By Binebai Princewill 

A highly revered and leading Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) in Nigeria operating under the aegis of Shedrack Agediga Foundation (SAF) has concluded plans to mark the 2022 Martin Luther King Jr Day in Warri, Delta State. 

Martin Luther King Day is observed every year on the third Monday of January, in 2022 on Monday January 17 this year is the Martin Luther King Jr Day for the year. King was an influential civil rights leader — best known for his work on racial equality and ending racial segregation in the United States. His life and achievements are remembered and celebrated on this day.

Inline with this, SAF had stated through its Director of Programmes, Pst. Seimode Idowu that the NGO will be marking the Martin Luther King Jr day in Warri come Monday January 17th 2022.

According to him, members of SAF, lovers of the NGO, rights activists as well as members of the general public have been invited to show solidarity with the Shedrack Agediga Foundation to mark the day. 

Speaking further, the SAF Director of Programmes, Pst. Idowu asserted that take off point for the event will be 7: 00am on Monday January 17th at Tegaton Hotel in Jakpa Road, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State. 

He noted that participants will in a procession create an awareness campaign about the late Martin Luther King Jr to converge at the popular Efferun Market in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State for a clean up of the market. 

Pst. Seimode said the clean up exercise by the Shedrack Agediga Foundation (SAF) at Effurun Market while commemorating Martin Luther King Jr is inline with this year’s theme tagged “Creating a Beloved Community Begins With Me”.

Idowu had hinted The Liberator Newspapers Worldwide that for SAF, marking Martin Luther King Jr Day, World Peace Day and other important days in the World have become yearly events for the foundation. 

The Liberator Newspapers Worldwide can report that since the establishment of the Shedrack Agediga Foundation (SAF) in 2014, the NGO has touched and transformed many lives across the country cum advocating for good governance. 

It would be recalled that Amb. Dr. Comr. Shedrack Agediga is the founder and Chairman of the Shedrack Agediga Foundation (SAF), he is currently the Executive Director (ED), Planning, Research and Statistics (PRS), Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC ).

More details about Martin Luther King Jr Day 

Each year on the third Monday of January Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is observed and reflect on the work that still needs to be done for racial equality. This January 17, make the day more than just a day off and take time to reflect and take action on civil rights issues across the globe.

The concept of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a holiday was promoted by labor unions. After King’s death, U.S. Representative John Conyers and U.S. Senator Edward Brooke introduced a bill in Congress to make King’s birthday a national holiday. The bill first came to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1979; however, it fell five votes short of the number needed for passage. Two of the main arguments mentioned by opponents were that a paid holiday for federal employees would be too expensive and that a holiday to honor a private citizen would be contrary to longstanding tradition, as King never held public office. At the time, only two other figures had national holidays honoring them: George Washington and Christopher Columbus.

Soon after, the King Center looked for support from the corporate community and the general public. The success of this strategy was cemented when musician Stevie Wonder released the single ‘Happy Birthday’ to popularize the campaign in 1980 and hosted the Rally for Peace Press Conference in 1981. Six million signatures were collected for a petition for Congress to pass the law and is considered the largest petition in favor of an issue in U.S. history.

President Reagan originally opposed the holiday, citing cost concerns. But on November 2, 1983, Reagan signed a bill, proposed by Representative Katie Hall, to create a federal holiday honoring King. The bill had passed the Senate by a count of 78 to 22, and the House of Representatives by 338 to 90. The holiday was observed for the first time on January 20, 1986. It’s observed on the third Monday of January rather than directly on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday because it follows the guidelines of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.

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