[size=14pt]National Sports Festival: Fela's memories come alive as Eko 2012 begins[/size]
•Oyo dreams gold •Lagos, Osun win first matches

Written by Ganiyu Salman, and Tobi Folorunso

Tuesday, 27 November 2012



THE memories of the late Afrobeat music legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, will come alive today as the 18th National Sports Festival, Eko 2012 kicks off officially today at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos from 3.00 p.m.

Artistic Director in charge of the opening and closing ceremonies for Eko 2012, Peter Badejo, while speaking in Lagos said that Eko 2012 would add a chapter to the history of the National Sports Festival in terms of creativity.

Badejo stated that spectators would be treated to fireworks, Eyo masquerade, contemporary dancers, royal dancers, calisthenic displays, just as he said that he had conducted research into the history of Lagos to build a concept for the Eko 2012 Games.

He said that the event would be a big cast of 4,000 people in different capacities as it also accommodated the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti music, entitled 'Water no get enemy' adding that about 200 of the Afrobeat legend dancers were used in the production as well as his band.

"Well, it is a big cast, we have almost 4,000 people in different capacities. We have calisthenic display by 1,000 pupils, We have the Eyo masquerade as I said, we have the Eyo dancers, the royal dancers and the royal female drummers, who initiate Eyo from its beginning. Then we have the contemporary dancers who will come with their expressions in things like the anthem, theme music and the National Anthem.

"Eko 2012 would be different from what had been witnessed in the past. Lagos is very rich in terms of its culture and formative experience. The content of displays at the previous sports festivals was always the same but we are going to come out with something unique," he said.

Meanwhile, Secretary General of the Main Organising Committee (MOC) for Eko 2012, Abba Yola, 11,549 participants and 350 journalists have been accredited for the Games where 25 events are to be competed for.

Meanwhile, AS the football event of the 18th National Sports Festival got under way on Monday, Oyo State team has set its eyes on the gold medal.

The team will open its group matches tomorrow, when it faces Delta State in a Group A match that also has teams from Lagos, Adamawa, Plateau and Katsina.

A member of the team Yomi Akinshade, speaking with Tribunesport maintained that the team is determined to win gold "we've been training hard ahead of the tournament, so we are not bargaining for anything than to win gold," he said.

However, Lagos showed its determination  to go far in the games by recording a resounding victory over  Kaduna in the female category. Lagos defeated Kaduna 6-0 in the female catogory and also defeated Katsina 2-0 in the male  event.

Osun defeated Benue 2-1 in the female football event, while Imo lost 1-2 to Edo and Ogun walked over Adamawa in the female category.

Action resumes tomorrow at various venues for the football event at the games.

[size=14pt]The History[/size]

The National Sports Festival was conceived as a socio-psychological initiative to rebuild the psyche of the Nigerian Nation which was traumatized by civil war in the late 1960s.

Prior to the civil war, since the days of the Empire Day Celebrations in Niger, there existed a sports competition by way of selected athletics and other games organized as one-sport or sartorial competitions between schools and/or organizations. Principal among these were the Grier cup, Manuwa I. Adebayo Cups, Principal Cup, All Nigerian Open Athlete Champions LAWNA Games, etc. However, at the end of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970, a conscious effort was then made to grow the existing competition in scope and scale, to have an all-inclusive National Multi-Sports competition by way of a festival.

To arrest the drift towards inter-tribal morass occasioned by the 1967-70 Civil War and most essentially, to checkmate the declining standards of Nigerian sports, the Federal Government introduced a biennial multi-sports competition, now commonly referred to as the National Sports Festival, involving all the then 12 States of the Federation. Perhaps, it could be arguably insinuated that the Sports Festival was one of the by-products of the 3Rs of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, enunciated as a way of reuniting the country, and emphasized amongst youths. The founding fathers had the twin objectives of:

With these objectives in mind, the body saddled with the responsibility of actualizing this national policy under Dr. Jerry Enyeazu (who was then the National Director of Sports) got working and came up with the framework of organizing the first National Sports Festival. Case studies of similar programmes in some countries like East Germany and others were undertaken with a view to adapting relevant modalities to the Nigerian situation for nation-wide acceptance. Indeed, the festival is said to have been modeled after the German “Spatakiad Games” where youths gathered every 2 years to compete against themselves.

The Sports Festival actually started in 1973 and has been running till date. Except in 1983, 1987, 1993 and 1995, the festival has been religiously held biennially as a multi-sports festival. The National Sports Festival has become a veritable instrument for National Unity, cohesion, peace, mutual understanding, friendship, cross-cultural affiliation as well as other positive values.

So far, 17 editions of the National Sports Festival have come and gone, the last one hosted by Rivers State, and each contributing to the promotion of the spirit of the Games toward National Development.

The 18th National Sports Festival tagged Eko 2012” is billed for November, 2012 in Lagos State. This is a great opportunity for lovers of sports, and indeed, all Nigerians, to experience Lagos State with her rich culture and numerous developments. It also presents another great opportunity to build national bonds with people from other states across Nigeria, in the biggest sporting competition in the country. For those who will be attending the sports festival, you are most welcome to Lagos!

Khayordhe: Who go kum win dis year edition naw?

luvinhubby:

I wan smell your mouth to know whether na igbo abi na shekpe you shack.

toprealman: I still don't understand the essence of the sport festival when it is yet to produce any talent that can win on the international scene.

toprealman: I still don't understand the essence of the sport festival when it is yet to produce any talent that can win on the international scene.

naptu2: In the old days the festival used to unearth great talents for the country (footballers of the '80s, sprint kings and queens of the '90s, etc), but it lost its steam when some states adopted the win at all costs mentality (particularly some host states).

1) Elite athletes (professionals, foreign based athletes, etc) are not supposed to compete in the festival, but some states lobby to make sure that their elite athletes compete.

2) Poaching/mercenaries. Some states do not bother to discover and develop athletes. They wait until it is a year or some months to the game and poach athletes from states like Lagos State (they offer the athletes money in order to get them to switch states).

[size=14pt]Eko 2012: Egbunike, Onyali partner Team Anambra[/size]

September 15, 2012 | 12:10 am

Anambra state com-missioner for youth and sports, Dr. Edozie Okay Aroh, has revealed that the duo of Innocent Egbunike and Mary Onyali and other sports professionals in the state will partner Team Anambra at the Eko 2012 National Sports Festival slated for November this year.

The renowned banker turned sports admini-strator stated this while inaugurating a 13-man Main Organizing Committee (MOC) at the Government House Awka the Anambra state capital. He maintained that the sports ministry was fully ready to rewrite Anambra state sports history at the festival and other subsequent sports events in the country.

His words: “We have discovered in recent times that Anambra state have had dwindling and series of poor perform-ances in major sporting competi-tions in the country and we are not happy with it.

Khayordhe: Who go kum win dis year edition naw?

ada9ja: Lagos, Rivers will lead the table

afam4eva:

You're right...

I don't think elite athletes should be part of the festival. Infact there should be an age range of maybe 16 to 25.

The NSF has to make clear the athletes that should represent a particular state. Because a state like Lagos can boast of athletes from all over the country. Should it bee based on state of origin or state of residence or adopted state? It has to be made clear.

rman:

Strictly by state of residence. You have to be living in the state for a specified period of time.

No one truly follows up on this rule so you will see athletes competing for states they know nothing about. All the states with money are guilty of this, includng Lagos.

afam4eva:
The bolded really means nothing. As long as you can't contest to become the governor of a state then you're not qualified to represent that state.

Teejayphillip: Watchin moi best sport 2mao... CRICKET on point @ Yaba