Nigeria’s leading newspaper, The PUNCH, donated branded notebooks in support of Education District 2 Sports Festival Season 10, which took place at Government Modern College sports field, Ikorodu, Lagos on Wednesday.
In her welcome address, Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary of Lagos District 2, Mrs. Abike Adekanye, expressed gratitude to The PUNCH for its continued support for the annual event and enjoined the students to combine education with sports, citing Ikorodu-born Super Falcons striker Asisat Oshoala as a notable achiever in both endeavours.
“Your (The PUNCH) presence at this sports event is well appreciated as in donating books to the sports festival. We will guide them in combining their sports talent with education because that’s the major reason,” Adekanye said.
“We have someone like Asisat Oshoala, who is from Ikorodu, who has achieved a lot in both fields and who the students can emulate.”
The colourful event, with the theme “Striving for Excellence: Beyond Limits”, featured 114 schools from District 2, which comprises Ikorodu, Kosofe and Somolu.
It started with a march past by athletes, sports officers from participating schools in the three zones and Education District 2 officers.
Martha Ogbuchi, 12, and Suzan Okorie, 15, both females, emerged the stars of the day as athletes showed guts and determination in their quests for medals in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m relay, long jump, and high jump in the junior and senior categories.
Ogbuchi, a JSS1 student of Ayedere Ajibola Junior High School, Ketu, held spectators spellbound with her blistering pace, as her second-leg performance earned Somolu the first position in the 4x100m junior girls relay.
Okorie was unarguably the best athlete across the three zones, dusting the field in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay. She, however, had her 200m gold withdrawn for running outside her lane.
“I won the 100m and 200m and anchored Somolu to win the senior girls 4x100m relay, but I lost my gold medal in the 200m because they said I ran outside my lane. I am sad because it would have been a clean sweep for me, the JSS 1 student of Gbadaga Girls Junior Secondary School told The PUNCH.
“I started running in JSS1, and that was about six months ago when I relocated to Lagos from my village, Ihitanasa, Owerri, where I wasn’t running,” the media-shy youngster added.
Somolu was the best performing zone, as it didn’t only cart away most of the gold medals, but did so in style, painting a bright, glittering future of athletics in Nigeria.
In the 100m junior girls, Somolu won gold, while Ikorodu grabbed silver and bronze. The zone also won gold and silver in the 100m junior boys, while Ikorodu claimed bronze. It also clinched gold and silver in the 100m senior girls, while Ikorodu grabbed bronze.
It was the same scenario in the 100m senior boys as they bagged the gold, while Ikorodu won silver and bronze.
Hosts Ikorodu won the 800m junior girls gold, while Kosofe and Somolu placed second and third, respectively.
District 4 simply overwhelmed District 5 in both boys and girls’ invitational relays.
Kosofe won the 4x100m junior girls relay ahead of Somolu and Ikorodu, who won the junior and senior boys race, while Somolu triumphed in the senior girls category.
Entertainment was also top-notch, as the stand-by disc jockey kept everyone dancing intermittently, while the Atilogun Dance of Government Junior Modern College and Bata Dance of Government Senior Modern College, Ikorodu, boldly accentuated the rich cultural heritage of Nigeria with their enthralling dance steps and sonorous voices.
