Lagos Race Course now TBS, was a sports field that hosted horse racing, but included a section for football and ground to play cricket. The land was provided to colonial authorities by Oba Dosunmu in 1859, who thereafter, built up the surrounding areas. The course was later demolished by the government of Yakubu Gowon to make way for Tafawa Balewa Square. In its hey days, the course hosted the Empire Day parades. The horse racing track was about seven to eight furlongs or a mile.[3]
In 1960, the course was redeveloped to celebrate Nigeria's independence and the lowering of the union jack.
Location
TBS was constructed in 1972 over the site of a defunct rack for horse racing. It is bounded by Awolowo road, Cable Street, Force road, Catholic Mission street and the 26-storey independence building.[4]
Monuments
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 (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.[1]
The square has a capacity for 50,000 people. Facilities at the square include a shopping center, Airline's Travel Agencies, restaurants and car parking and a bus terminal.[5]
The cricket ground, the Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval, is widely considered as the 'traditional home of cricket' in Nigeria.[6] It hosted matches in the North-Western sub region of the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier tournament.[7] The ground has been closed for 18 months to complete a renovation from a concrete surface to 10-strip turf to meet the ICC standards. The renovation was completed in January 2022, following which Nigeria hosted their first Women's Twenty20 International matches in the 2022 Nigeria Invitational Women's T20I Tournament.[8]
Historical Events
Major national events at TBS includes Nigeria’s independence celebration which took place on 1 October 1960 with the Prime Minister, Tafawa Balewa, delivering his speech. Democracy Day, as well as other multifarious events such as musical jamborees and religious gatherings.[9][10]
References
^ abKaye Whiteman (2013). Lagos: A Cultural and Literary History (Landscapes of the Imagination). Vol. 5. Andrews UK Limited. ISBN978-1-908-4938-97.
^Peju Akande; Toni Kan (4 January 2015). . Thisdaylive. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
^Ajani, Jide (1 October 2000). "The Lagos Race Course: Crossroads of a Political Heritage". Vanguard.
^"Tafawa Balewa Square". 10times.com. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
^"Is Tafawa Balewa Square The Forgotten Race Course Of Independence?". Nigeria Real Estate Hub. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
^"Nigeria Invitational in Lagos points towards promising future for women's cricket in Africa". www.aipsmedia.com. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
^"From concrete to turf: Nigeria's TBS Oval pitches get a makeover". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
^"Women's T20 cricket a litmus test for Nigerian team, says Obalola". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
^"'Tafawa Balewa Square leased, not sold' - The Nation Nigeria". The Nation Nigeria. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
February 13, 2023
tafawa, balewa, square, hectare, acre, ceremonial, ground, originally, called, race, course, lagos, island, lagos, image, contents, history, location, monuments, facilities, historical, events, referenceshistory, editlagos, race, course, sports, field, that, h. The Tafawa Balewa Square TBS is a 14 5 hectare 35 8 acre ceremonial ground originally called Race Course in Lagos Island Lagos 1 2 Tafawa Balewa Square Image Contents 1 History 2 Location 3 Monuments 4 Facilities 5 Historical Events 6 ReferencesHistory EditLagos Race Course now TBS was a sports field that hosted horse racing but included a section for football and ground to play cricket The land was provided to colonial authorities by Oba Dosunmu in 1859 who thereafter built up the surrounding areas The course was later demolished by the government of Yakubu Gowon to make way for Tafawa Balewa Square In its hey days the course hosted the Empire Day parades The horse racing track was about seven to eight furlongs or a mile 3 In 1960 the course was redeveloped to celebrate Nigeria s independence and the lowering of the union jack Location EditTBS was constructed in 1972 over the site of a defunct rack for horse racing It is bounded by Awolowo road Cable Street Force road Catholic Mission street and the 26 storey independence building 4 Monuments EditThe 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 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 1 Facilities EditTafawa Balewa Square Cricket OvalGround informationLocationLagosInternational informationFirst WT20I28 March 2022 Ghana v RwandaLast WT20I3 April 2022 Nigeria v RwandaAs of 3 April 2022Source CricinfoThe square has a capacity for 50 000 people Facilities at the square include a shopping center Airline s Travel Agencies restaurants and car parking and a bus terminal 5 The cricket ground the Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval is widely considered as the traditional home of cricket in Nigeria 6 It hosted matches in the North Western sub region of the 2018 19 ICC T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier tournament 7 The ground has been closed for 18 months to complete a renovation from a concrete surface to 10 strip turf to meet the ICC standards The renovation was completed in January 2022 following which Nigeria hosted their first Women s Twenty20 International matches in the 2022 Nigeria Invitational Women s T20I Tournament 8 Historical Events EditMajor national events at TBS includes Nigeria s independence celebration which took place on 1 October 1960 with the Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa delivering his speech Democracy Day as well as other multifarious events such as musical jamborees and religious gatherings 9 10 References Edit a b Kaye Whiteman 2013 Lagos A Cultural and Literary History Landscapes of the Imagination Vol 5 Andrews UK Limited ISBN 978 1 908 4938 97 Peju Akande Toni Kan 4 January 2015 BUILDING THE LAGOS CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT Thisdaylive Archived from the original on 18 May 2015 Retrieved 10 May 2015 Ajani Jide 1 October 2000 The Lagos Race Course Crossroads of a Political Heritage Vanguard Tafawa Balewa Square 10times com Retrieved 28 October 2018 Is Tafawa Balewa Square The Forgotten Race Course Of Independence Nigeria Real Estate Hub 30 September 2015 Retrieved 28 October 2018 Nigeria Invitational in Lagos points towards promising future for women s cricket in Africa www aipsmedia com Retrieved 23 April 2022 From concrete to turf Nigeria s TBS Oval pitches get a makeover Emerging Cricket Retrieved 18 January 2022 Women s T20 cricket a litmus test for Nigerian team says Obalola The Guardian Nigeria News Nigeria and World News 11 March 2022 Retrieved 23 April 2022 Tafawa Balewa Square lonely planet Tafawa Balewa Square leased not sold The Nation Nigeria The Nation Nigeria 9 June 2015 Retrieved 28 October 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tafawa Balewa Square amp oldid 1107657209, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
