BY KAYODE AKINMADE.

In just a matter of days, all roads will lead to the Gateway State for the 26th edition of the iconic National Sports Festival (NSF).

The festival, a celebration of Nigeria’s rich sports and cultural heritage, is billed to feature athletes competing in 33 sporting events and is bound to be Nigeria’s best so far given the huge investments that the Ogun State Government has made into it.

A visit to the facilities, state-of-the-art in every sense, will confirm the readiness of the Dapo Abiodun-led administration to give Nigerians a fiesta to remember, a tournament like no other, and a moment of magic.

The 22nd NSF is set to kick off, and excitement is in the air in the Gateway State.

Speaking during an assessment of the work done on the facilities being prepared for the festival, including the stadium, the Olympic-sized swimming pool, tennis courts, and the handball court behind the main bowl, as well as the Alake Sports Centre, all in Abeokuta, last week, Governor Abiodun hinted that they will not only be used for the upcoming festival but also other competitions, national and international.

  As he noted, the Gateway International Stadium, which is being renovated in preparation for the NSF, has already been selected by the African Athletics Federation to host the Under-20 athletics competition in 2026, which is why the stadium will no longer be available for non-sporting events in the state once it receives the finishing touches for the NSF.

There is, of course, a silver lining for owanbe (party) lovers and fun seekers who may feel short-changed by this decision: the government is constructing a pavilion behind the stadium to cater to non-sporting events.

Sports, the Governor seems to be saying, is big business and the Gateway State is poised to treat it as such, in line with global thinking.

That is why the newly laid tracks, including the long-distance tracks, long jump track, tennis court, basketball court, handball court and squash hall at the main bowl and the Alake Sports Centre, including the multipurpose hall, are such a beauty to behold. Go to the main bowl of the MKO Abiola Stadium and behold the synthetic grass: it’s simply breathtaking.

Hear an apparently excited Governor Abiodun: “The track that we installed here has already begun to reap benefits. The African Athletics Federation, because of the quality of our tracks, has chosen Ogun State to host the athletics competition in 2026 for the Under-20.

“So, you find that based on what we have done, Ogun State will now become home to other world-class competitions across the country, across Sub-Saharan Africa, and even internationally.

“For us, we are already excited that this investment has begun to yield dividends. This will be one of the legacies of our administration. Let me assure you that the stadium will only be used for sporting activities.

“To that extent, we’ve chosen to construct a pavilion somewhere behind the stadium, and that pavilion will now be used for rallies, parties, march pasts, October 1 celebrations, Labour Day celebrations, community days, and Democracy Day.

 “Our MKO Abiola International Stadium has now gone beyond being just an MKO Abiola International Stadium; it is now an MKO Abiola Sporting Complex.”

With no less than 15,000 people billed to attend the NSF, the Abiodun government has been busy re-engineering the entire Ogun landscape.

Among other things, it is giving the Olumo Rock Tourist Centre and other adjoining tourist centres a massive facelift to give visitors an unbeatable experience as the festival goes underway.

The Governor articulates his vision so masterfully: “The festival itself will allow us to host maybe 15,000 people in the city of Abeokuta.

“You can imagine that those people will be eating and drinking; they will be transported back and forth. They will be buying recharge cards and water.

“They will be visiting our tourist sites. We are getting Olumo Rock and other adjoining tourist centres ready for the games.

“There will be a lot of visitors sleeping in hotels. The economic impact of this festival on the economy of this state can best be imagined; the multiplier effect will be felt more after the games.”

As an aside, the Ogun helmsman is engineering moves to make the Gateway State get a fat slice of this year’s Detty December visits by Nigerians in the diaspora, taking advantage of the state’s proximity to Lagos.

In any case, ahead of the NSF, Ogun State is partnering with the arts and culture company, Terra Kulture, to establish a film and entertainment village in the state.

 As Governor Abiodun posited, the film village will help the state preserve the legacies of those who have pioneered and excelled in the fields of music, film, drama, and entertainment.

 Governor Abiodun made this known when he received the Chief Executive Officer of Terra Kulture, Bolanle Austen Peters, in his Oke-Mosan office in Abeokuta. His words: “From the onset of our administration, we always wanted to have some sort of creative arts and entertainment zone, but when we assumed office, the government was laden with so many priorities.

“We wanted to ensure that we first paid attention to matters that touch the lives of the people directly. Because it is only when you are comfortable and happy that you will begin to think of relaxing and being entertained; we had to do that.

“We are confident that we have not just accomplished that; we’ve made the most of it, and our focus in the last year has been how to push the frontier in the areas of culture, music, and entertainment.”

Only an ignoramus will doubt the view that the NSF creates an opportunity for new talents to be discovered for both national and international sporting meets.

It cannot but be cheering news that what the Abiodun administration has done with the investment in sporting facilities in the state is second to none.

 Indeed, in choosing Ogun as the 2024 NSF host, the Federal Government took ample notice of the massive infrastructure upgrade across the state, and it is no coincidence that Bukola Olopade, the man that the Ogun State Government chose as the chair of the festival’s Local Organising Committee (LOC), has just been appointed as the chairman of the National Sports Commission.

It is certain that he will bring his wealth of experience to bear on the assignment and help Ogun make history as it hosts the NSF. The Ogun State government, as attested to by many, has created an enabling environment for business, and investors are moving into the state in droves, buoyed by the deeply enhanced infrastructure outlay.

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