By: Sunny Canto
"Talent is universal but opportunity is rare" no iota of doubt, the leading Tech giant company in the continent and country; MTN has set the pace in talents discovering in Nigeria; also have collaborated effort in partnership with Making of Champions in order to foster the dreams of athletes.
Speaking to Journalists, Mrs Emamoke Ogoro, General Manager, Brand and Communication, MTN Nigeria PLC, has said the MTN Champs has exposed many Nigerian kids to national and international tournaments, helping them to balance their natural talents in athletics with their educational careers.
Ogoro revealed this on Friday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, during the grand finale of the week-long MTN Champs Season 4, which took place at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, as well as, the University of Ibadan Sports Complex. Earlier seasons had taken place in Cross River-Calabar and Plateau State-Jos.
The colorful closing ceremony had in attendance many stakeholders from across the country including the Oyo State Sports Commissioner, Wasilat Adegoke, who represented Governor Seyi Makinde; Mr Bambo Akani, founder and CEO of Making of Champions (MoC); David Bot Damboyi, State Coordinator, Sports, Ministry of Education, Plateau State; HRM Oba Jacob Dario Olutayo; Tunde Ajibike (Acting GM Oyo State Sports Council), Amb. Enoch Adegoke, Oluchi Ubazue (Marketing and Communications Manager at Beacon Power Services, (BPS), and many others.
The GM said, “MTN Champs is now the hope of athletics in Nigeria, where the international scouts look at their championship and they now scout for international athletes in Nigeria. It has improved many of our kids who were discovered from different states across the federation, and taken to the Academy. Many of them are now in their personal best.
“They have been exposed to local and international tournaments. It is now a big home of athletics in the whole of Nigeria where international championships are looking for champions and they scout for future athletes from Nigeria.
“Instant case is where other countries are coming and begin to participate in MTN Champs, like the last time when we had Ethiopia. This time around, we have Ghana and it shows hope. Two of our athletes have qualified to participate in the World Relay Race in Botswana coming up in May. I think this is a great improvement, and from where we are coming from”.
Speaking on structures put in place to ensure a smooth transition from the school level competition to the national level, she said, “We have been partnering with the NSSF, that is the Athletic Federation of Nigeria. We have been sensitising schools ourselves and also driving serious advertising to sensitise parents. I see a lot of parents with their wards here, following up on their schools. It is a gradual progression from the point of not being aware to the point of what benefits it gives; opportunities it gives to children and opportunities it will provide for the Nigerian child; making them to lead their dreams. We are the ones providing the particular balance of coping with their dreams and their education. From the grassroots, they get internationally exposed as we carry all the parastatals along also”.
Ogoro used the occasion to give reasons why the competition has not been extended to long distance races like marathons, saying, “In athletics, when you go into the world championships, you realise that sprint is the focus. Marathon is not really in our nature. When you talk about Kenya and Ethiopia, these are the people who are really into marathons. If we are to look into Nigeria again, people from Jos, because of the topography, we have some long-distance goal races there. The best we have been able to do is 800, 1,500. But for now, our focus is on the sprint. By the time we get the sprint and other sports popular, we can start widening the other parts of athletics so that we can expose Nigerians”, she stressed.
Many of the athletes went home with several medals, eyeing higher competitions and international exposures like Mary Onyali-Omagbemi (a Nigerian former sprinter and 5-time Olympian),Chioma Ajunwa-Opara, Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke, among others, have had.
