Nigerians, especially youths and leaders in positions of authority, have been advised to imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship and teamwork to enhance nation-building.
Prof. Sabit Ariyo Olagoke JP disclosed this while opening the 18th edition of the Rasool Cup competition, which recently took place at the Nigeria Railway Corporation playing ground.
Prof. Olagoke hinted that the primary focus of extracurricular activities and sports is to teach discipline, dedication, hard work, commitment and teamwork as the only way to build a Nation positively while adding that it should be the responsibility of all to value sportsmanship and courage to take action that will have a good impact. He alluded that “Several studies conducted by the World Health Organisation (W.H.O) have also highlighted that physical exercise can stimulate positive mental health and cognitive development.”
Prof. Olagoke, who is also the Patron of Olagoke Babes and a sponsor of the tournament, discussed that sports are fundamental to enhancing global development and realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Earlier, while speaking to a group of journalists during the 2022 Brownie Day organised by the Nigerian Girls Guide Association, Oyo State chapter, which was held at the Amphi Theatre of the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Ibadan, Prof. Olagoke urged the girls and other teenagers to go through the journey challenges and earn badges to become powerful agents of change without any hindrance to participating fully in all aspects of life.
“You can win, You will and You Must”, Prof . Olagoke, a former Dean School of Engineering, Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State charged the youth.
However, he called for more efforts to empower the girl child and evenly distribute the gains of gender equality globally.
While analysing the girl child’s predicament, Prof. Olagoke disclosed that one in five girls is still subjected to early marriage, 140,000 girls between 15 and 19 years have HIV infections while 1 in 4 girls between 15 and 19 years were neither employed nor in education or training compared to 1 in 10 boys.
Prof. Olagoke equally noted that 1 in 20 girls between 15 and 19 years of age, about 13 million globally, have been sexually assaulted, 132 million girls are out of school, and over 4 million risk genital mutilation annually.
Prof. Olagoke, who is also the founder and spiritual head of Shafudeen in Islam worldwide, added that only the developing nations experience the tribulations of the girl child. He, therefore, called on leaders of such countries to declare a state of emergency on caring for girl children for global peace.
