The governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, urged Nigerians on Thursday to seize the chance presented by the upcoming National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) to inspire the people of their nation and foster togetherness.

The governor pleaded for Nigerians to stop letting politics and other factors split them and instead use their variety, ethnicity, and religious tolerance as a chance to come together.

Prior to the NAFEST Festival taking place in Lagos in November, Sanwo-Olu made the appeal during a courtesy visit at Lagos House, Ikeja, by the national technical committee of the National Festival of Arts and Culture, which was chaired by Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, the director-general of the national council for arts and culture.

We think that the NAFEST Festival, which is being held in Lagos during a very trying moment for our nation, would serve as a catalyst for change. With God’s grace, the NAFEST in Lagos in 2022 will be utilized to heal this nation. It will serve as a means of uniting our diversity.

“Arts, culture, and entertainment can do better if sports can unite us. And we would have used that platform to mend the nation if we carried it out and packaged it really nicely before the general elections in 2023. We would have utilized it to demonstrate to others that we are the only ones with nowhere else to go. It is our duty to make it right (Nigeria).

“We ought to view NAFEST as a chance to unite, heal, and promote unity throughout our nation, rather than merely as a celebration. And make sure that, even with all of our trials and anxieties, we can overcome them in the upcoming year, suppress them, hold free and peaceful elections, and create a stronger, more expansive country that would make the rest of the world envious. I am excited about that,” the governor remarked.

The governor promised that Lagos will remain a source of pride for everyone and a focal point for Nigeria, emphasizing that it was important to make sure that plans were made “to enhance the lots of people”

“As a government, what matters most to us is making sure that we can use every breath we have to improve the lives of many of our citizens; that we can take advantage of the chance God has given us to rebuild a better tomorrow for citizens, and the only way we can accomplish that is by making sure that everything related to good governance is being done.

In addition to hosting the NAFEST Festival in November, Lagos State, according to Governor Sanwo-Olu, will commission the largest and best museum in Africa, the JK Randle Museum for Arts and Culture, and host an art exhibition and United Nations international tourist organization in November.