During an event organized to honor the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, the Mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown, expressed his admiration for Lagos State, Nigeria.
Brampton, a city in the Canadian province of Ontario, is home to a large population of Nigerian immigrants.
Speaking at a town hall meeting hosted by the Coalition of Nigerian Canadian Interest Groups based in Canada, Brown reminisced about his visit to Lagos in 2007. His visit coincided with the tenure of President Bola Tinubu as the governor of the South-West State. In a video shared on Saturday, May 4, 2024, by Wale Adedayo, Brown addressed the cheering audience, expressing his love for Nigeria.
“I went to Nigeria in 2007. I went to Lagos and I fell in love with the country. Two years ago, I went back, and once again, I toured the country. Anytime you visit Nigeria, you’re saying to yourself, ‘When can I go back?” Brown said.
He also praised the strides of Nigeria’s movie industry, Nollywood, stating that he was “blown away” by it. “There’s a lot of love for Nigeria in my city,” he added.
Similarly, Graham McGregor, a member of the Provincial Parliament in Brampton North, emphasized the growing Nigerian-Canadian community in Brampton. In a tweet on Sunday, McGregor stated, “In Brampton, we’ve got one of the fastest-growing Nigerian-Canadian communities. I’ve spoken with a few people here that are from Brampton, and we’ve got a lot of exciting things going on.”
McGregor stressed the importance of creating an “open, inclusive, welcoming economy for everybody. And to the connections we’re building here with the Nigerian-Canadian community, we want to make sure Nigerians are part of it.”