President Muhammadu Buhari has unveiled the logo and theme for Nigeria’s 60th independence anniversary.
The president unveiled the logo and theme on Wednesday before the commencement of the 15th virtual meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said the theme for this year’s diamond independence anniversary is “Together Shall We Be,” depicting the country’s unity in diversity.
The president said the labour of the country’s heroes, who fought together, putting aside their ethnic or religious differences, can never be in vain.
“Today we stand on the threshold of history as we formally begin a series of activities commemorating Nigeria’s Diamond Anniversary. The task history has saddled me with today is to proclaim a theme that will keep us united, help us forge ahead and unveil a logo that will form the critical pillars, which are eleven months modest commemoration activities will rest on.
“Our founding fathers, in spite of differences in faith, tribe and tongue, came together to fight for Nigeria’s independence. This shall be a befitting tribute to the struggle of our heroes’ past.
“It is to the glory of God and in celebration of the attainment of the diamond age of 60 by our great nation that I hereby unveil the preferred anniversary logo for this momentous occasion in our national history.
“It is therefore with a deep feeling of national pride that I hereby announce to you that “Together shall we be” shall be the theme of our nation’s 60th anniversary celebration,” he said.
The president announced that the logo for the anniversary was picked by Nigerians from four options presented to them via the internet.
Describing the chosen logo, the president said, “Of these four options, Nigerians from all walks of life participated in making a choice and I’m happy to let you know that the logo I will be unveiling is a product of choice from the Nigerian people.
“I’m informed that the selected option depicts our togetherness; a country of over 200 million people, whose natural talents, grits and passion glitter like the precious diamond we are. This to me is a sufficient appreciation to our most precious assets; our people. Everywhere you go, Nigerians are sparkling like diamonds in the pack, whether in academia, business, Innovation, music, movie, entertainment and culture.
“Furthermore, I’m also made aware that the neatly crusted diamond on the Nigerian map symbolises our age of treasure, the worth of the Nigerian people, who are sparkled to the admiration of the world. In the same vein, the fair green and the dark green colours should respectively remind us of our warmth, welcoming spirit and love, as well as abundant wealth inherent in our human capital and the richness of our land. All these properties made us, unarguably, the most prosperous black nation in the world and Africa’s largest economy,” he said.
He said the emergence of coronavirus would not allow the country to have an elaborate celebration on October 1 when the country turns 60.
“Celebrating 60 years of independence really calls for pomp and pageantry, but the global COVID-19 Pandemic, which has forced all nations in the world to think and act differently, has also forced on us the imperative of a low-keyed celebration. Operating within the limitations placed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we created an internet challenge for Nigerians to make a choice from a set of four pre-selected logos that will appropriately define theme,” he said.
The president said the government would work towards greater inclusiveness as he called for the participation of all Nigerians as the country celebrates.
In his remarks, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, who is also the chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Nigeria’s 60th Anniversary Celebration, said the unveiling of the Logo marked the official take-off of Nigeria’s 60th anniversary celebration.
The SGF, who narrated how the committee arrived at the selection of the Diamond Logo from different possibilities designed by patriotic Nigerian firms, thanked the president for engaging members of the committee in the national assignment.
Those who witnessed the unveiling of the Logo by the president were Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, ministers and some presidential aides.
