Pan-Nigerian outfit Prodiva has announced its maiden Independence Day fiesta in Lagos to celebrate Nigeria’s diversity and enterprise.
The announcement was made on Monday.
The event, scheduled for October 1, at Muri Okunola Park, will begin at 11 am.
It is sponsored by Ginger Up Nigeria Limited, makers of Ginger Up and Ginger Shot drinks.
Founded by former banker Bolatito Ajibode, Prodiva combines the words “prosperity” and “diversity.”
“We want to ginger young people to focus on enterprise here at home instead of contemplating fleeing the country in search of greener pastures,” she explained.
The fiesta will feature young Nigerians who run small and medium-scale enterprises sharing their business experiences to inspire others.
The programme will be headlined by Ifedolapo Runsewe, founder of Free Recycle Limited, a company that recycles used tyres. Exhibition stands will also be made available for partners.
Ajibode said the fiesta will become an annual event across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
She stated, “By God’s grace, it is going to be a yearly event. After the maiden edition in Lagos, we will do it again in Lagos. By the third year, we should be in Abuja. By the fourth year, we should be in Port Harcourt and the fifth year, in Enugu and then in Kano. In future, this independence fiesta will be happening simultaneously in all the six geopolitical zones.”
Ajibode also created the Prodiva fabric in 2020 to mark Nigeria’s 60th independence anniversary.
Explaining her motivation, she said, “Despite being the largest Africans that wear Ankara, I wondered why Nigeria could not be identified with a unique fabric just like the kente with Ghana. That was how I came up with Prodiva fabric to become the unique identity of Nigeria.”
The design incorporates cultural elements from each geopolitical zone, including the food basket symbol for the North Central, calabash from the North East, rewa knot from the North West, crown of Oduduwa from the South West, Ofor staff from the South East and Niger Delta cap from the South South.
During the fiesta, the fabric will be promoted to encourage Nigerians to adopt a national identity wear similar to Ghana’s kente.
