NIPOGA: A3 Foundation leverages sports for youth empowerment

As preparations are in top gear ahead the Nigeria Polytechnic Games (NIPOGA), the need for youths to leverage on sports and become entrepreneurs has been emphasised. ENE OSANG writes that the event slated for April this year is gathering mommentum in terms of organisation.

Promoters of the upcoming sporting festival the A3 Foundation, said it is putting up an active social centre at the host school; the Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa, in order to produce  entrepreneurship minded youths at the end of the games.
It’s Founder/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and former Kogi state First Lady Hajiya Aisha Audu-Emeje, disclosed this yesterday at a media interaction to ascertain the level of preparedness of the host school; the Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa, in Nasarawa state.

According to Audu-Emeje, it is important to always engage the youth, saying this would keep them away from negative vices prevalent in the country today.
“I advise youths generally to be engaged in this sports festival because there are so many negative vices taking the attention of the youths particularly the unemployed ones especially as security threats.
‘’We want our communities beyond this competition to have successful sports men and women, and the NIPOGA is a venture that would take them to the next height in life because they would be participating as youth entrepreneurs, ‘’ she said.
The Former First Lady regrets that sports has not been properly managed by the expected organizations in the country, assuring that they are committed to give it a face lift.

‘’We are coming in as development partners to ensure the success of the NIPOGA by promoting, coordinating and raising of funds to support and ensure that all the necessary requirments are in place, and also see that necessary attention is given to NIPOGA,’’ she explained.
Earlier, NIPOGA President and Rector Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa, Professor Abdulkadir Saidu Shetima, noted that Nigeria is known internationally, and so stressed that an event such as NIPOGA must be properly organised as it could be an incubation ground to scout for both male and female talents in sports.
‘’We want to have the NIPOGA of international standards that is why we involved professional sports men like Ambassador John Fashanu, media personalities and sports promoters like the A3 foundation.

‘’Our school is also putting every innovations in place to have a memorable games festival as well as ensure that NIPOGA  won’t be the way it has always been,’’ he said.
He emphasised the need for proper funding, even as he called for support from concerned authorities to realise the half a billion naira required to host a well organized event.
‘’We have involved the best hands in sports organizing to ensure the event is of international standards. We will have both field and track events including other extra curricular activities and we pray that every sport activities have a record breaking for the nation’’.

He also said having an annual event such as NIPOGA is beyond the physical aspect of scouting for talents, adding that the health benefits of sports abound.
‘’You can get treatment on physiotherapy through sports, the right exercise can keep one fit and healthy through out their lifetime and health of everyone especially students is very important,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, Ambassador John Fashanu, who emphasised the need for grassroots sports, assuring that the games will be a fiesta and Sports festival different from those held in the past.