₦airaland Forum

naptu2:
1) Look at the North Central State (Kaduna State) coat of arms on the limousine.

2) Even state governors rode in stretch limousines back then.

3) There's been a lot of confusion about the name Abba Kyari in recent times, so I think I'll call him Abba Kyari The First. This is Brigadier Abba Kyari, the governor of the North Central State.

4) Look at the bottoms that the corps members are wearing.


This is the passing out parade of the first set of NYSC members in the North Central State. The parade was held in June 1974 at Zaria Race Course.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK67azdxSXk

nairabacks:
That's not S600 1987 model...
Although the pic is likely 1987

naptu2:
Mercedes Benz 600 (W100).

There were a lot of Mercedes Benz W114 and W123 stretch limousines in Lagos in the 1970s and early '80s (my neighbour had a stretch W114 that he bought in the 1970s. He abandoned it beneath his balcony in the 1980s, but he planned to revive it if he had won the 1991 governorship election. He didn't win and he eventually scrapped the car in 2003. His son had a stretch W124). These cars were usually of the 4 door with 3 rows of seat variety.

The W114 and W123 limousines were so common that some people felt that they needed something different in order to stand out from the crowd. That thing was the Mercedes Benz 600 (W100). It was very rare. There was one at Dodan Barracks (used by Gowon, Shagari, Babangida and lastly by Obasanjo on May 29th, 2007), Awolowo had one (Awolowo arrived the Enugu meeting in the 600, Zik arrived in a W116 S Class and Waziri Ibrahim arrived in a Peugeot 504), but they were very rare (I still have pictures of those two cars).

The car was very popular with heads of state. King Hassan of Morocco had a 6 door version and a special state landaulet version was ordered by the German Government for the visit of Queen Elizabeth in the 1960s. Most people felt that the 600 was better than its rival, the Rolls Royce Silver Wraith (it was nicknamed "the car of dictators because military dictators loved it). The idea behind the 3 rows of seats was that you could have two heads of state sitting on the 3rd row, while a secretary and an interpreter would sit on the middle (rear facing) seat and in this way the host head of state and the visiting head of state could have a meeting in the car.

The 600 is one of the two most iconic Mercedes Benz cars (the other being the 1952 Mercedes Benz 300sl Gullwing) and it was the inspiration for the Mercedes Benz S Class. The Mercedes Benz W100 was produced from 1963-1981.

naptu2:
Two hated presidents and a 600 (April 1st, 1980).


The number 1 state car (Mercedes Benz 600) was green during the Gowon era, then painted dark blue during Shagari's time (as you can see in this video) and it was finally painted black when Babangida was president.

There were lots of Ghanaians in Lagos in the early 1980s and none of the ones I knew had anything good to say about Hilla Limann. They were all happy when Rawlins came back.

Shagari wasn't particularly hated, but people really hated his government and hated the fact that he didn't do anything about his thieving ministers.

Notice that some of Shagari's NSO bodyguards are wearing agbadas and babaringas in order to blend in.


President Hilla Limann visits Nigeria and is received at the airport by President Shagari and groups of ghanaians resident in Lagos. Both presidents leave the airport in the Mercedes Benz 600 (W100).



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sabjJUph2Y

naptu2:
I didn't know that General Obasanjo used the 600 (W100). I know that he used S Class Mercedes and Peugeot 504s, but I didn't know that he used the 600.


At the end of this video General Obasanjo ushers Kenneth Kaunda into an S Class Mercedes, but CVU officials inform Obasanjo that they are meant to use the 600 (which is behind the S Class), so they both walk back to where the 600 was.

The final shot in the video is of the 600 as it leaves the Presidential Wing.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUhfL8rYAgQ

naptu2:
Aha! Here's the video of the state car.

President Ibrahim Babangida created Akwa Ibom and Katsina states in 1987 and he visited both states in 1988 to mark their first anniversaries. I believe that this video is from Katsina State's first anniversary.

President Babangida used Peugeot 504 cars as his official cars when he became president. However, the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, visited Nigeria in 1988 and they brought back the W100 limousine for her use. The W100 had been used by General Gowon, General Obasanjo (very rarely and only when receiving guests) and President Shagari before being put into storage.

President Babangida would also use a stretch Peugeot 505 limousine as his "everyday" official car from 1989-1991 (the W100 was reserved for special occasions) and then came the controversy of 1991.

Nigeria hosted the OAU Summit in 1991 and lots of 6-door W124 (V-Boot) limousines were bought to ferry African leaders around Abuja. There were many rumours about the number and cost of the cars. One rumour was that a driver had driven one of the limousines across the border to Benin Republic and sold it there. President and Mrs Babangida both used these stretch limousines from 1991 until they left office.

The last time that I saw the W100 was in 2007, when it was used to take President Olusegun Obasanjo to Eagle Square for the inauguration of President Yar'Adua.


Watch from the 3:22 minute mark for a good view of the 600.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPPkK7dCfSE

Captain of Black Queens Elizabeth Addo reportedly dropped from final squad for Aisha Buhari cup due to a tweet

Captain of the Black Queens, Elizabeth Addo was reportedly dropped from the final 23 squad list for the maiden edition of the Aisha Buhari invitational women’s football tournament because of a tweet she made two months ago.

Elizabeth Addo was amongst a list of 30 players handed call-ups by head coach of the Black Queens, Mercy Tagoe for camping at the Ghana Football Association (GFA) Technical Centre (GSCE) in Prampram weeks ago.

Nevertheless, the skipper was surprisingly dropped from the final 23 squad list for the inaugural tournament. Per reports, the Djurgårdens IF forward was dropped because of a post she made on Twitter two months ago.

In the post dated June 14, 2021, Elizabeth Addo pleaded with the FA and the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MOYS) to learn from their opponents for the 2022 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, Nigeria and arrange high profile friendly games as part of preparations for the AFCON qualifiers.

The tweet is said to have not gone down well with the technical team of the Black Queens, hence leading to her omission from the final squad for the Aisha Buhari cup.

@ghanafaofficial @MOYSGh we saw Nigeria play Portugal last nite n they gave a beautiful account of themselves. This a team we play a crucial qualifier game with in a few months and their prep is enviable. Black Queens need good international games to get ready. Please listen to us for once,”

- Elizabeth Addo (@AmaPele10) June 14, 2021.

The Aisha Buhari tournament is scheduled for September 15 to 21 in Lagos, Nigeria. Ghana have been drawn in Group B alongside the Indomitable Lioness of Cameroon and the Banyana Banyana of South Africa.