20022021 - INSECURITY Give us state police now - Govs

28—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 20, 2021
The Dream Academy - the
future of grassroots sports
development
It is most unlikely that many would
be familiar with the name of a
town called Ileogbo. I never heard
about it until a few months ago,
when I was appointed as a
consultant to work on a project sited
in Ileogbo in Osun State.
Two weeks ago, a seed was
planted in the little-known rural
township, comfortably and serenely
nestled half-way between Iwo and
Oshogbo, in Osun State.
I was in Ileogbo to witness a
dream become reality.
My visit was meant to be for the
purpose of a meeting, but it turned
out to be a big pleasant surprise.
The invitation to go to Osun State
had to be honoured. One month
before, I had been made a consultant
on a project, I was very excited
because when we laid the
foundation stone of a similar project,
the first in Nigeria, in the little
hamlet of Wasimi Orile in Ogun
State, some 17 years ago, my hope
was that sports stakeholders would
take whatever happened with the
Segun Odegbami International
College and Sports Academy
(SOCA) as a test of the feasibility
and possibility of such an institution,
take useful lessons from my own
experiment, avoid the mistakes I
make, embrace the successes I
record, and establish many more of
such a model around the country in
order to fast track the development
of the youth population that are
crazy about taking up the vast
opportunities that professional
sports in several parts of the world
offer the most gifted young boys
and girls. My intention was that
SOCA would be a model.
It has been 17 years since the
turning of the sod of SOCA in
Wasimi Orile, and the laying of the
foundation by Otunba Gbenga
Daniel, the governor of Ogun State
at the time.
It took a little while but since
then, at least 4 other such
academies, all of them for young
footballers only, have sprung up in
Abuja, Owerri and in Orile Imo in
Ogun State and all are running
well.
Yet, this number is but a drop in a
country with 60 percent of its 200
million people as youths in a world
of boundless opportunities in the
sports industry.
From the introductory brief I got,
this particular academy is
envisioned to top all existing similar
institutions in the country. The
vision is to establish, potentially, the
biggest and best grassroots sports
development institution in Africa. I
was excited about the prospect. I
needed to see and hear, first hand,
from the horses' mouth how this
would be achieved.
So, I broke my 'hibernation' and
embarked on my first travel outside
Ogun and Lagos States in a long
time. For obvious reasons of the
Coronavirus pandemic, and
because I belong to the vulnerable
age-group, I had been confined to
the 'bubble' of my homes, my
workplaces and the SOCA, all in the
short hops between Lagos,
Abeokuta and Wasimi Orile.
Weeks ago, I traveled to Osun
State to witness and be a part of
history. I am very glad that I did. It
turned out to be a fantastic
experience worth all the 'trouble' to
convince my family to let me go
outside our 'bubble'.
This is the brief on the Sports
Academy.
It will combine sports and
education. It will be co-educational
(for boys and girls). It will be fully
residential (the students will all live
on the campus). It will promote more
than football which would remain
its main catchment area. There will
be track and field athletics, tennis
and golf. It will run at a senior
secondary school level only, to start
with, and shall use the junior
secondary schools around the
country to identify young gifted and
passionate children that fit the
profile of those that can be admitted
to the school and become the best
Eagles 'll miss Chukwueze – Ugbade
Ex International Nduka Ugbade
has stated that the Super
Eagles will miss the services of
forward Samuel Chukwueze
during the forthcoming Nations
Cup qualifiers.
Chukwueze’s injury has ruled
him out of the doubleheader
encounter next month and
Ugbade told brila.net that the
Rohr-led side will surely miss
Samuel Chukwueze.
“It is an injury that has not made
him play much at Villarreal this
year and I am sure the National
team will miss him,” Ugbade said.
Meanwhile, head coach Gernot
Rohr has revealed new players
won’t be invited for their 2022
Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in
March.
The three-time African
champions will square off against
the Republic of Benin and then
take on Lesotho in Afcon
qualifying games.
The Super Eagles are leading
Group L with eight points and a
win in either of their matches next
month will seal their place in the
continental showpiece while defeat
in both games will halt their target
of playing in the competition.
