The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on Monday presented N25 million prize to Bamidele Mofiyinfoluwa, winner of #OneNigeria Unity Fabric competition.
The ceremony was held at the State House, Abuja. Mrs Tinubu said the project was designed to foster creativity, enhance unity and love, and support local enterprises to boost the nation’s economy.
She announced that the selected best fabric would be used officially on October 1, during the nation’s independence celebration.
“As we showcase this design, our goal is to encourage local mass production of the Unity Fabric by two of our local manufacturers, making it accessible to all Nigerians.
“By mass-producing this fabric, we aim to stimulate local industries, create jobs, and boost our economy.
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“We envision this fabric will be used in national celebrations, events, and daily life, symbolising unity, love and pride of our nation,” she said
Mrs Tinubu said she was inspired with the concept of unity fabric when she visited Zimbabwe in 2023.
According to her, she discovered the National Fabric concept in that country unifies the nation by infusing diverse cultures and unity as a people.
The first lady said that the project aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on broader objectives of national cohesiveness and economic development through creativity
On how the winner emerged, the first lady recalled that the #OneNigeria/Unity Fabric competition was announced through various media platforms in February.
She said youths between the ages of 15 years to 25 years were called upon to create a design for a fabric that would be launched as the National Unity Fabric.
“We received 111 entries from Nigerians across the country and in the Diaspora,
“The selection process was rigorous, but today, we are happy to present the best design selected by our expert judges,
“Five of them are present here today, apart from the winner and I would like to extend my gratitude to all those who sent in their entries,” she said.
Also speaking at the event, Hajia Nana Shettima, the wife of the Vice President, said that the national unity fabric would promote unity and commerce.
Mofiyinfoluwa said she was “overwhelmed” by her announcement as winner of the competition
She said she considered it a “great honour”, while thanking the first lady for initiating the competition and the project.
The winner advised the youths to be resilient in the face of the current situation in the country.
She promised to use her designs to promote love and unity and invest the cash prize on textile business.
