Publisher's Welcome
Welcome to the 66th Nigerian Independence Day Flag Raising Ceremony at Philadelphia City Hall. Some of this year’s honorees may already have offices, closets, or rooms filled with plaques and awards. Another object will not enlarge what they have accomplished. The Azikiwe Legacy Award serves a different purpose. It is an outward homage from the community to the greats among us. It allows us to say, while they are present, that their work has been seen, valued, and entered into our public memory.
In this setting, “I was there” is more than proximity to achievement. It is a declaration of witness. It says that Philadelphia’s African diaspora recognized leadership in government, journalism, education, law, enterprise, and community service. It says that younger generations saw examples of what discipline, courage, and public responsibility can produce. That same responsibility shapes the work presented in this booklet.
The Bridge to Freedom Oral History Project preserves the testimony of seven elders whose lives connect migration, civil rights, education, and service. FunTimes’ reporting on the Blessed Iwene Tansi Igbo Catholic Community shows how trust, referrals, and community relationships create pathways to economic stability.
Together, these stories remind us that independence must be carried forward through memory, opportunity, and civic participation. This ceremony therefore belongs to the audience as much as it belongs to the honorees. Your presence turns an award presentation into a public record. Your applause tells the recipients that the community understands the weight of their contribution. Bringing children, friends, and colleagues allows the meaning of the moment to travel beyond City Hall.
This work has been made possible by many people and institutions. Special appreciation goes to the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, the Peoples Media Fund, Campaign for Working Families, Press Forward, and The Pivot Fund. I am also grateful to Lincoln University, Temple University, the Diaspora Advisory Council, our student researchers, civic partners, volunteers, and every person who entrusted FunTimes with a story.
THREE YEARS AT CITY HALL
From Public Recognition to an Annual Philadelphia Tradition
In three years, Philadelphia’s Nigerian Independence observance has grown from a public commemoration into a platform for cultural visibility, leadership recognition, historical preservation, and civic belonging.
2024
Nigeria at 64
PUBLIC RECOGNITION
FunTimes Magazine joined the City of Philadelphia in commemorating Nigeria’s 64th independence anniversary at City Hall. Nigerians, other African and Caribbean immigrants, city officials, and residents gathered as the green and white flag was raised. A mayoral proclamation recognized Nigerian Independence Week in Philadelphia, giving the community a visible place in the city’s civic life.
2025
Nigeria at 65
LEGACY AND MEMORY
The second ceremony brought Nigerian dress, drums, masquerade performances, and community recognition into the heart of Center City. FunTimes presented the inaugural Azikiwe Legacy Awards to Lincoln University President Dr. Brenda A. Allen, pediatrician and academic Dr.
Odiraa Nwankwor, and multidisciplinary artist Laolu Senbanjo. The ceremony also launched the Diaspora Oral History Project and its Advisory
Council, beginning a structured effort to record the memories of elders.
2026
Nigeria at 66
TRADITION AND CIVIC BELONGING
The third annual ceremony returns to Philadelphia City Hall with the flag raising, ceremonial gowning, cultural performances, and the 2026 Azikiwe Legacy Awards. Hosted by FunTimes Magazine in partnership with Pennsylvania State Representative Carol Kazeem, the program brings public officials, media leaders, educators, business leaders, and community members together. The Oral History Project now includes seven completed elder interviews that will be preserved at Temple University’s Charles L.
Blockson Afro-American Collection.
Nigerian Independence Flag Raising Ceremony
PUBLIC PROGRAM
Thursday, October 1, 2026 | Noon to 1 p.m.
North Apron of Philadelphia City Hall
Hosts
Leah Uko, Deputy Director of Communications & Press Secretary Office of Mayor Cherelle Parker
Nkwa Asonye, President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ-Phila.)
