June 20, (THEWILL)- When Dapo Abiodun, the Executive Governor of Ogun State bought into the Adopt-a-Talent Initiative of the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, by adopting Oluwatobiloba Ayomide Amusan, the Nigerian 100m hurdler, it gave the talented 24-year-old track and field athlete the chance to fulfil her dreams of becoming an Olympian.
In reporting the story in April, THEWILL noted that the adopt-a-talent initiative was highly commendable as a veritable support system for dedicated athletes barred from excellence by nothing other than financial handicaps. When adopted, these individuals can get the requisite training they need with facilities that are modern, can enter competitions that will aid their growth and can improve enough to be world beaters.
That is what will become of Nigeria’s fastest man, Enoch Adegoke, who has become another beneficiary of the laudable initiative and has vowed to win an Olympic medal as a gesture of appreciation to Dare, the Honourable Minister of Sports and Youth Development.
Dare took it upon himself to adopt the sprinter via the initiative ahead of the Tokyo Olympics after which Adegoke clocked a personal best record of 10.00s (+1.2) to win the men’s 100m at the 2021 Nigeria Olympic Trials and Invitational Relays at the Sports Complex of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Lagos, Nigeria to illustrate his readiness to be a force to reckon with.
Speaking post-race, the champion athlete said: “It has been really awesome for me knowing fully well that immediately after the Honourable Minister adopted me that was the tonic I needed to give out my best in the track and field event.
“As you can see, I just emerged winner in the race here in Lagos and recall that we went to the United States for Preparations the Olympics, everything has been working perfectly well and you know we needed money for the camping and the Minister made it available for me by adopting me.
“This means all I needed for the training, food, coaches and the rest were taken care of by the Minister. I appreciate him for giving me the opportunity to be at my best. He adopted me with 10,000 US Dollars. Aside myself, the Minister has been supportive to the Athletes generally and he is a motivator to everyone.”
Adegoke finished with a promise for the Tokyo Games: “He visited us in the United States and he’s also here at the National Open trials. This shows his passion and interest and the fact that he cares about our success. All we can do is reciprocate his gesture with a podium performance in Tokyo.”
THEWILL recalls that the Sports Minister, the initiator of the Adopt-a-Talent Initiative, had pushed for outcomes such as these through regular visits to state governors, individuals and corporate bodies.
During these high-level visits, Dare proposed that these individuals, bodies and institutions join in the Ministry’s drive to support Olympic-bound athletes by paying money directly to the athletes’ accounts to support their early preparations for the Games and give them the financial and moral boost to push them to success and achievements.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
