Last week, the Presidency announced that Remi Tinubu, the First Lady of Nigeria, had come up with the bright idea of having a nationwide to celebrate the country鈥檚 independence on October 1. This news has caused quite a stir online so I thought I鈥檇 add extra context to help Nigerians understand why this isn鈥檛 a bad idea.
First of all, it鈥檚 important to know that Remi has a thing for sustainability and resourcefulness (I know this because to solve Nigeria鈥檚 food insecurity problem), so the idea that this fabric was just a show of insensitivity to Nigerian鈥檚 plight is not entirely true.
Now, here are the real reasons why the First Lady came up with this idea:
Reduce tribalism in Nigeria
You might think it鈥檚 ironic for someone whose husband centered his entire campaign around tribal differences (with slogans like “Yoruba L鈥檕kan,” or “It鈥檚 Yoruba鈥檚 turn” in English) but should the sins of a man be taken out on his wife?
If the First Lady says she鈥檚 trying to unite the country with the national aso-ebi, then allow her.
Bring back corsets/snatched waists
The country has not been the same since women started wearing fewer corset dresses. Some Nigerians may argue that this isn鈥檛 a matter of national concern but I disagree and the First Lady disagrees too. I want to see snatched waists and a united Nigeria.
Promote 鈥渨ear Nigerian鈥 culture
It鈥檚 okay when X folks use the hashtag #WearNigerian but it鈥檚 not okay when the First Lady does the same? Maybe you鈥檙e the problem. In case you didn鈥檛 know, a Nigerian designer called Mofinyinfoluwa Bamidele designed the fabric and it鈥檚 too.
Start a new culture of celebration聽
The last time Nigerians went all out to celebrate Independence Day was probably 1960. Wouldn鈥檛 it be a shame to have a Yoruba woman as First Lady and not have a national owambe?
Help Nigerian tailors get their bags
The last time your tailor ate good was during the Eid celebrations. There are at least 200,000 pieces of the unity fabric so imagine how happy tailors across the country must be. Still think it鈥檚 a bad idea?
Bring back native Friday
Did you ever stop to ask yourself why Nigerians no longer wear native attires to work on Friday? Well, the First Lady has been asking those questions so you wouldn鈥檛 have to. 200,000 pieces of fabric are more than enough to restore this culture. With these few points of mine, I hope I鈥檝e been able to confuse and not convince you that the national owambe is exactly who can no longer afford to eat and address the other 1,001 unresolved problems bothering it right now.
