Wife of the Nigeria’s Senate President,
Mrs. Toyin Saraki, joined the ranks of President Barack Obama and his
wife, Michelle Obama, at the final music concert of the Obama
administration, “Smithsonian Salutes Ray Charles: In Performance at the
White House,” on the 24th of February.
Mrs Saraki, founder of the leading
maternal and child health NGO , the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, was on a
private visit to the United States of America to mark 2016 Black
History Month.
A longstanding supporter of the creative
arts and music in Nigeria and globally, Saraki was at the concert
alongside performing artistes Usher, Demi Lovato and Grammy Award winner
Brittany Howard,
During the White House tribute to
international music legend, Ray Charles, she underscored the important
contribution of music to culture and development.
Recognised along with Pepsi, American
Airlines, the Kovlar Foundation and other eminent philanthropic
personalities as a key supporter of creative arts at the Tribute
Performance, Mrs. Saraki, accompanied by her son Oluwaseni, expressed
appreciation to the United States of America’s First Couple for the warm
and welcoming reception.
“I am delighted, that during Black
History Month, the superlatively inspirational musical tradition of late
Ray Charles Robinson, is being honoured so singularly, by current
musical greats,” she stated.
US R n B singer, Usher,and gospel
recording artiste, Yolanda Adams, were also among a number of
contemporary artistes that performed the late Ray Charles’ music to an
audience that included eminent guests such as renown civil rights
crusader, the Reverend Al Sharpton; legal luminaries Sam Seymour and his
wife, Karen Patton Seymour; and Directors of the Smithsonian Museum and
Ray Charles Foundation, Kirk Johnson and Valerie Ervin respectively.
Despite hosting over a dozen “In
Performance” events at the White House over the last seven years,
President Obama has described Ray Charles as one of his musical
favourites who continues to influence generations of musicians.
In 2009, the Founder-President of the
Wellbeing Foundation Africa equally participated in Black History Month
in the state of South Carolina, where she was honoured by the South
Carolina State House of Representatives in a House Resolution, for her
humanitarian effort for reproductive health and girl’s education on
February 25, 2009.
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