Nseobong Okon-Ekong writes that eSports is given a pride of place in Kaduna
Kaduna State esports Association
In 2022 the Ministry of Sports Kaduna State established and inaugurated the Kaduna State Esports Association in recognition of the sport’s potential for economic growth, youth development and engagement, evidenced by the innumerable esports centres littered across the Kaduna metropolis.
Last month the association mobilized the esports community to host its first event, ‘Agenda 12′, based on FIFA 2023. The qualifiers were held at four locations across the metropolis with the finals holding in Barnawa Kaduna.
The winner Samuel Eyitayo won the cash sum of N50,000 and gift items worth N500,000, the second winner Abraham Abu won a cash price of N30,000 with take-home goods worth N300,000 while the 3rd prize winner Bosman Bognet won the sum of N20,000 and goods worth N200,000 which were provided by NBL ( Malvina) and the cash price was sponsored by Def Media (owners of HYAI 89.5 FM Kaduna)
The association is chaired by Yahaya Maikori, including Kassim Kabiru, Turaki Mohammed, who acts as the secretary, Dapo Babalalola and Valentine Ogbodo.
The association is currently on a membership mobilization campaign across the length and breadth of Kaduna. It is working with the ministry to ensure that the youth, particularly in secondary schools, leverage the opportunities in the growing sector.
The association is working on the next competition tagged ‘King of the Hood’ scheduled for summer when most students will be on holiday.
The video game industry is a relatively young sector in Nigeria. But due, majorly to the country’s fast-growing mobile market and its young population, video games are rapidly growing in popularity.
A lot is happening in the sector, and the enthusiasm shown by game developers and gamers is infectious. Nigeria has shown interest in participating in the global esports competition, the FIFAe Nations Cup Competition. The popular eSports organization, Gamr is working with the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, in a technical capacity.
At the state level, Lagos is arguably leading the way with its recent formal launch of an eSports body recognised by the government. The state has also entered a working relationship with the government of France to develop eSports.
