For the government and people of Ogun State, the ongoing 22nd National Sports Festival, ‘Gateway Games’, is not just to celebrate athletic excellence, but unity, passion, people, and the enduring Nigerian spirit. To them, the Games are also about champions’ dreams, discipline, and patriotism.
For the first time in the festival’s history, athletes and officials from all participating states came in close contact with some movers and shakers in the nation’s political landscape, including present and past leaders.
At the Games’ opening ceremony on Sunday, the roll call of top dignitaries, particularly those of Ogun State indigenes, was endless. For the first time since he left office in 2007, former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo showed up at a major sporting event. His presence during the opening ceremony at the MKO Abiola Stadium added a lot of glamour to the event.
Nineteen years ago, Ogun State hosted its first National Sports Festival. That edition tagged ‘Gateway 2006’ was staged under Obasanjo’s administration, with Otunba Gbenga Daniel as the State Governor.
This time around, Governor Dapo Abiodun wanted an elaborate opening ceremony and decided to move all those that matter in Ogun State to the MKO Abiola Sports Arena to celebrate a ‘modern day’ National Sports Festival with Nigerian youths.
Declared open by President Bola Tinubu, who was represented by his deputy, Vice President Kashim Shettima, the opening ceremony afforded the youths the chance to come face to face with the iconic Nigerian playwright, poet, novelist and the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in far back 1986, Prof. Wole Soyinka.
Like Obasanjo, the entrance of Prof. Soyinka into the Sports arena drew loud applause from the young athletes and their officials who were waiting to perform the ceremonial march past.
Also at the venue was the ever-smiling Otunba Gbenga Daniel, now a Senator representing Ogun East constituency. He served as Governor of Ogun State between 2003 and 2011, and he laid the sports foundation for others to build on. Former Governor Chief Olusegun Osoba, a veteran journalist, was also at the arena.
It was not about Ogun indigenes alone. Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, his counterparts from Kogi, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, as well as Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State, Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo of Anambra State, Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, and the Deputy Governor of Delta State, Sir Monday Onyeme, were on the ground to celebrate with the athletes.
Top traditional rulers, including the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, graced the opening ceremony. World-class performances from two of the world’s music icons, Davido and Asa, thrilled the athletes and all spectators at the stadium.
No doubt, Ogun is one of the leading states that has provided top athletes for the nation. From world-renowned footballers like Chief Segun Odegbami, to medal-winning Olympians like Chief Falilat Ogunkoya, to heavyweight champions in boxing and Mixed Martial Arts, including Anthony Joshua and Israel Adesanya, to reigning stars on the track like Tobiloba Amusan, Ogun has nurtured a lineage of excellence that has made Nigerians proud.
As the spectacular opening ceremony was going on Sunday, the Chairman of the Main Organising Committee (MOC), Hon. Bukola Olopade, who is also the Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), looked around the MKO Abiola Sports Arena, nodded his head, and with nostalgic feelings said:
“This is a groundbreaking event that will set new standards in the history of the games.”
Olopade was the Sports Commissioner under Gbenga Daniel’s administration when Ogun hosted the Gateway Games in 2006.
Speaking at the ceremony on Sunday, he highlighted core values such as love, focus, discipline, and unity as the essence of the National Sports Festival,
just as he emphasised that this year’s festival will not only be a celebration of sports but also a testament to integrity.
“Let medals be won with honour, not by crooked means,” Olopade said, stressing the importance of fair play and true sportsmanship.
Olopade praised the unwavering support and backing of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his personal interest in Nigerian sports, which has led to the current transformation going on in Nigerian sports.
“We are where we are today, revamping, reshaping, and resetting our sports ecosystem because of the vision of Mr. President, the father of the country. He is the reason why the National Sports Festival is now wearing a new look of world-class standard, and we will continue to thank him.”
He also commended Governor Dapo Abiodun for his tremendous support in mobilising resources and empowering all stakeholders, describing the games as ‘a festival of modern times’, ready to place Ogun on the national and international sports map.
“I thank our Governor for providing world-class infrastructure for Nigerian athletes to showcase their talent. I must also salute the Chairman of the NSC, Mallam Shehu Dikko, for his unwavering dedication to the success of the festival. Mallam Dikko has shown immense commitment and love for this project.
That spirit must be cascaded down to every athlete and official,” Olopade said.
