A TALE OF DESTRUCTION

DESTRUCTION OF OUR FLAGS MONUMENT AT KUDIRAT ABIOLA PARK

For the past three weeks, we have been mourning the loss of our flag monument at Alhaja Kudirat Abiola Park on the Lagos Ibadan Expressway by 7up. It was the site of a foul desecration of the symbols of our state and our nation, the destruction of the Lagos State Flag and the Beautiful Green-White-Green, our National Flag. Only an uninformed brigand would destroy the symbols of their statehood and nationhood; these symbols are precious to any nation and for those who were too young to know, many people have died and been injured because of their flags. To bring you up to speed, this is the background story.

When in 2017, Mrs. Bilikisu Abiola became the DG of Lagos State Parks and Gardens, LASPARK, the agency was mandated to refurbish the Kudirat Abiola Park, on the Lagos Ibadan Expressway at 7up. Knowing that La Roche Leadership Foundation runs ‘The Flags Project’ in all public primary and secondary schools, she reached out to us to ask if we would be interested in erecting and maintaining a Flag Monument at the Park. For us, it was an opportunity to take The Flags Project to a public space, so we indicated our interest in both building and maintaining a befitting pedestal for both the Nigerian and Lagos State Flags.

For over 3 years, La Roche Leadership Foundation both built and maintained the Flag monument at Kudirat Abiola Park, with no cost whatsoever to the Lagos State Government. Every aspect of the monument is fully funded and tended to by staff of the Foundation, including the purchase and weekly change of the Flags, laundering the flags, regular painting of the pedestal and poles and regular upkeep of the signage on the pedestal. Occasionally when we visit the Park, if we find it untidy, we pay for it to be swept and the garbage bagged to a disposal point. It has become our practice to visit as a Foundation on Democracy Day and say prayers for the Late Kudirat Abiola and her family and for the country. For this, we are usually joined by people around there, who have always shown an interest in the Park. Surprisingly, a lot of young people do not know what happened because they were too young to remember.

It came as a great shock to us, that after the killings at the Lekki Toll plaza and the violent aftermath, when the current Government called for all public flags to be flown at half staff, we tried to get to the monument but were unable for two days. On the third day we found the flag monument had been destroyed by some unknown persons. After investigations on the matter with people who work in the area, we could not discern why the monument was destroyed or who was responsible. This despicable assault on a landmark monument that held the symbols of our state and nation, on the major expressway into Lagos and within the park premises is nothing short of a disgrace. Even the poles and all the accoutrements are missing, making it look like they were cut down for commercial purposes, not from anger over the #EndSARS protest. I have pondered for many hours on the kind of human being that would do such an act to the flag of their own country, for nationhood and statehood are so precious. Just ask any Syrian or Yemeni what they are going through now; just ask anyone who has seen their country torn apart, either for the struggle for Independence or Civil War. How shameful that a Nigerian would assault his own flag in such a manner. So just to recap on why our Foundation is so passionate about the Flags Project, here is some information about it:

Objectives of La Roche Leadership Foundation’s Flags Project

In line with turning Lagos state into a Mega city and also helping to improve the image of Lagos state, it is pertinent to inculcate the lost values and culture of unity and responsibility back into the life of the youths, who are the future of the state and nation as a whole. To do this we use the hoisting of the State flag, which is a symbol of rich heritage of Lagos State and the national flag, which is a symbol or representation of our heritage, history, independence, unity, sense of responsibility. In order to regain these lost values especially that of peace and unity it is important to:

• Bring back the heraldry of the Nigerian flag amongst its people, beginning from children and  youth. For the State Flag, to elaborate the essence of each symbol as represented in the Coat of Arms to the youth and the intrinsic values each symbol portrays to be imbibed by the youths.  
• Create the opportunity to display more of our flags in order to constantly remind us of what we stand for.
• Inculcate these attributes; pride, respect, patriotism and our heritage in every Nigerian child.
• Install flags in the assembly or parade grounds of all primary and secondary schools in Lagos State.
• Install new flags in strategic places in Lagos state in preparation for upcoming independence anniversaries.
• To provide an enduring spirit of unity for the state and nation as a whole.
• To give the young ones a sense of direction about their future.
• To rejuvenate the cultural practices which are of value to the society. 
• To give the young ones an institutionalized practice of what is desirable and appropriate in hoisting the flag and identifying with the flag.
• To give the young ones international values of collaboration, togetherness and friendliness.
• To bring about the conscious and deliberate teaching of the values of the Nigerian symbols (Flag, Coat of Arms, National Anthem and national pledge) in-order to make them part of daily activities in the school.
• To integrate national values into the various educational groups in schools. 
• To idealize the pride and beauty of the state and nation through the use of the state and national flags.

For now, we are still trying to find out what happened, but unless there are security cameras that captured the footage, we doubt we will ever know the perpetrators. We are extremely upset at the desecration of our State and National flags and the memory of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola and all the martyrs in whose memory the Park was constructed and dedicated to. It is a thing of grave sadness that such an occurrence can take place. While we mourn the loss of our monument, we pray for all those who were killed and injured in the #End SARS protest and all who lost their property and goods, not to mention the thousands that have lost their means of livelihood. We cannot develop as a nation if we kill, maim and destroy ourselves. We all have a stake in this wonderful, promising country. We should guard the symbols of our nationhood with respect and pride. And as we say in the Flags Project: “The Flag is our identity”. God bless Lagos State, God bless Nigeria.