By Meletus EZE
The Chairperson, Coordinating Committee of Ikorodu Sports Summit, Folashade Olatunji-Oba, on Wednesday said Ikorodu Local Government Council would explore the gains of sports as a means of curbing youth restiveness.
Olatunji-Oba made the disclosure while speaking on the sports development activities of the council in Lagos.
She said the council in realisation of sports as one of the means to actively engage the youth would make it one of its priorities.
TBI Africa reports that Ikorodu Local Government (LGA) will be organising a sport summit on Thursday, July 12, which will involve all the stakeholders in the council’s area.
The summit, according to the organisers, will aim at making Ikorodu division the sports hub of Lagos State in particular and Nigeria in general. It will take place at the LGA Secretariat in Ikorodu.
The mission is to encourage the people in the division to develop and also maintain their love for sports both for competitive and recreational purposes.
On the gains of the summit, Olatunji-Oba said it would help in correcting the negativity formerly pronounced in the LGA, a course which had been tested through the Lagos State initiated Viewing Centres.
“We want to build a community of choice in Ikorodu, we want it to become the place of choice for families to raise their children and to flourish, removing all negativity.
“All the negativity we have had in the past is what we want to address through sports which we think is one of the things yet to be harnessed for us in Ikorodu.
“It is true we have a club called Ikorodu United, but they don’t play here, so what we want is to have a football academy because we have a lot of gifted youths around here.
“It will go a long way in sustaining peace and harmony in Ikorodu. In the past days we have had thousands of youths watching the World Cup at the Lagos State Provided public viewing centres,’’ she said.
Olatunji-Oba said that the viewing centres provided by the government were an eye opener to the peace and tranquillity sports could provide in the community.
“The World Cup matches veiwng centres were an eye opener because our youths always bombard the place in thousands.
“Sometimes, we do have three to five thousand viewers in attendance at the centre and that tells us that there is need to sustain this, because when they get home, they are expecting another game the next day.
“Ikorodu division has a lot of dynamic youths that can explore their talents in sports, this is an asset to us, so beyond this, we will like the state government to give us a stadium.
“Though the state government had promised us one in Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) which will include an Olympic size swimming pool and others, we want it fast tracked,’’ she said.
Olatunji-Oba said the sports summit was a peoples’ oriented project which would be centred on the safety of lives and properties.
“The summit is the peoples’ oriented project which will not only priotise lives and properties but add values to the society. It is going to be a dividend of democracy because during the campaign, we made promises and we want to let our people know that the mandate given to us will be delivered.
“As this is coming, we also want to thank our amiable Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode for all his efforts and the provision of the viewing centres, but like Oliver Twist, we want more,’’ she said.
