12th October, 2012
Athletes under the Adopt-A-Talent Sports Programme of the Lagos State government have continued to reap the dividends of the talent discovery initiative of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola.
One of the athletes, whose ambition to combine education with his sports talent became reality is Taiwo Abiodun, a young pugilist in the 49kg light flyweight, who got admission to read Political Science at the Lagos State University, LASU this week. Taiwo, a boxer under the tutelage of Coach Joe Mensah in the Adopt-A-Talent Programme is one of the prospective athletes who will be adopted by the Management of the programme headed by Prince Wale Oladunjoye, the Senior Special Assistant on Grassroots Sports Development to Governor Raji Fashola.
Taiwo told Boxing in Focus that the admission to LASU was made possible by God and the assistant of Adopt-A-Talent.
According to Taiwo who passed out from Blessing Model College, Sango, Otta, “I’m so happy that my dream of being a sportsman and acquire education in life is gradually coming to a reality. God and the assistant from the Adopt-A-Talent made this admission in LASU posssible for me. The management of the programme made it compulsory for all athletes to be ready to combine sports with education in order to make a perfect athlete in the future. That was why I got a good recommendation to LASU which eventually saw me through with the admission.”
Taiwo promised not to disappoint the management of Adopt-A-Talent and he vowed to use his talent to add glory to LASU in sports.
Coach Mensah said Taiwo’s name has entered the book of history of Nigerian boxing as the first student boxer that will gain a direct admission to a Nigerian university as an undergraduate.
“We had student boxers in the past who were in the university but they entered through Diploma level to read Physical Education, but in Taiwo’s case, he was admitted to read a different course; Political Science in LASU. We discovered him in Adopt-A-Talent and he got the needed assistance to secure the admission,” he said.