Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, has commended the Arewa House Library for retaining its relevance as a Centre for documentation and research in history and contemporary issues in Nigeria.
Governor Sanwo-Olu stated this yesterday, at the opening of the upgraded Arewa House Library, funded by the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaking through the Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, at the commissioning in Kaduna, Sanwo-Olu stated that for several years, the Arewa House Library has served and fulfilled the purpose of its establishment by sustaining its enviable status as a reliable centre for documentation and research in history and contemporary challenges.
He added that it is heartwarming to note that the centre has not only provided documentation of the history and culture of the people, it has also provided abundant documented materials and resources relating to contemporary studies on policy, peace and leadership.
This, he said, has no doubt served as a rich reference point and source for scholars in writing papers and presenting seminars that have been locally and internationally recognised.
Sanwo-Olu thanked the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for seeing the need to upgrade the Arewa House Library and committing his private funds and resources towards the upgrade during the Arewa House 11th Memorial Annual Lecture.
Expressing gladness that a centre of such magnitude exists in the country to document historical occurrences, the Governor noted that present and future generations can acquire knowledge from the library to avoid repeating past mistakes and act better in future.
His words: “I am glad that a centre like this exists in Northern Nigeria, and in Nigeria at large, to document historical occurrences that both the present and future generations can learn from to either avoid repeating certain mistakes or to provide us with the knowledge to act better in future”.
While maintaining that the upgrade of the Arewa House Library makes it well placed to meet the needs of 21st century researchers and challenges facing documentation in modern times, Sanwo-Olu expressed hope that the library will continue to retain its relevance as the first-stop shop for cultural and historical documentation in Northern Nigeria.
He further commended the Director-General, Dr. Shuaibu Shehu Aliyu, Management and Staff of the Arewa House Library for how well they have held forth in preserving the history and culture of the country, through the preservation of research and historical documentation.