The Executive Director of Lotus Bank, Mrs Kafilat Araoye, has called on governments and Nigerian universities to create an environment for sports to foster unity, encourage healthy competition and promote global excellence for students.
Araoye made the call at the 11th scientific Conference of Federation of Africa University Sports (FASU) 2024 on Tuesday in Lagos.
The weeklong FASU Games 2024 is being jointly hosted by Lagos State University (LASU) and University of Lagos (UNILAG).
It has the theme: “Fostering Unity, Healthy Competition and Global Excellence through University Sports“.
Araoye said that university sporting activities, like successful teams in the banking sector, were about building unity, promoting healthy competition and creating platforms for growth and excellence.
“Sports has a long and rich history as an essential part of human civilisation.
“Sports has been instrumental in uniting people, transcending political and social divides.
“In African universities, the dusty pitches and game courts have produced not just national champions but world-class athletes who inspire and remind us of the strength and potential of our continent,” Araoye said.
She added that in fostering healthy competition, student-athletes’ well-being and physical and mental health were important.
“As competition intensifies, so does the pressure on these young individuals to succeed, sometimes, at all costs.
“This can make them vulnerable to the lure of performance enhancing drugs and other harmful substances,” Araoye said.
In her opening remarks, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, Vice-Chancellor of LASU, said that the conference provided an opportunity to drive essential conversations about the role of university sports in Africa’s development.
Olatunji-Bello said that the competition would lay a groundwork for a more cohesive and collaborative sports culture that would transcend regional and national boundaries.
“In recent decades, the African continent has witnessed various divisions fueled by political, economic and social tensions often exacerbated by competition for limited resources,” she said.
The vice-chancellor described university sports as a powerful tool for bridging divides and fostering a sense of unity.
“Through sports, we have the unique opportunity to replace animosity with camaraderie, hatred with love, and rivalry with cooperation,” she said.
Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, Vice-Chancellor of UNILAG, said that sports remained one of the most potent forces for building bridges across cultures, fostering collaboration, and cultivating resilience and discipline among the youth, preparing them for leadership.
Ogunsola said that university sports also fostered understanding and promoted healthy lifestyles.
She described FASU Games as a beacon of unity, which created a platform for students from various nations to engage in a healthy competition while building friendships and networks that transcended borders.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that more than 30 universities from African countries are participating in the competition.
The countries include Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Mauritius, Angola, Guinea, Zambia and Kenya. (NAN)
