National Sports Festival Ogun 2024: A postponement that was inevitable
National Sports Festival Ogun 2024
Published By: Isa Isawade
By Isa Isawade
When the Ogun State government first indicated interest in hosting the 2024 National Sports Festival in April 2021, residents, especially sports enthusiasts in the state and other southwest states in Nigeria, became excited.
Governor Dapo Abiodun received the then Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Sunday Dare, who paid him a courtesy call in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, Ogun State and told his guest of the state’s intention and readiness to host the national event.
“We will like to host the National Sports Festival in Ogun State and I believe that you cannot find a better state than us, particularly as the Gateway State.
“I was just sharing with you that we are quite disappointed that having hosted the sports festival in Edo, when the next state was announced, it now became Delta. We know that when the idea of the festival was first conceived, the whole idea of it was to foster unity amongst all the states in the country, particularly encourage our youths to travel and explore other states, enjoy their hospitality, understand their culture, heritage and compete with each other.
“So, when the festival goes to Edo State today and then tomorrow goes to Delta, it clearly contradicts the vision for its formation. I want to implore that going forward, we will like to host the sports festival in Ogun State, I believe that you can’t find a better State than us,” Abiodun said.
Sunday Dare with Dapo Abiodun in Ogun state government house during the meeting
After securing the federal government’s approval for Ogun to host the biennial sports fiesta, the state government, in May 2023, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Sports and Youth Development for the hosting.
At the occasion, Governor Abiodun told the Federal Government delegation led by Sports Minister Sunday Dare that Ogun, “being a state noted for recording many firsts in all spheres of human endeavour, was ready to host a world-class festival in 2024”. He added that the state had capable hands and sponsors ready to support the bid.
To this effect, in July 2023 the governor unveiled a 16-man Local Organising Committee (LOC) to be headed by a former Commissioner for Youths and Sports in the state who is now the Director General, National Sports Commission, Bukola Olapade as the chairman and Tilewa Adebayo, a sports enthusiast, as co-chairman to kick start preparation for the festival.
Ogun Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun and members of the 16-man Local Organising Committee for the National Sports Festival (NSF) Ogun 2024 during the Committee’s inauguration
The LOC was mandated to set up subcommittees of various stakeholders “to ensure a hitch-free exercise as well as deliver a sports festival that is second to none.”
By Oct. 2024, there was information that massive renovation and reconstruction were still ongoing at the two stadia where the event will take place- the M.K.O Abiola International Stadium and the Alake Sports Center at Ijeja, both in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The event which was supposed to take place in 2024 had been rescheduled to take place between January 12 and 26, 2025.
Seeing that the event was just about two and a half months away, PMNEWS on 30 October 2024 dispatched a team comprising this writer, Photo journalist Idowu Otegbola and our Ogun State correspondent, Adejoke Adeleye to meet with the Commissioner for Sports Development, Wasiu Isiaka to find out how prepared the state was to host the fast approaching event.
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The first disappointment I got while on our way to Abeokuta was the terrible state of the Lagos-Abeokuta Road. From Agbado-Ijaiye all through Toll-gate to Abeokuta was like a journey to hell. I wondered why the very important road was so neglected. Though we heard it had been awarded for rehabilitation, nothing was going on. The worst portion was around Ewekoro. The portion could be better described as a death trap with trucks stuck on both sides of the road. One could imagine the pain people who will throng the festival from other states will experience if only the Sagamu road is passable.
While waiting for the commissioner to arrive in his office located inside the M.K.O Abiola International Stadium, we decided to move around to assess the extent of the renovation works going on. Even as a layman in building construction, after touring the length and breadth of the stadium, I was shocked to discover that renovation of the facility, dubbed to be nearing completion, was far from being in such a stage.
Ogun State Commissioner for Sports Development, Wasiu Isiaka during the interview with PMNEWS in his office in Abeokuta on 30 Oct. (Photo: Idowu Otegbola)
The information we got was that the situation at the Alake Sports Centre was also not different. I then turned to our correspondent, Adejoke and asked “What is this? Is this the stage you people are in, where practically nothing is on the ground yet? I just concluded that “I foresee a postponement if the state would host the event at all.”
Therefore, when the commissioner arrived and the interview commenced, the first question I asked him was: “Are you fully ready to host this event?”
Here was his answer: “Thank you very much. Let me once again welcome you to my office. Well, the 22nd National Sports Festival tagged ‘2024 Gateway Games’ will be coming up in January. Of course, we are fully ready and the main organizing committee was here some months ago and they attested to the fact that we are indeed very ready. Let me just sum it up that we are leaving no stone unturned in terms of accommodation facilities, logistics and everything. We are very much ready.”
I asked again: “Before your arrival, while waiting for you we went sightseeing around the stadium here and discovered that a lot still needs to be done in respect of the ongoing renovation and reconstruction. Are you sure the contractors will meet the deadline as you know the event days are not too far away?”
Here is the commissioner’s response: “Everything will be ready, everything. Some are in place already, like the scoreboard, all those ones are like ninety per cent completion. Some are eighty per cent, you know. Most of those things, once they finish the casting, most of the things they want to put in them are on ground. So, it’s a matter of just a few more things to be done. We are confident that we are going to do it all.”
State of renovation work at the M.K.O Abiola International Stadium when PMNEWS team got there on 30 Oct. 2024
At the end of the interview, we asked him to lead us to Ijeja to inspect the other facility, he pleaded that he was already tired and promised to send pictures to us.
After leaving his office, I asked Joke whether she believed the assurance given by the commissioner as to meeting the deadline. She laughed and said well, maybe they had gotten the assurance from their contractors. I told her that with what I saw, I could not draw such optimism. I said “You better be expecting a second postponement announcement.”
The state of reconstruction work at the stadium when PMNEWS visited
Therefore, I wasn’t surprised when on 19 December, the Joint Technical Committee for the festival met in Abeokuta and announced a second postponement, shifting the main event to May 16-30, 2025. It was crystal clear that such an announcement was inevitable.
The meeting which took place at Mitros residence and suites GRA Abeokuta, Ogun State was chaired by the LOC Chairman Bukola Olapade. It was attended by other key stakeholders including the commissioner, Wasiu Isiaka.
State of the stadium on 30 Oct. 2024
According to the committee, the postponement followed a technical assessment of proposed venues and facilities, among other reasons, adding that it was aimed to allow adequate time for Ogun State to address the observations and recommendations outlined in the Joint Technical Meeting report.
It is, therefore, hoped that the Ogun State Ministry of Sports Development will seize the golden opportunity of this latest time extension to get its act together so as not to dash the hope of sports enthusiasts who are eagerly awaiting the festival. The ministry should ensure the fulfilment of Governor Abiodun’s pledge that “it’s going to be a festival that people will live to remember.”
