At Lagos Motor Show, Emir of Borgu Calls for National Unity

The Emir of Borgu Kingdom in Niger State, HRH, Mohammed Haliru Dantoro has called on Nigerians to unite the more at this critical time of economic hardship, in order to overcome its current challenges.

The Emir who spoke at the weekend in Lagos at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Lagos Motor Show, which held at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), said Nigeria as a country, needed total commitment of all Nigerians to make the country a better place again. 

“All Nigerians must contribute their quota to make Nigeria great again. The government alone cannot fix the rot of the country and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu cannot fix Nigeria alone because of its multiple challenges. What the country needs is collective responsibility of all Nigerians both at home and abroad. Nigeria must rise above its current challenges and we need the prayers of all Nigerians asking God Almighty for direction. There is no need for public demonstrations as seen in some parts of the country recently. This is a period when Nigerians must come together and collectively address the challenges of the country, ranging from insecurity to corruption and hunger. Demonstration cannot solve challenges but unity and focused attention.

“Government must therefore use the traditional institutions to address security challenges and all other challenges facing the country. Election time should not be the only avenue through which politicians should engage traditional rulers. Meaningful engagement must go beyond election campaigns. The youths of Nigeria have a great role to play by supporting the government to re-build Nigeria,” the Emir said.  

While on exhibition tour of classic, vintage and electric cars that were on display at the Lagos Motor Show, the Emir thanked the organisaers of the Lagos Motor Show, whom he said, have made history in the exhibition of classic and vintage cars, including electric-powered motorbikes and vehicles, which according to him, most Nigerians of the current generation have not seen in their lifetime.  

 Speaking at theceremony,the Chief Promoter, Lagos Motor Show, Engr. Ggbenga Adebayo, said: “Today we are making history by displaying our passion for motoring because we are a people with history. As a young undergraduate many years ago, I wrote articles about the future of motoring in Nigeria. What we have on display at the Lagos Motor Show, are cars that were manufactured before Nigeria’s Independence in 1960, after Independence and cars of today and the future. What we displayed today are collections of vehicles from pre-independence to date. LargeHouse, which is into collection of Landrover cars, played a significant role towards the success of the maiden edition of the Lagos Motor Show. We have also displayed electric vehicles, and we appreciate the motor companies that displayed their cars at the Lagos Motor Show,” Adebayo said.  

Car Enthusiast, Chief Olu Okeowo, said: “Personal cars tell more about the personality of a person, and it is good to preserve what we have, be it cars, or anything that has value. Today we are seeing the collection of cars preserved by car collectors and it is indeed great to see old and vintage cars on display,” Okeowo said.   

The Lagos Motor Show is the dream of a group of car lovers, motor sports enthusiasts whose goal is to bring to the Nigerian motoring community, an auto show annually that would mirror Auto shows such as  the annual Chicago Motor Show, Munich Auto  show, Middle east, Europe etc.