President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated the matriarch of Nigeria’s fashion industry, Mrs Sade Thomas-Fahm, on the occasion of her 88th birthday.
In a statement on Tuesday signed by Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, “President Buhari thanks Mrs. Thomas-Fahm for pioneering the use of locally woven and dyed textiles in the early 1960s, which gave the world the first image of the Nigerian look and fostered a feeling of cultural independence for Nigerians.”
He said the choice this year of six of her original designs for exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum London will enable future study of her work by historians, academics, fashion designers in perpetuity.
President Buhari also commended Mrs. Thomas-Fahm for giving the best of her life in service of her community and the nation, noting that her keen interest in developing future generations of fashion designers, serving as an academic visitor at the Yaba College of Technology for decades, and endowing an academic prize.
He prayed for Mrs. Thomas-Fahm’s good health, the grace of God, and more years of service to Nigeria and humanity.