By; ABBAS SHEHU, Bauch
In his determination to reclaim Bauchi State as center of sports excellence in Nigeria in line with his Bauchi Projects Agenda, for youths rehabilitation and development as purposeful future leaders of the state and of course Nigeria, Governor Bala Mohammed,has approved the appointment of a sixteen-man Main Organizing Committee (MOC) to organize Bauchi State Sports Festival.
This is with a view to reviving the 41 years old abandoned Bauchi State Sports Festival which absence has taken the state backwards in sports.
The Main Organizing Committee which is under the Chairmanship of Barr. Mohammed Ibrahim Kasim Secretary to the State Government, has Hon. Salis Mohammed Gamawa, Commissioner of Youths and Sports Development as Member, Hon. Hamza Saidu Chairman Bauchi State House of Assembly Committee on Sports Development and Hon. Commissioner of Information, Hon. Usman Garba Danturaki.
Other members are, Hon. Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Youths and Sports Development, Usman Yusuf Director of Sports Bauchi, Chairman ALGON, Ado Ibrahim Ama, Chairman Bauchi State Sports Commission and Engr.Auwal Musa Gotel, Chairman Wikki Tourists FC.
The committee also includes former directors of sports of the Bauchi State Sports Council, Tanimu Saidu, Haruna Bako and Lawal Garba respectively, Umar Sale Siyi, while Ahmed Kawu Aliyu of the Sports Council serves as Secretary of the committee.
The Bauchi State Director of Sports Usman Yusuf popularly known as Coach Danbala, while disclosing this development to sports journalists in Bauchi yesterday, said all arrangements have been concluded for the commencement of the Bauchi State Sports Festival that includes all the twenty local government councils in the state.
He explained that the activities of the state sports festival will kick start between June 23 to 24, 2024, with workshop for all the 20 local government sports officers.
“On the 25th, June 2024, there will be stakeholders meeting at Multi – Purpose Indoor Sports Hall, that will attract all past sports administrators that made Bauchi State proud by participating and hosting various national and international championships,” he said.
The stakeholders meeting according to Coach Danbala, will be discussing extensively on ways forward to revive sports in the state and reclaim its past glory in line with “My Bauchi Projects Agenda” of Governor Bala Mohammed.
He said the Bauchi State Sports Festival proper will commence from the July 10 to 20, ,2024. with eleven different approved sporting events to be competed for among 20 local government councils in the state.
The approved events are, football, basketball male and female, volleyball, male and female, handball male and female, table tennis, male and female and traditional sports, that includes, langa, kokawa, dambe and archery (Harbin Kifiya).
Other events are, athletics and para sports.
The director of sports said the purpose of organizing the state sports festival is to fish out young male and female athletes that will represent the state at the National Sports Festival (NSF) coming up in December this year.
He said sports is a political weapon for peace and unity and it creates job opportunities to the youth, thereby making them purposeful members of the society and controls high rate of crime as they engage in various sporting activities.
Coach Danbala further disclosed that these advantages in sports informed Governor Bala Mohammed’s administration’s desire to sponsor the revival of the state sports festival which was last hosted in 1981.
While commending Governor Bala Mohammed for bankrolling the revival of sporting activities in the state, he assured the government and the sports loving people of Bauchi State that, “with the caliber of members of the Main Organizing Committee led by State SSG, the competition will be successful and fruitful, in line with “My Bauchi Projects Agenda” of our number one sports Man in the state Gov.Bala Mohammed.”
