Residents of Ajegunle community in Lagos State have, on Saturday, called on the state government to help them develop the sporting potential in the area through the provision of adequate sporting facilities. Mr Obinna Nwabueze, Vice Chairman, Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government Council, made the appeal on behalf of the residents when top government officials monitored the sanitation exercise in the area.
According to Nwabueze, Ajegunle had become known for producing great sports stars, adding that many national and international sporting heroes had emerged from the community. In his words, “We want the state government to build at least a mini stadium here, where our talented youths can practice and develop their skills to become the next generation of sporting stars… Ajegunle, we all know, is a talent-based community and has helped to produce national stars like Samson Siasia and others who the teeming youths in this area see as role models… But, it is ironical that with this long history of talent discovery, Ajegunle, as of today, cannot boast of a single playing field.”
He continues, “The situation now is that our talents are being wasted… We are calling on the state government to support our talents. They can convert the open spaces in this community to sports centres.”
The government officials were led by Mr Aderemi Ibirogba, Commissioner for Information and Strategy. Ibirogba said the government would consider their appeal, but condemned the flouting of the sanitation law by some youths who played football on the streets during the exercise.
