We learnt that some of the Athletes who won medals at the recent World Athletics Championship in Oregon and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham used the facilities at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium to prepare for the game. How true is this?
When we started as a commission, we sat down as a board and discovered that we have the facilities and personnel which are of world-class, so we began to talk of how we can make Edo State a sports destination in line with the MEGA Agenda of the state government.
If you look at all the stadia across the country, their sporting facilities are not up to standard compared to what we have here. Even when you compete in some of these stadia, their records are not accepted by the world athletics body because their facilities are sub-standard.
Our stadium has proven to be world-class with certified tracks, that is why all the records set at the last Edo State Sports Festival were accepted by the world Athletics body and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN).
Again, because our tracks are internationally certified, that was why AFN brought the trial events here in preparation for the World Championship and the Commonwealth Games.
Athletes like Tobi Amusuan who trained here went to the World Championship in Oregon where she broke the world record and won gold with a record of 12.12 seconds. In the hurdles, she ran another 12.06 seconds at the final which was weighed and that could have amounted to two world records in one day.
As we speak now, she holds a world record that is normally achieved by the Americans.
We are so proud that such a feat was achieved from a trial that was done in the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City. Edo State is no longer a small state but a big state where you have world records set regularly. We should be proud of that feat and try to sustain it down the line.
Looking back, what is the status of facilities in Afuze where Nigerian athletes in various Olympic and other international competitions trained and camped in the state in the 70s? Are we going to reproduce the Afuze ‘miracles’ in the new dispensation?
We have gone past that and the things we have done in the newly established Edo State Sports Commission in the last one year of its existence speak volume. Now, Delta State is on top of both the field and track events in terms of harvest of medals in all sporting activities in the country. We are not trying to play catch-up but to surpass what Delta is doing in the next couple of years. We have the athletes, the best stadium, swimming pool and gymnasium that had a dove and that is why we were able to host the best National Sports Festival in the history of the festival.
In fact, during our inauguration, the focus of Governor Godwin Obaseki was how to empower between five to ten thousand youths in the society through sports and that is our target.
What effort are you making to bring back some of the memorable periods of the Ogbe Hard Court to life?
Governor Obaseki is taking all sports seriously because during our inauguration, he made it clear that his administration intends to engage over 5,000 youths and in the last four to five months, we have surpassed what previous administrations did in the last 5-10 years and we intend to key into that focus of the governor to employ about five to ten thousand youths from the labour market to sports.
In no distant time, Nigerians will see the best of tennis in Ogbe Hard Court and other competitive sporting activities in Edo State.
Delta 2022, I hope Edo State is not playing second fiddle this time around?
We are doing everything possible to win the festival mostly now that we have all the facilities on ground to prepare our Athletes for the festival. By the grace of God, our target is to become the next champions in the Delta encounter. At the same time, we are working towards returning sports in Edo State back to its enviable number one position as it used to be in time past.
Is there a plan to bring back the principal cup to schools in the state?
What we are doing right now is taking sports back to secondary schools so that we can catch them young and the governor loves it. By the time that is achieved fully, it will be the starting point where our sports development will be anchored.
In the 70s and 80s you mentioned before, sports was developed from the grassroots and by the time we go on with such a programme, in the next five to ten years, we will start reaping the benefits of our long-term sports development plan in the state. That will also take a lot of kids out of the streets and they will begin to believe that sports is a big business.
What is your take on the promotion of Bendel Insurance Football Club from NNL to NPFL?
Bendel Insurance Football Club was at the lower division, NNL when we came. Now, it has been promoted to the elite league in Nigeria which is the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) and that also is good for the state because the team is a household name in Nigeria. We are not only going to stay in that premiership but we are going to win trophies and go continental to show that we are ready for business and with our plans, we are going to do that.
What efforts are you putting in place to sustain the gains so far recorded in the state under the current administration?
I can boldly tell you that before now, it’s not everybody in the state that knew where Okpekpe was. But right now, people can tell you the location, the local government area it is situated and the Athletes in the world competing yearly in the race. That has been made possible by the present administration that has succeeded in putting it on the world map.
Okpekpe is getting bigger; the prize money is fast becoming one of the best in the world when it comes to the 10km road race. It’s not only the prize money, this time, tourists are beginning to take advantage of the annual-meet to advance their holiday period and they are getting their money. Past governors of the state have taken part at one time or the other.
It’s also a booster for the government of a state to take part in an event, and of course, they have been doing that. The deputy governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu has finished the race twice. Governor Obaseki has been there and finished the race twice. (Once as an economic adviser to the previous administration and later as governor of the state). On that note, we are going to do everything possible to sustain it, get it bigger and better
