17th October, 2012
As the 18th National Sports Festival draws closer, Lagos State Commissioner for Sports and Youth Develpoment, Enitan Osodi, says the host state will exhibit the spirit of fairplay throughout the duration of the games.
Speaking early today during an interview programme on Channels Television, Osodi revealed that Lagos State will compete fairly at the games.
“We want to win the games like every other state but we will not do it at all costs. The governor has made it clear to us that we must play fairly and give room for other participating states to express themselves at the games,” said Osodi.
He added: “Lagos State will definitely challenge for the top spot at the games because we have athletes with abundant talents in our team. But what we will not do is to attempt to make the tourney a do-or-die affair in order to be the overall winner.”
Osodi said further that the the priority of the state government at the moment is youth development, adding that the state intends to partner both government and non-governmental organisations to achieve its aim.
“What we intend to do is to use the coming games as a basis for a long-term project. We have formed a partnership with the Ministry of Education and other bodies with the hope of discovering young athletes that will form the nucleus of a national junior team in the nearest future,” hinted Osodi.
Asked what shape the Opening ceremony will take, Osodi said that all hands are on deck to make the ceremony a memorable event.
“I give kudos to Rivers State for what it did at the Garden City Games. But being the Centre of Excellence, we intend to use the Opening Ceremony to showcase the beauty of Lagos to the world.
“There are new innovations and we will do our best to tap into them. We will make sure that we package something that people will be talking about even six years after the games,” said Osodi.
—BIMBO AJAYI