BY JOSEPH ODOEKWU
Lamech Danladi of Diocesan High School, Bulari, who set a personal record in the U20 Boys 3000m race in athletics and Abdullahi Bello Aliyu of the Government Day Secondary School, Shehu Abubakar, who emerged as the Most Valuable Player in the football event of the Principal Cup in the just concluded sporting event are just two of the few talents seeking to be nurtured but need a platform for them to excel until Alhaji Shehu Gara-Gombe put the platform in place.
The event which is the first of it’s kind in the Northeast region, has set the tone for secondary school students to showcase their talent going by the fact that reports in the last 10 years coming from that region has given more attention to youth involving in violence rather than seeing sport as a panacea for youth restiveness.
According to a World Bank report on Conflicts and Violence in Nigeria, published in 2018 and with reference from the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria. The study which covered the period of 2010-2017, rated the Northeast region highest on terrorism with 73% rate which is the highest in the country. The report further ascribed 15% to cultism and 7% on land and resource access in that region.
The restiveness in that area has made it practically difficult for youths to excel in the area of sport in the country to discover and develop their talents in sports and there has never been any platform created where youth could excel in the area of sport in that region.
However, the just concluded Gara-Gombe Inter Secondary School tourney has re-written history for the Northeast region. It is the first ever athletics and football event to be organized for secondary school students in that area, giving an opportunity for youth such as Lamech Danladi and Abdullahi Bello Aliyu to come to the limelight in the one week tourney.
The sole sponsor and organizer of the school-based event Hon. Gara Gombe ensured that the event meets global standard and the event got endorsement from the Gombe State government with the 12000-capacity Pantami stadium released to serve as host venue.
Further reports from the media confirmed that some of the students were thrilled when they entered the Pantami stadium. It was the first time some of them would enter a stadium in their life-time and they could not hold back their joys to express their feelings on what it looked like to be inside one as the event afforded them an opportunity to see what it feels like.
Again, another report from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the Red Cross Society of Nigeria rated the event high, this rating has further added credence to the fact that the organizer has followed laid down procedures in putting up the event for students of secondary schools in that region to participate in.
Interestingly, Gara-Gombe, the sponsor, who also doubles as the Gombe Athletics Association Chairman was able to gather 73 secondary schools in the state to participate in the event, with 24 schools eventually making it to the medals table and thereby giving room for improvement when the next edition comes up again.
The National Sports Commission (NSC) under the leadership of Alhaji Shehu Dikko and his team who have really pledged towards promoting grassroots sports at the secondary school level will really have to give adequate attention to this event and see how raw talents can be developed in that region.
