SPORT federations and academic institutions in Ondo State have been encouraged to take advantage of available facilities in the state to hunt talented people and further groom them to represent the society in sporting events everywhere.
The call was made by the recently re-elected governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, at the launch of the African Swimming Confederation, CANA, Zone II Junior Swimming Championships.
According to Mimiko, who was represented by his deputy, Mr. Ali Olanusi, the Ondo State government accorded sports development priority attention, not just for winning laurels, but to build the athletes’ character and leadership qualities.
“Sports are not just a tool to win laurels, but a top platform for character and leadership development.
“We will continue to upgrade our existing sports facilities to world-class standard and construct new ones for development in Nigeria and the continent in general.
“I therefore call on the Nigeria Swimming Federation (NSF) and other sports federations, corporate organisations and schools to utilise our facilities, especially where we have comparative advantage, to discover talents.
CANA President Sam Ramsamy remarked earlier that he was certain that the championships at Akure would not only identify talents but would also inspire the participants to pursue it as a career.
“This championships will inspire participants to emulate the likes of Cameroon’s Van der Burg, Chad’s Les Clos and Oussama Mellouli, all of whom brought glory to Africa at the London 2012 Olympics,’’ the CANA president said.
Ramsamy, who was represented by Mr. Babatunde Fatayi-Williams, said the confederation would continue to design programs for talent discovery and grooming.
The Republic of Benin, Ghana, Togo, Mali, Senegal and hosts, Nigeria are some of the countries participating in the event, launched on Nov. 7,
The event is ongoing at the Olympic-size swimming pool installed and launched by the Mimiko Administration in the Ondo State capital of Akure, in February 2011, about 33 years after the project was originally initiated.