The Kwara State Government, North Central Nigeria, says it has committed a huge investment to sports facilities over the last six years, including over ₦2 billion to renovate Pa Gabriel Ladipo indoor sports hall alone.
The Executive Chairman of the State Sports Commission, Coach Bola Magaji, said this during a media tour by the Correspondents Chapel of Kwara NUJ of facilities at the George Innih Stadium, Ilorin.
”This indoor sports hall alone has gulped over N2bn. The government has also invested in the football field, tennis court, squash court, etc. Not many sectors have enjoyed much support like sports from the state governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, in the last six years.”
”If he’s not leaving any legacy but for what he has done here, it’s a legacy that anybody who wants to beat it will have to work hard. Just like his predecessor, Major George Innih. They were the ones who built this place. I don’t think there can be any government in Nigeria that can put this type of edifice again because of the cost.
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”Governor AbdulRazaq has done a lot for us here. Right from the road, the field, the buildings and the paintings. He not only does that, but a lot of our athletes have been sponsored to travel outside this country. There was a six-year-old boy from Offa who had done wonderfully well. You can imagine a six-year-old boy went to play Scrabble in Nigeria, and he won among 180 other athletes. That’s not going to be possible if not what the governor has done.
”We have among us as well those who have gone to represent Nigeria in Cairo in squash. We have among us those who have represented Nigeria in the Olympics and won Olympic medals. It has not been so very easy before. That is the first medal in badminton in the whole of Africa coming from this state,” the chairman explained.
Magaji noted that the state stadium stands out nationally and surpasses other stadiums in Lagos and Abuja in scope and functionality.
”The entire sports complex now supports at least 32 different sports, all housed within a single facility except golf. No stadium in Nigeria has all these in a single location.
”I’ve been doing sports representing Kwara State as far back as 1965. There’s no stadium I have not been to. You can’t compare it to Lagos Stadium. You can’t compare it to the Adamasingba Stadium in Ibadan or the National Stadium in Abuja.
”Abuja has package A and package B. The packages A and B do not even have what we have here. Our own is concentrated on a spot. You can do all the sports here apart from golf, which you have to go out for,” he said.
Magaji noted that the government is extending investments beyond the city-centre with ongoing reconstruction of Offa and Lafiagi stadia in the southern and northern senatorial districts in order to create a more inclusive sports ecosystem.
On the impact of the government’s investment in the sports sector, Magaji insisted that the investments have translated into dramatic improvements in national competition rankings and performance of the state athletes, saying the state has moved from 23rd to 5th place in the National Sports Festival standings over recent years, marking an unprecedented rise.
”The Governor has given us all the necessary encouragement, financially, morally, and that’s why we are doing this. So once again, I thank His Excellency for considering this. Some of our athletes who have left the state before are now eager to return to Kwara because the governor has changed the face of sports in the state.
The Governor’s policy to reward athletes with ₦1 million for gold, ₦500,000 for silver, and ₦300,000 for bronze medals has motivated better performance. Coaches and team officials also received bonuses, and brand-new cars were gifted to top athletes, including those with disabilities. These incentives have encouraged athletes who previously left the state to return,” Magaji added.
At Kwara Football Academy, Coach Magaji praised AbdulRazaq for the renovation of the academy’s hostel, dining and clinic to meet the needs of the students.