Former Nigerian international footballer, Segun Odegbami, and Nigerian chess master and Guinness World Record holder, Tunde Onakoya, have hailed the facilities on ground for the 22nd National Sports Festival in Ogun State, tasking the government on the maintenance of the facilities.
The duo made their positions known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on Sunday.
They called on the state to ensure it imbibed a maintenance culture in order to protect all the facilities.
Odegbami explained that the sports festival was good for the development of sporting facilities and also to discover young talents.
He noted that the state hosted the event 19 years ago, saying that if the facilities were well maintained, there would not be a need to spend much on construction and renovation.
He commended Governor Dapo Abiodun for the courage to explore the usage of sports for infrastructural development and socio-economic and cultural development.
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He said: “The festival is a good thing.
“It’s not every state that has the capacity to host the festival.
“Ogun hosted in 2006.
“We put in place fantastic facilities.
“And when you look back now, 19 years later, you see what is on the ground.
‘We wouldn’t have spent this amount of money on renovations to effect changes if we had maintained what we had in 2006.
“We have challenges with our maintenance culture.”
Odegbami, recently appointed by Governor Abiodun as Ogun State Sports Ambassador, explained that the festival would live up to expectations.
He said: “Catch them young, and start developing them for the future.
“That’s what the festival is about.
“When the festival was created, it was to discover young athletes and take them to the elite level.
“When I was picked in 1973, I was a polytechnic student, and I was even old at that time.
“I was 20.
“The junior athletes now are going to be the biggest beneficiaries of this festival.”
Onakoya, known for his charitable efforts and record-breaking chess marathons, noted that he looked forward to a great sports festival.
He urged the state government to ensure proper maintenance of the facilities.
He said: “I look forward to the games, particularly the underdogs upsetting the already made athletes.
“The festival is an opportunity to discover true champions.
“I am particular about chess.
“I am here to support Ogun State and hope the state wins.
“That’s my own personal bias.
“I have no doubt there are lots of beautiful chess players in the country.
“I will be watching as an observer, but what I really want to see is that such players are well rewarded, as well as other athletes.
“Chess is a competitive sport and mentally demanding like any other sport.
“I hope the medallists are rewarded excellently.
“Some will say that by playing chess, you burn more calories than playing football.”
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