•Chukwueze
From what I saw
two weeks ago,
from what I heard
from the horses'
mouth, and
knowing the
antecedents of the
drivers of this
vision, a very
healthy grassroots
sports development
institution, called
the Lanreleke
Sports Academy,
will birth a healthy
baby in September
2021
in the world.
Down the line, beyond secondary
school education, the academy will
also introduce education classes
and entrepreneurship courses that
will empower the student/athletes
with higher education and specific
fit-for-industry programmes.
At the end of the programmes, the
graduates can then embark on either
further education, or proceed
directly to careers in professional
sports, depending on the level of
their sports talent and development.
Either way, the graduates would
have been well-equipped for life
with the training they would have
received in the Sports Academy.
The brief was sweet music to my
ears. I only needed to add my
experiences in running a similar
project, fit it snugly into the
expectations of the brief, and
guarantee its success.
To demonstrate the seriousness of
the project, Engineer Lanre
Adeleke, an enigmatic
entrepreneur, whose construction
CAF CC: Enyimba star talks tough
ahead clash with Rivers Utd
Enyimba striker Tosin Omoyele
has stated that the People’s
Elephant will take the fight to Rivers
United the same way the Egumaled
side approached the first leg in
Aba a few days ago.
Omoyele said the people’s
elephant will not relent despite
leading the encounter on
aggregate. He said the Osho-led
team was willing to take the fight
to Port Harcourt and get a point.
“They came here with a fight on
arry Kane should be fit to play
HWest Ham on Sunday, Jose
Mourinho has confirmed.
The top scoring Tottenham striker
was left out of the squad for Thursday’s
4-1 Europa League win over
Wolfsberger, but any fresh injury
concerns were played down by his
manager.
Asked if Kane, who returned from
an ankle injury less than two weeks
ago, will play in east London,
Mourinho said: “I believe so. He’s an
experienced guy that had injuries in
the past. He knows his body better
than anyone.
“He knows that I want him to play
every minute of every game. So it’s
our own ground we too we are
going to do the same thing by
taking the fight to them this
weekend.
“But we just believe that it can
only be done with God on our
side.”
The 1-0 goal difference that
separated both sides in this
encounter was scored by midfielder
Cyril Olisema.
The match comes up tomorrow
in Port Harcourt at 4 pm.
works in different parts of the
country are amazing success
stories, invited me to Osun State to
witness the take off of the 'plane' of
implementation already revving on
the tarmac.
He tells me the institution must
take off in 9 months time, in
September 2021, yet the foundation
stone had not been laid by the time
I entered Oshogbo to catch up with
him. His further projection is that
the institution will be fully
completed in 2 years!
The time table is breathless.
Construction work has started on
the huge site with cranes and
caterpillars strewn all over the vast
virgin area in Ileogbo, some 200
acres of land that will house an 18-
hole golf course, a helipad, a hotel
and golf academy section, a
sprawling school campus of
classroom blocks, sports fields, and
tartan and laterite tracks, boarding
facilities, a mini 6000-capacity
stadium and other service and
recreational facilities.
I am dazed. SOCA is 17 years old
since the foundation stone was laid,
and we are nowhere near (not even
half way) completing all the
infrastructure to run a world class
academy.
With Engineer Adeleke whose
antecedents in infrastructural
construction speak volumes in all
the States where he has projects,
adopting a unique funding strategy
that diminishes the burden of
paying for the projects off State
governments, and delivers every
project either on time or well before.
expectations.
When I arrived Oshogbo on the
first day of my two-day visit, he was
waiting and roaring to go. We met
with his key staff and other
consultants on the project. He then
led our delegation to meet with the
governor of Osun State, Gboyega
Oyetola, in his residence, that
evening.
The very unassuming and amiable
governor, whom I had known for
some years, welcomed us warmly
and brightly. Incidentally, the
governor and I have always had a
mutual liking for each other. I
believe he knows I respect and like
him a great deal. His calmness, soft
voice and very humble disposition
are disarming.
Before I knew what was going on,
I was called upon and thrown into
the deep end of explaining the full
scope and benefits of such an
academy to Osun State.
Understandably, I was assuming
my role as the chief image maker of
the project that aims to promote the
highest level of sports development
at the grassroots with the highest
level of scholarship in a simple,
viable and workable combination.
