From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Oke-Ogun is an agrarian community, regarded as the food basket of Oyo State. Saki, headquarters of Oke-Ogun 11, came alive recently as the fire of Peller Unity Cup (PUC) was re-ignited.
A total of 440 soccer players were grouped into 20 football teams. They were selected from the 10 local government areas. Two former Nigerian international footballers, Dosu Joseph and Femi Opabunmi, witnessed the commencement of the tournament. Opabunmi promised a special gift for the highest goal scorer of the tournament.
Joseph, the goalkeeper for the Nigeria’s Dream Team I that won gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic, promised to use his connections to ensure that the best player of the tournament goes to play in Europe. He also promised the best goalkeeper, a trophy and possible placement in the Under-17 national team.
Shina Abiola Peller, representing Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Iwajowa/Kajola Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, is the organiser of the tournament. The overall winner would receive N750,000, while the winners of the second, third and fourth positions, would get N500,000, N250,000 and N100,000 respectively.
The tournament moved from first stage to round of 16, and quarterfinals, at the end of which four teams proceeded to the semi-finals.
Peller said the final matches would be played at a later date: “We give thanks to Almighty God who has made it possible for us to make it to this stage. We had 20 teams playing together at the qualifying stage and we got to the round of 16, to the quarterfinals, semi finals and now finals
“We already have two players pencilled down by the scouts. They have been asked to report for training in two different places. After the semi finals, the final stage has been postponed to a later date. I want everyone participating to go and relax so they can have proper training for the final game.
“We thank God that at least youths of Oke Ogun have been engaged for the past one month, playing across various local governments. This is the reason we organised this tournament. It is to promote unity of diversity among our youth.
“The youth are looking forward to the final of the competition. Of course, after that, a musical concert will follow. We have done it before and we thank God that we are doing it again.
“We must understand the importance of peace. While you are thinking about peace, you will agree with me that you must think about the youth, because the youths occupy at least over 70 per cent of our population.
“You cannot think about development of a nation or progress in a nation, without thinking peace. You cannot think about peace without thinking about unity. That is why I believe that engaging the youth is very important, starting from Oke-Ogun, an area that occupies the largest percentage of the land of Oyo State and it is agrarian. I can say that we are the food basket of Oyo State.
“People need to understand that to change the face of this country, we must look into the direction of the youths. The governors that believe in the youths, you will see them.
The musicians that are youth-driven will be on ground. The new talents will be on ground at the final competition.
“The last time we organised this tournament, we had the likes of Davido, Olamide and Small Doctors. We have a long list of artistes. I think it’s better to make it suspense.
“Football, being a universal language that everyone understands, helps connect people, irrespective of tribal, political or religious belief. It helps to unite people. This is what the PUC stands for. It is a unifying tool for the people of Oke Ogun.”