Lagos Students Light Up Teslim Stadium For Heritage Bank Skoolimpics

TAIWO ADELU

 

The Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere was electrified Wednesday with the presence of over 6,000 students of Lagos State’s public and private secondary schools taking part in the maiden Heritage Bank-Lagos State Skoolimpics.

The three-day school sports championships, fashioned in the tradition of the Summer Olympic Games, is sponsored by the Heritage Bank with facilitating support from the Lagos State Sports Commission.

The Teslim Balogun Stadium complex was turned to a carnival-like environment with the students, who apart from being in competitive mood to take part in five sporting event-Athletics, Swimming, Basketball, Table Tennis  and  Handball -were also spiced up with the music from Nigerian popular musician, Sound Sultan.

Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer (CEO) of Heritage Bank, Mr. Ifie Sekibo in company of the Director General of the Sports Commission, Mr. Adewunmi Ogunsanya, who represented the Special Adviser on Sports to the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Deji Tinubu, lighted the Skoolimpics’ flame through the Torch earlier carried round the stadium by Skoolimpics’ Ambassador, Mrs Mary Onyali, to officially kicked off the competition which ends on Friday.

Director General of the Sports Commission, Mr. Ogunsanya commended Heritage Bank for sponsoring the games. He reiterated the commitment of the state government to provide enabling environment for the youth to showcase their talents in schools sports championships.

“Lagos is ever ready to create necessary platforms for the development of sports at the school level for our youth to develop their talents. It is our hope that the partnership with Heritage Bank will endure for a bigger contents in the future,” Adewunmi said.

To the MD of Heritage Bank, Mr. Sekibo, the organization of the maiden Skoolimpics in Lagos is a dream come true.

“We are so glad that Lagos graciously accepted the partnership to develop our youth. This tournament has come to stay. This is a pilot edition which we have determined to improve upon every year.

“Heritage Bank believes in creation and this Skoolimpics is a creating process. There’s no doubt that we are creating the future champions for the country. Athletes who will be in the future like our Brand Ambassador, Mrs Mary Onyali, Chioma Ajunwa and lot of our great stars who had retired, ” he said.

Skoolimpics’ Ambassador, Onyali, the 200m gold medal winner at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics, enjoined the students to see the competition as a platform for them to start a good career in sports, adding that “I must commend Heritage Bank for giving these students a platform to showcase their talents. And to the students, they should give in their best as sports will give them golden opportunity to become great in the future. The best time is now and it starts today. “