Olawande made the promise at the weekend at the Anwaru-Islam
School venue of the final sporting event which began a month ago in honour of
the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa.
This was even as top European football agents, Sosnovchi
Veniami and Sharif Tariq as well as Busola Akinyemi, acclaimed FIFA player
agent and Alhaji Datti Umar Yusuf of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF),
identified talents who they plan to nurture for national and international
placements.
Speaking at the event, Olawande stressed the need for
constant youth engagements by well-meaning Nigerians adding that the government
was open to ideas that would give citizens of young ages a sense of belonging.
The Minister, while commending Abdul-Ganiyu Vinod Obasa,
founder of Vinod Football Academy and organiser of the tournament, for the
positive impact in the youth of Agege, said he would be a part of further
discussions to expand the scope of the tournament.
In his remarks, Mr. Tayo Ayinde, Chief of Staff to the
Governor of Lagos State promised to sponsor some of the local footballers to
Spain to play professionally.
“A football club is coming from Spain by February 2024 to
harness talents in Lagos and they will start from Agege,” he said while urging
Abdul-Ganiyu not to relent in making Agege the hub of football talents in the
state.
Also speaking at the event, Obasa noted that beyond sports,
the event inadvertently celebrated Agege and its richness.
The Speaker, who noted the importance of sports in any
society that aims at development, said it was in the interest of the public
that the Lagos Sports Commission Law was amended to broaden the vision of the
state in that area.
“Looking at the developed nations, you would see that the
sports industry has become so great to the extent that we now have no choice
than to attend to the interests of our youth here in Nigeria. We just have to
do something.
“If we put down N20 million annually to grow the Lagos
League for example, imagine how many teams would be struggling to win that
amount. Let’s put N10 million on boxing or table tennis too and you will see
what would happen. This is one of the best ways to take the youth out of the
streets.
“Sports is a way to get out of unemployment and insecurity
and I have told the Commissioner for Sports that we have to do this together
for the interest of the public.
“Imagine the number of people that would gather should an Agege team be playing a team from Lagos Island. Also imagine how this would boost micro and small businesses and the economy at such times,” he said.
Thanking the organiser of the tournament and his team, the
Speaker promised to be involved in subsequent editions so that the event would
spread across the entire state.
Abdul-Ganiyu said he decided to establish a football academy
and the sporting event to bridge a gap and reduce the lapses in grassroots
sports development that need to be corrected.
“Apart from that, there are too many talents at the
grassroots, but very limited opportunities to bring them to the forefront. I
felt there was a need to change the narrative,” he said.