By
By Olanrewaju Oyedeji
The pan-African news chronicle, The Difference is set to host its annual Africa Day event on Wednesday, May 25, 2016.
A statement from its holding company, Sunbird Africa Media Limited, outlines that the event would hold at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs, NIIA in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Africa Day is commemorated across the continent to mark the founders’ day of the continent’s first post-colonial supranational body, the organisation of African Unity, OAU.
In Nigeria however, the day has over the years been very sparsely commemorated with organisations like The Difference and the United Bank for Africa being about the most notable celebrants annually.
While The Difference hosts talkshops and motivational events in public places and schools within the country, UBA marks it as a ‘Dress African Day’ with staff being encouraged to come to work that day, clad in one African attire or the other.
The OAU has since been restructured and transformed into the African Union, AU Commission.
The theme of the event is ‘Economic hurdles on the path of African Integration (Examining 25 years of the Abuja Treaty and the African Economic Community) and the subject would be addressed by a multi-disciplinary panel of speakers that has already been assembled for the purpose.
They include Dr. Joshua Bolarinwa and Mr Sharkdam Wapmuk.
With many African countries battling the negative headwinds of the fall in commodity prices, analysts aver that this is about the best time to address economic issues and their place in the continuing march of African integration.
The statement was signed by a Director of the media outfit, Mr Albert Iyamabo.
Established in Lagos, Nigeria in July 2007, The Difference circulates in Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. It is a bilingual publication whose content is usually rendered in English and French.
Comments