12:00 PM
Welcome and opening remarks
Opening prayer
Greetings from the City of Philadelphia Office of Immigrant Affairs
National anthems of the United States and Nigeria
Raising of the Nigerian flag
2026 Azikiwe Legacy Award presentations
Recognition of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker or a representative of the Mayor’s Office,
pending confirmation
Recognition of Professor Osagie O. Imasogie
Recognition of Nneka Nwosu, Vice President of News and News Director at 6abc
Remarks from Speaker Joanna E. McClinton
Remarks from State Representative Carol Kazeem
Acknowledgments and closing remarks from Dr. Eric Nzeribe, Publisher of FunTimes
Magazine
Official photographs, closing drum performance, and refreshments
1:o0 P.M.
Program concludes
The Azikiwe Legacy Award
The Azikiwe Legacy Award honors leaders whose work connects professional achievement with public service, community impact, and responsibility to the African diaspora. FunTimes Magazine and the Diaspora Advisory Council established the award to recognize people who use influence, knowledge, creativity, or institutional leadership to widen opportunity and strengthen the communities they serve.
The Lincoln University connection
The award bears the name of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigeria’s first president and a leading figure in the nation’s independence movement. Azikiwe graduated from Lincoln University in 1930. His years at the nation’s first degree-granting Historically Black College and University placed him within an intellectual community where African and African American students examined freedom, self-determination, leadership, and the future of Black people across the world. That connection gives the award particular meaning in Pennsylvania. Lincoln University helped educate leaders who later shaped independence movements and public institutions across Africa. The award carries that history forward by recognizing people whose accomplishments serve a purpose larger than personal success.
What the award recognizes
• Leadership grounded in service and ethical responsibility
• Professional distinction that creates measurable community benefit
• Institution-building and the expansion of opportunity
• Commitment to African heritage and diaspora connections
• Civic participation, cultural leadership, and public education
• Work that strengthens relationships among African, African
American, Caribbean, and wider communities
The Inaugural 2025 Recipients
The inaugural Azikiwe Legacy Awards were presented during the 2025 Nigerian Independence Flag Raising Ceremony at Philadelphia City Hall. The first recipients established the character of the award across three distinct fields.
Dr. Brenda A. Allen
President of Lincoln University
Recognized for leadership of an institution whose history remains closely connected to African independence and global Black advancement.
Dr. Odiraa Nwankwor
Pediatric Intensivist And Academic Physician
Honored for work to improve
pediatric critical care in Nigeria
and for applying professional
knowledge to the health needs
of African communities.
Laolu Senbanjo
Multidisciplinary Artist and Human Rights Advocate
Recognized for using visual art
and cultural storytelling to affirm
African identity, preserve heritage, and introduce African creative expression to audiences around the world.
Each recipient represents a different field, yet each has used professional accomplishment to serve others. The Azikiwe Legacy Award continues that tradition by honoring leadership that builds institutions, preserves culture, expands opportunity, and strengthens the relationship between Africa and its diaspora.
Bridge to Freedom
“Our elders spoke, and we listened.”
Why this project matters
The Bridge to Freedom Oral History Initiative preserves the lived experiences of African, Caribbean, and African American elders whose lives connect migration, civil rights, education, public service, faith, and community responsibility.
FunTimes Magazine launched the project on October 1, 2025, during Philadelphia’s Nigerian Independence Day Flag Raising Ceremony. One year later, seven recorded testimonies now form an archive that did not exist before. These interviews show that history is carried through families, neighborhoods, churches, classrooms, civic institutions, and movements for justice. The elders speak with the authority of people who faced segregation, military rule, displacement, discrimination, and limited opportunity, then used education, law, diplomacy, public office, faith, and service to widen the path for others.
The project also brings generations into direct conversation. Students researched each elder, helped prepare and conduct the interviews, and learned that oral history requires patient listening, careful verification, and respect for memory. Their participation turned the recording process into an education in citizenship and historical responsibility. A living public record The recordings, transcripts, and related materials are being prepared for preservation at Temple University’s Charles L. Blockson Afro- American Collection. FunTimes will also prepare selected stories and interviews for public access. Together, these records will support students, scholars, families, and community members seeking a fuller account of Black leadership across borders.
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