Of course, all the evidence of the
project's efficacy is 'daylight' in the
model in Wasimi Orile, and the
whole world can go there and have
their own taste of 'paradise' for the
youths.
With the commitment of Lanre
Adeleke and the political will of
support that I saw of the Osun State
governor, achieving the dream of
making Osun State the new Mecca
of grassroots sports development,
empowering the youths of the State
with education and fulfilling their
passion for sports, building a
community of youngsters that will
be some of the best in the world of
sports and scholarship through the
Sports Academy, I can feel the air
of a resounding success blowing in
the wind.
Lanre wants to make the academy
the biggest and best on the
continent. That's his commitment -
to deliver it.
The government's commitment is
to ensure that there is a good access
to the vicinity of the school, that
there is electricity supply to the area,
that public water supply gets to the
environment and that a specific
number of the State's children are
sponsored there annually.
After paying a visit to the Oba of
Ileogbo in his Palace, the entire
entourage drove to the huge
construction site where the first
foundation stone was to be laid.
That's when the surprise of the day
was sprung on me.
Unknown to me, the honour of
undertaking that historic first step
had been ceded to me.
That's how, mask-in-face, in
accordance to coronavirus protocols,
in swirling dry dust of Harmattan
in the month of January, I stepped
into a dug shallow trench, a
bricklayer's trowel in hand, laid
down the first brick of the Classroom
block and said a short prayer
committing the project and its
successful completion to the Creator
of the Universe. The resounding
chorus of 'Amen' marked the start
of a very exciting journey that will
unfold in the coming months in
Ileogbo, the little Town that will
soon become a household name in
the world of sports.
Like a jigsaw puzzle, daily since
then, small pieces are being added.
In September 2021, the academy
will take off with its first set of young
boys and girls that will be admitted
in the coming months to pioneer this
dream project.
My advise to parents that have
children, gifted in sports and
passionate about pursuing sport
within an academic or vocational
institution that will provide a solid
ground upon which their future can
be built, is that they should watch
out for more information on the
processes for admission.
From what I saw two weeks ago,
from what I heard from the horses'
mouth, and knowing the
antecedents of the drivers of this
vision, a very healthy grassroots
sports development institution,
called the Lanreleke Sports
Academy, will birth a healthy baby
in September 2021.
Mourinho: Kane fit to face West Ham
never a question of a choice.
“But I believe on Sunday he is going
to be okay and ready.”
Tottenham coped well without Kane
as goals from Heung-min Son, Gareth
Bale, Lucas Moura and Carlos Vinicius
put them in a commanding lead
heading into the second leg with
Wolfsberger.
Bale also registered an assist in an
Onazi signs for Lithuanian champions
Zalgiris
L
ithuanian A Lyga champions
Zalgiris have completed the
signing of former Lazio and
Trabzonspor midfielder Ogenyi
Onazi on a free transfer.
Onazi has been a free agent since
January 5 when he left Danish Super
Liga club SonderjyskE by mutual
agreement after he was restricted to
just two league matches in six
months.
Prior to the completion of the deal,
the Nigeria star has been working his
socks off with a personal training
programme which he often shared on
social media.
His arrival in Lithuania is expected
to boost Zalgiris, who won their
eighth top-flight title last November.
Onazi could make his debut in
impressive display, before being
substituted in the 64th minute.
Mourinho has hinted the Welshman
could be involved against West Ham.
“One of the reasons why he left the
pitch was to try to have him available
for the next match because one of the
things that is not easy related to his
condition is the accumulation of
minutes,” he said.
Lithuania when the Green-Whites
battle cup winners Panevezys for the
Super Cup on February 27.
Back in 2018, the Super Eagles
midfielder's career took a blow when
he ruptured his Achilles tendon
while in action for Trabzonspor in the
Turkish Super Lig.
The injury ruled him out of action
for more than a year and his contract
was terminated by the Black Sea
Storm. The setback also made him
miss the 2019 Afcon in Egypt where
Nigeria finished third.
The 28-year-old immediately
teamed up with Denizlispor on a
short-term contract until the end of
the 2019-20 season before he moved
to Denmark.