Date: 2016-11-15

A former Queen of African track, Mary Onyali-Omagbemi and ten other Olympics medalists have set up a gymnasium in Offa, Kwara state in a bid to revive the fortunes of athletics in Nigeria.

The former athletes said the facility would help in scouting for talented athletes across the country to return the nation to her glorious sporting days.

Onyali and other members of her team disclosed this at the weekend in Offa, during a courtesy call on the Oloffa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi in his palace to intimate him of the takeoff of the project and also sought his royal blessing. Onyali-Omagbemi expressed delight that the dream conceptualized by the team seven years ago had become a reality.

"All of us have been to the Olympics several times, so we know it inside out, and we are determined to revive Nigeria's athletic sports, by reproducing stars who are far better than us," she said.

Also speaking, a member of the Nigerian Olympic Fund Group, Mr. Jide Fashikun, disclosed that N10m worth of sporting equipment are already in Lagos that would be installed in Offa Club House where the training would be carried out, while renowned coaches have been contracted to achieve the purpose by training people in weight lifting, taekwondo, wrestling, table tennis and lawn tennis.

He added that the athletics revival will be replicated in other 35 communities in Nigeria in a bid to extend the talent hunt to the nooks and crannies of the country. Responding, the Oloffa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi commended the initiative of the team, noting that Nigeria's history will be kind to them.

The monarch, who pledged his support towards the success of the project, noted that Offa, as a community will always welcome any investment that will improve the socio economic development of the community. Training at the centre is would start by January 2017.