September 27, (THEWILL) – In a bid to educate and sensitise students on the benefits and importance of sports, the Bayelsa State Government, through the Ministry of Sports Development, in conjunction with the Bayelsa State Sports Council, has taken its first mission to the Ijaw National Academy, Kaiama.
The Sports Ministry initiated a project called ‘The pilot Bayelsa Future Aces Project’ (BFAP), which was borne out of the A.S.S.U.R.E.D agenda of the Prosperity Government.
Speaking during the sensitisation campaign, the State Commissioner for Sports Development, Dr. Daniel Igali, said the initiative is a part of the revolution to breed young talents, beginning with school sports.
Igali maintained the importance of school sports as the best place to catch and nurture young talents, stressing that the right attitude to the game is beyond winning at that age.
“We realised the importance the government of Bayelsa State has placed on sports development. When you look at the new manifesto of the ASSURED programme, Senator Douye Diri placed sports as number two, which puts responsibility on us to ensure we drive the message to the grassroots and there is no better place to start than at the Ijaw National Academy, Kaiama.
“As you know, there is a very good marriage between sports and education, and in this dispensation, young athletes need to understand how to win and lose at a very young age because we’ve seen how athletes get destroyed between the ages of 15, 18 and 20 before they start encountering winning and losing.
“These are the messages we want to preach. Sports teaches consistency, leadership skills, and perseverance and that is why we’ve come up with the ‘Bayelsa Future Aces Project’. We are going to go to the nooks and crannies in Bayelsa. We will go to every primary and secondary school in Bayelsa above 100 population,” Igali stated.
Earlier, the Director of Sports, Bayelsa State Sports Council, Sir Braveman Wodi, while thanking the State Government for placing a premium on sports, hinted that the Sports Council will monitor young students who have indicated interest in sports.
“This project is aimed at discovering and developing our local sporting talents who will become ambassadors for now and the future.
“We collated data to follow them up on the various sports they’ve indicated interest in, and as you know, that’s the job of the Sports Council to promote grassroots sports development. So, our coaches and secretaries will come to give the students basic training subsequently,” Wodi added.
The highlight of the campaign was the demonstrations of different sports to entice the students into the sporting industry.
The Permanent Secretary, Bayelsa State Ministry of Sports, Mrs. Grace Alagoa: the ministry’s DFA, Mrs. Funke Aya; Assistant Director, Human Resource, Micheal Alakere; Executive Director, Sports Academy, Asoama, Ophibikoro Freeborn; Chairman, Bayelsa State Table Tennis Association, Ama-Ebi Stow; Olympic silver medalist, Blessing Oborodudu; coaches and secretaries were also part of the sensitisation entourage.
Amos Esele is the Acting Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.
