The journey of Ambassador Marek Skolil and his Deputy Hana Trousilová to the states of Lagos and Ogun
27.05.2021 / 20:07 | Aktualizováno: 09.06.2021 / 13:25
From 16 to 20 May 2021, Ambassador Marek Skolil accompanied by his deputy Hana Trousilová went to Lagos and the capital of the neighboring Ogun state, Abeokuta. The main goal of the trip was to restore the Embassy's contact with Nigeria's main economic pole, prepare the handover of humanitarian aid to the state of Ogun and meet with local leaders and a selected candidate for the position of Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic in Lagos. The representative of the Czech Trade office in Lagos, Mr. Štěpán Beneš, who was part of the delegation, played a significant role in the preparation of the program. The trip was very productive, as it strengthened our local contacts at the highest level (governors of Lagos and the state of Ogun, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Nobel Prize winner for literature W. Soyinka) and laid the foundations for further Czech activities in the south by establishing the Honorary Consul and other agreed steps.
The delegation first headed to Abeokuta, where on Monday, May 17, 2021, it met with former President Olusegun Obasanj, who, as a former dictator in 1999, became the first democratically elected president and still retains great prestige at home and abroad. In the afternoon, the program in Abeokuta continued with a meeting with Nobel Prize winner for literature Wole Soyinka, to whom the Ambassador personally brought the Spiros Vergos Prize for Freedom of Expression awarded to Wole Soyinka in October 2020 in Prague, in the frame of the writer's participation in the Prague Writers' Festival. Czech Embassy in Abuja helped the organizers of the Festival with the transport of the prize (statues of Olbram Zoubek) to Nigeria.
On Tuesday, May 18, the program continued in Abeokuta with a meeting with the Governor of the State of Ogun, Dapo Abiodun (APC government party) and the Minister of Health of the State of Ogun, Ms. Dr. Tomi Coker. The topic of the meeting was in particular the impending handover of a donation to one of the hospitals in the state of Ogun.
On Wednesday morning, May 19, the delegation met in Lagos with Mrs. Ajoritsedere Awosika, whom Mr. Beneš (Czech Trade) selected as a possible candidate for the Honorary Consul in Lagos. The meeting confirmed that Ms Ajoritsedere Awosika was a suitable candidate. On Wednesday afternoon, the delegation met with Lagos Governor Babajida Sanwo-Ol. Lagos Ministers for Health (Akin Abayomi), Agriculture (Bisola Olusaya), Transport (Frederic Oladeinde) and the IT Sector (Mr. Talake) were invited to the meeting as well. On the Czech side, the delegation was accompanied by the candidate for Honorary Consul, Mrs. Awosika. Other possibilities for cooperation between the Czech Republic and the state of Lagos were examined during this very productive meeting.
As part of the visit to Lagos, the Toyota 200LHD armored car was officially handed over free of charge to the local Czech Trad representative. It will strengthen the physical security of Czech Trade and future Czech visitors from Abuja or from headquarters. On the sidelines of the visit, the Czech delegation also attended the grand opening of the new Marriot Hotel in the Ikeja district. The hotel’s main conference hall is decorated with 4 magnificent chandeliers made by the Czech company Lasvit.
https://www.mzv.cz/abuja/en/news_events/czech_chandeliers_shine_in_lagos_the.html
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Lagos and Ogun
