By Francis Nwaubani
According to Basketball legend, Michael Jordan, sports has remained one of the veritable tools for achieving potentials, fame and economic upliftment for youths in modern history.
And in the words of FIFA renowned football historian and analyst, and a former Director of Sports in Abia State, Mr Ejikeme Ikwunze popularly known as “Mr Football,” not everybody’s talent and potentials lie in books and computers,some have theirs in their hands and legs while sports provide the avenue for the fulfillment of such talents and potentials.
Little wonder then that in his drive for economic emancipation, development and empowerment of Abia Youths, the sports loving Governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti has never looked back in the development of sports and sporting infrastructure since he took over the mantle of leadership of God’s own state.
Indelible and fresh in the minds of Sports Loving Abians is the Governor’s recent hosting of Abia Athletes who did the state and country proud at the last Paralympic Games in France, Abia Para-Badminton Athletes to the last Para-Badminton Championship in Uganda, the State Contingent to the last National youth games in Asaba, Delta State among others.
Such novel, motivational and inspirationally driven gesture by a Governor has not been witnessed in Abia in the recent past as Governor Alex Otti showered the elated abia Athletes and officials with cash gifts and even unlocked the employment embargo in the state temporarily to give 15 of the Athletes automatic employment.
Dr Alex Otti further pledged a Coaster Bus to the State Sports Council, an official vehicle to the state Director of Sports, retrofitting of the state sports council headquarters as well as continued fixing and upgrading of infrastructure at the umuahia township stadium complete with running tartan tracks to encourage Abia Athletes in games in the coming year 2025.
Indeed, Abia Athletes have never had it so good as the state’s number one sports-man also assured of fully sponsoring Abia Athletes and officials to the 2025 National Sports festival.
There is no gainsaying the fact that this golden era in sports development has ushered in a flurry of activities in sports activities in Abia as no week passes by now without one sports event or the other with events in Basketball, Volleyball, Scrabble, tennis, Handball, Badminton, Para-games among others coming up at the newly revamped indoor sports hall of the umuahia township stadium as well as the Enyimba stadium Aba.
Individuals and Corporate Bodies are also cueing into the new era in sports in the new Abia through organising and sponsoring Athletic events, Football scouting programmes among others presently.
This is not forgetting the fact that Abia is blessed with four professional football outfits including Enyimba, Abia Warriors, Abia Comets and Abia Angels who are playing their trade in different cadres of the Nation’s football league.
And with their home matches domiciled in Umuahia and Aba, these club sides provide an enormous gateway for Abia in sports economics, entertainment development, employment and empowerment of youths with the state presently termed the “oasis” of sports growth in Nigeria.
Kudos must be given to the Commissioner for Sports and Youths Development, Sir Nwaobilor Ananaba for initiating great moves that have seen Abia excelling since his appointment.
Indeed, the sporting populace has hailed his emergence as putting a square peg in a square hole as he has shown understanding in the dynamics of sports management and has assembled great managers marshaled by the present state Director of Sports, Comrade Obioma George who are all working with him in the football clubs and various Sporting Associations to lift Abia to greater heights in Sports development.
As the new Abia marches on steadily on the part of irreversible progress under the present administration, it is the expectation of multitude of sports loving Abians that a stadium of international repute which is no doubt in the pipeline will emerge to crown Dr Alex Otti’s efforts in sports development to keep Abia ahead of her contemporaries in the committee of sporting states in Nigeria.
Abians indeed have a lot to look forward to in the coming years under the people oriented leadership of Dr Alex Chioma Otti, OFR.
WRITTEN BY
COMR. FRANCIS NWAUBANI
Ag. DIRECTOR GENERAL
BROADCASTING CORPORATION OF ABIA STATE
