showcased at the exhibition.
He said that each day of the exhibition is arranged for visitors from the diplomatic community, government functionaries, and lovers of art and history of Nigeria.
“It is my humble pleasure to announce that within these eight days, we have specially dedicated days like the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Day, Atiku Care Foundation Day and Prince Authur Eze Foundation Day.
“Others include Prince Ned Nwoko Foundation Day, Tony Elumelu Foundation Day, TY Danjuma Foundation Day, Yakubu Gowon Foundation Day and Yar’ Adua Foundation Day.
“In line with our vision of promoting national unity and our shared history, this exhibition will also be staged around major cities in Nigeria including Abuja, Port Harcourt and Lagos.
“It is to present Nigeria, her people, opportunities and potential on the global stage through iconic pictures, paintings, artifacts and portraits.
“The exhibition will be taken through cities of the world including London, Paris, Berlin, Sydney, New York, Beijing, Toronto, Stockholm and Tokyo, having staged it round major cities in Nigeria,” he added.
Mr Chuks Anyaduba, Project Director, Project Tourism Africa said on the sideline that the event was apt and timely as the nation was struggling with various challenges that threaten its unity.
He, therefore, commended the organisers for the initiative, while calling on other Nigerians of goodwill to embrace and conceive projects that foster social integration and national unity.
“Personally, when I heard about this, I felt it is a very fantastic idea, because a lot of the young people do not understand what it means to be have independence.
“They do not understand the story behind the movement that brought us Independence, so documenting and showcasing that process is something commendable.
“I urge people to key into this to keep us abreast of the nationalists’ movements, the great leaders that fought to bring our Independence for us,” he said.
