All is set as the 6th edition of the National School Sports Festival, organized by the Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF) comes to an end today in the ancient city of Ilorin, Kwara State.

Tagged ‘Kwara 2013’, the competition is so unique in many ways and has brought to the fore the need for government to invest heavily in our youths, especially from schools because no matter how the present generation of Nigerians might pretend about this category of people in our society, they are worthy future leaders.

As a kicker, ‘Kwara 2013’ has proved to have the trappings of a well organized grassroots competition aimed at discovering our future stars in sports from schools in an atmosphere that is free from rancor, godfatherism and tribalism.

Also, the competition has for the first time in its history, recorded a massive boost in terms of sponsorship and government support, thanks to the dynamic leadership of Mallam Ibrahim Mohammad, the President of NSSF.

No wonder the Kano Stateborn sports administrator received a massive support, as he was unanimously returned unopposed in their National Executive Council Election concluded on Thursday in Ilorin, to pilot the affairs of the organization responsible for developing and promoting school sports in the country for the next four years.

At ‘Kwara 2013’, records were shattered and new ones set, but the high point of the competition is that it has laid a solid road map for sports administrators in the National Sports Commission (NSC) to tap into. It is worthy at this juncture to reveal that Team Cross River alone set a new National School Sports Festival record in the swimming event and also in the entire sporting events concluded so far, by garnering the highest number of gold medals in a single sport.

Team Cross River garnered a total of 59 gold, 29 silver and 20 bronze medals to emerge tops in the swimming event of the 6th edition of the National School Sports Festival, and it is the stand of HT that NSC should see how it can support and groom these young lads to stardom.

If adequate attention is paid to these athletes and others discovered at the competition, hopefully in the next two Olympics, Nigeria should be producing world beaters in some of these sporting events than over relying on a particular athlete to win a single medal at the Olympics.

‘Kwara 2013’ also afforded Nigerians to see our future footballers displaying their God-given talent and skills at their right ages. For once, soccer fans who thronged the Kwara State Sports Complex were able to see how an U-13, U-15 and U-17 players should look like in terms of size and height, thanks to the Screening Committee of ‘Kwara 2013’ for doing a wonderful job.

From the foregoing, it is pertinent to ask how the organizers of the National School Sports Festival in Kwara State got it right.

The answer is simple. NSSF threw sentiments to the dust bin and made sure age cheats were kept at bay. There was so much transparency at the screening exercise that even doubting Thomases lacked words to challenge the modalities applied. As fathers and mothers, the members of the Screening Committee lined up all the athletes according to their age categories as the over-aged athletes were fished out from their hiding places with great ease.

Indeed, it was an exercise that gave many sports pundits in the country hope that Nigeria will soon get it right in sports development, if NSSF is given all the necessary support in this regard.

Aside all the aforementioned, ‘Kwara 2013’ is so unique in that it has gone down in history as the most successful school sports festival organized in the country in recent times because for the first time, corporate bodies like Sterling Bank threw its weight behind the competition. The ‘One Customer Bank’ as they are often called saw the necessity of unifying Nigerian youths in a sporting atmosphere and HT is pleased with this development.

At ‘Kwara 2013’, Sterling Bank confirmed to Nigerians that they are worthy pacesetters by supporting the competition with the sum of N35million.

The NSC also in its magnanimity gave the NSSF the sum of N16million for the organization of ‘Kwara 2013’, thus confirming the seriousness of Ilthe Minister of Sports/Chairman NSC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, to reposition sports development in the country after Team Nigeria’s flop at London 2012 Olympics.

This piece cannot be complete without thanking the Sports Minister for being supportive to our future sportsmen and women.

The accomplishments of the Super Eagles this year and the victorious outing of the Golden Eaglets at the just concluded FIFA U-17 World Cup at the United Arab Emirates are great testimonies of Abdullahi’s leadership skills and have equally placed his name in Nigeria’s Sports Hall of Fame as the most successful Sports Minister in the country’s history.

We hope the athletes discovered at ‘Kwara 2013’ will not be left to rot away? To the NSSF, the successes recorded at ‘Kwara 2013’ should be improved upon as Nigerians look forward to another rewarding school sports festival at the 7th edition, because to whom much is given, much is expected.

‘Kwara 2013’ has proven to be a monumental success and we pray this fire will not be extinguished by those who do not see anything good in the development of school sports.