Tafawa Balewa Square

The Tafawa Balewa Square, originally referred to as Race Course is a 14.5-hectare (35.8-acre) ceremonial ground situated in Lagos Island, Lagos.

The land was provided to colonial authorities by Oba Dosunmu in 1859, for horse racing, Empire day celebrations and school parades in the colonial days. The horse racing track was about a mile.

When Nigeria gained her independence, it was at the same venue that the Union Jack was lowered and the Green-White-Green flag of Nigeria got hoisted on 1 October 1960.

When the military took over administration of Nigeria, the Race Course was reconstructed in 1972 by General Yakubu Gowon and named it after the first Prime Minister of independent Nigeria, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa to make way for a modern square.

The square is bounded by Cable Street, Force road, Catholic Mission Street and the 26-storey independence building. 

The entrance to the square has gigantic sculptures of four white horses hovering above the gate and seven red eagles, which are symbols from the national emblem signifying strength and dignity respectively. Other monuments in the square include the Remembrance Arcade 1 (with memorials to World War I, World War II and Nigerian civil war victims) and the 26-storey Independence House, built in 1963 which was for a long time, the tallest building in Nigeria and the old House of Assembly Complex.

The square has a capacity for 55,000 people and has been used at various times for musical concerts, parades and trade fairs, political rallies and religious gatherings. Facilities at the square include shopping centers, office outlets, airlines ticketing agencies, restaurants, parking lots,  and bus terminal that connects to different parts of the city. Many who grew up in Lagos in the 70s can never forget the match past at the TBS in the rains on many October firsts. It always rained on that day.

TBS as it is fondly called stands as an imposing awe inspiring repository of history of the nation with an undeniable tourism potential that should not be allowed to degenerate.   It should be transform into a world-class tourism site comparable with the best in the world.

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