Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja
No fewer than 200 Niger Delta Ex-agitators are billed for enrolment into all-encompassing sports programme under the SIA’One Soccer Academy run by ex-international and one-time coach of the Super Eagles, Samson Siasia.
The Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) and Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Brig-Gen Paul Boroh (rtd), who made the disclosure in Abuja Thursday, said sports was a veritable instrument for engaging the youths as well as social integration.
Speaking when officials of the SIA ‘One Soccer Academy paid him a courtesy, Boroh said the collaboration between PAP and the SIA’One Soccer Academy was aimed at including the youth in the peace-building process in the region as well as reintegrating some of the ex-agitators and other youths in the Niger Delta region.
The presidential aide was quick to point out that sports remained among the most remarkable and enduring cultures of Niger Delta people and community life.
According to him, sports act as some of the few activities that could be harnessed to promote unity and ginger the patriot spirit and patriotism of the region.
His words: “Sport is a language that everyone can understand and relate with. Sport is important for healthy living, personal development and social bonding. Sport is also a leisure activity that all can enjoy.
“It keeps us physically fit, builds character, and bonds family and friends. At its best, sports can bring people together, no matter what our race, background, or economic status.
“This is why we want to give our beneficiaries the opportunity to experience sports and live better through sports, whether as a professional sportsperson, amateur player, spectator or volunteer,†he said.
“What we can do is to encourage a sporting lifestyle, not just for individuals, but also in our communities.
“We have two broad strategies. The first strategy is to enhance our sports facilities in the Niger Delta region.
This is crucial to meeting the sporting and fitness needs of the region,†Boroh stated.
In his remarks, Mr. Samson Siasia identified sports as the biggest tool of engaging the youth and the most potent unifying force in Nigeria..
He applauded the Amnesty Office for initiating such a laudable initiative to engage the ex-agitators and other youths of the region in sports.
Also in his remarks, the Founder/CEO, To-Be-Connected Nigeria, a project and business platform aimed at mobilising talents, innovations, research and creativity of Nigerians for collaboration and commercialisation with the local and global industry, Hon. Faruk Yabo, said he was happy to be part of the positive change.
He said the group sees sports as one of the avenues to create employment, adding that sports provide the needed raw material for job creation
