Liberty Stadium renamed after Awo

On the first day of his visit to Ogun State, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday renamed the famous Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, after the first Premier of the old Western Region, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
The occasion was his visit to the Ikenne residence of the Awolowos moments after commissioning the Sagamu Stadium.
He had, while commissioning the stadium, bemoaned over valuation of projects in the country which he said often led to inflation of contracts and the bane of development.
He said: “let me commend the Ogun State Road Maintenance Agency (OGROMA) because the governor told me that all the roads were constructed by the Ogun State Road Maintenance Agency.
It saved money for government; there will be no stories of inflated contracts because one of the greatest things we face in Nigeria is the cost of procurement. In some cases, you see projects being overvalued and if it is done directly by the state government relevant agencies, then that will be drastically minimized”
Jonathan during a courtesy call on Chief Dideolu Awolowo, said of the late Chief Awolowo: “He was a visionary leader. We will continue with his vision. We will continue with his dream to transform this great country so that those of us who are alive with his children, by the time his great grand children will get to our age, Nigeria will be a different country.
“The Awolowo’s family is not the family of Ogun, it (family) has grown beyond his town, his region and state, it is now the family of Nigeria”.
Jonathan stated this to the applause of the audience among whom were some of his Ministers, top government officials and political associates.
Mrs Awolowo in welcoming the President asked him to be “very strong and focused in your service to the fatherland.
“I would not wish to feign ignorance of the enormous challenges prevalent in governance in Nigeria, especially as such level as the Presidency”, she said, adding, “It is however not to say that the challenges are insurmountable.  The presence of challenges is not to stop a man from reaching his goal but to bring out the best in him.
Chief Mrs Awolowo therefore, volunteered to donate some books that her late husband wrote to analyze the challenges of the country and proffered solutions to them.
She thanked the President for honoring her late husband at Nigeria’s 50th anniversary celebration as well as naming the Liberty stadium after him.

Source:http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/11/liberty-stadium-renamed-after-awo/