The Tafawa Balewa Square, (TBS) is a ceremonial ground (originally called "Race Course") in

Lagos Island Lagos Island (''Ìsàlẹ̀ Èkó'') is the principal and central local government area (LGA) in Lagos, it was the capital of Lagos State until 1957. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian census, the LGA had a pop ...

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

History

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 Dosunmu (c. 1823 – 1885), referred to in British documents as Docemo, reigned as Oba of Lagos from 1853, when he succeeded his father Oba Akitoye, until his own death in 1885. He was forced to run away to Britain under the threat of force in A ...

in 1859, who thereafter, built up the surrounding areas. The course was later demolished by the government of

Yakubu Gowon Yakubu Dan-Yumma 'Jack' Gowon (born 19 October 1934) is a retired Nigerian Army general and military leader. As Head of State of Nigeria, Gowon presided over a controversial Nigerian Civil War and delivered the famous "no victor, no vanquish ...

to make way for Tafawa Balewa Square. In its hey days, the course hosted the

Empire Day Commonwealth Day (formerly Empire Day) is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations, since 1977 often held on the second Monday in March. It is marked by an Anglican service in Westminster Abbey, normally attended by the monarch as ...

parades. The horse racing track was about seven to eight furlongs or a mile. 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.

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 I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and

Nigerian civil war The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

victims) and the 26-storey Independence House, built in 1963 which was for a long time, the tallest building in Nigeria.

Facilities

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. The cricket ground, the Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval, is widely considered as the 'traditional home of cricket' in Nigeria. It hosted matches in the North-Western sub region of the

2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier The 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier was the tournament played as part of qualification process for the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup. Twelve regional qualifiers were held by the International Cricket Council (ICC), with 62 teamsZambia were ...

tournament. 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 Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) is the shortest form of women's international cricket. A women's Twenty20 International is a 20 overs-per-side cricket match between two of the International Cricket Council (ICC) members. The first Twent ...

matches in the

2022 Nigeria Invitational Women's T20I Tournament The 2022 Nigeria Invitational Women's T20I Tournament was a women's T20I cricket (WT20I) tournament that was held in Nigeria from 28 March to 3 April 2022. The venue for all of the matches was the Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval in Lagos. Alo ...

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 Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (December 1912 – 15 January 1966) was a Nigerian politician who served as the first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria upon independence. Early life Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born in December 1912 in modern-day B ...

, delivering his speech. Democracy Day, as well as other multifarious events such as musical jamborees and religious gatherings.

References

{{coord missing, Nigeria Monuments and memorials in Lagos Landmarks in Lagos 1972 establishments in Nigeria Squares in Lagos Lagos Island Outdoor sculptures in Lagos