29th September, 2021
President Muhammadu Buhari congratulated Ms. Sade Thomas-Fahm, the matriarch of the Nigerian fashion industry, on her 88th birthday.
President Buhari, in a congratulatory message issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity, Garba Shehu, thanked Thomas-Fahm on Tuesday in Abuja for pioneering the use of locally woven and dyed textiles in the early 1960s.
The president felt that this gives the world the first image of the Nigerian look and promotes a sense of cultural independence for Nigerians.
The choice this year of six of her original designs for exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum London, will enable future study of her work by historians, academics, fashion designers in perpetuity, the President noted.
The President also commends Mrs. Thomas-Fahm for giving the best of her life in service of her community and the nation, noting that her keen interest in developing future generations of fashion designers, serving as an academic visitor at the Yaba College of Technology for decades, and endowing an academic prize.
President Buhari felicitates with the entire Thomas-Fahm family and prays for Mrs. Thomas-Fahm’s good health, the grace of God, and more years of service to Nigeria and humanity.