By Sunday Ani
A third-term lawmaker, representing Surulere State Constituency 1, in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Desmond Elliott, in collaboration with the Lagos State Commission, is fighting social vices among the young people in the state using sports, particularly football.
He made this clear at a news conference on Thursday to mark the official unveiling of a month-long Femi Gbajabiamila U-16 Football Competition for Secondary Schools in Surulere Local Government Area of the state.
Elliot, who is also Chairman of the House Committee on Works at the state legislative house, revealed that 16 male football teams from 16 secondary schools within Surulere would participate in the tournament.
He said the idea was borne out of the desire to confront the hardship and neglect that young people are passing through, which has ultimately led many of them to engage in social vices such as cultism, cyber crimes, drug abuse, bullying and street fighting among others.
“We have been doing different things in our community trying to alleviate current hardship, but we also want to let the kids know that we are also with them.
“We should not deprive them of their health, fitness, and happiness. This is also part of efforts to engage students and shift their minds from social vices,” he stated.
He noted that during the period, there will also be a symposium, which would serve as an opportunity not just to talk to the school children but also to listen to them on issues affecting them.
“It is a kind of interactive session to let them understand the situation and also understand their concerns, hoping that through this kind of engagements, we will get future great footballers and their likes,” the lawmaker, whose office is organising the tournament, said.
Speaking about the competition, he said: “Sixteen schools will be participating in the event which will officially kick off on October 31. The schools are within the district that controls the schools in Surulere. The opening match of the tournament will be played by the New Estate Baptist team and Lagos Progressives team.
“We gave all of them brand new jerseys, shin guards, boots, football and first aid kits. The reason is that we want them to own these things. We also gave them bags to put snacks to help them and all that.
“The symposium will be on November 15. We will bring actors, actresses, footballers to tell the stories of their life’s journey to the kids and it is open to all the school children in Surulere
“We are collaborating with the state sports commission because when they start identifying great talents among the footballers, they can adopt them and they can move on from there.”
He said the grand finale with prize-giving ceremonies would be held on November 24. Dignitaries, including the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the Speaker of the Lagos State House Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa are expected to grace the event.
Elliott promised that the next phase of the tournament would include female footballers to ensure gender balance.
On his part, the Director General, Lagos State Sports Commission, Lekan Fatodu, described the event as an opportunity to look at the intersection of sports and the development of the young people, since it offers an opportunity to harness their skills, potential and capabilities, particularly in different sporting areas.
He commended the lawmaker for focusing on school competition, saying, “We have a lot of young people in Lagos State and it is important for us to continuously and consistently engage them in the most effective way and sport provides an opportunity for effective engagement of our young people and this is just an opportunity.
“Everybody knows that football is a very popular sport in Nigeria; there is no corner in Nigeria where you don’t see a particular footballer, but how regulated is the system within various communities.”
He urged the students to take advantage of the opportunity and make proper use of it.