Ahead of the Nigeria Police Games commencing Saturday in Awka, Anambra state, Frank Mba writes on the positives from the event as well as the many sporting heroes and heroines the police have produced at both national and international stages.
Come Saturday, February 29 2020 at exactly 12 noon, the Nigeria Police 12th Biennial Games kicks off at the famous Ekwueme Square in the beautiful and serene city of Awka, the Anambra state capital.
The historic event which has as its theme: ‘Promoting Community Policing Through Sports’ would be declared open by the special guest of honour, vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.
It would have in attendance, top government functionaries, traditional rulers, captains of industries, heads of security agencies, key stakeholders and the crème de la crème from the sports and youth development sectors, civil society organisations and the media, amongst others. The event would also have Anambra state governor, Willie Obiano Akpokue Dike 1 as the chief host.
Over 3000 male and female police athletes drawn from the 12 zonal commands and the Force Headquarters would feature and compete in 31 indoor and outdoor sporting games which include athletics, football, basketball, table tennis, lawn tennis, judo, taekwondo, weight lifting, golf, chess, squash, shooting, karate, swimming, hockey, badminton and handball, amongst other sporting events.
The games readily remind us of so many police personnel whose names are now etched in gold in the pantheon of sporting greats in the country and beyond. How can one ever forget the exploits and epochal feats of the likes of ACP Chioma Ajunwa (MON) –Nigeria’s 1st individual Olympic Gold Medalist, the late SP Sunday Bada – Olympic Gold Medalist, DSP Samuel Peter, former WBC Heavy Weight and Inspector Igun, an outstanding police athlete who captained the Nigerian national team to many international competitions. He was a Gold Medalist in the triple jump at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica as well as the African Games in Congo Brazzaville.
Only recently, ASP Job Atabor became the 1st ever police officer to be titled Candidate Master of Chess, African Zonal Individual Chess Championship, Monrovia, Liberia 2017. Equally, Glory Charles, a female police officer distinguished herself during the African Zonal Individual Chess Championship in Accra, Ghana 2019; ACP Margaret Ekpe – 5-year national champion for Nigeria in discus and Bronze medalist in the 1991 All African Games in Cairo, Egypt; Sunday Oyaekare– accomplished footballer who scored the first goal at the National Stadium, Lagos during the opening of the Stadium; Boxer Durodola Olarewaju, the new African Boxing Union Champion at the February 1 2020 African Boxing Union Cruiser Weight title bout with a TKO, Accra, Ghana and former World Boxing Council Silver Cruiser Weight of the World and Ajayi Kikelomo Florence – former Captain of the Nigeria Super Falcons football team. She played and won six African Nations Cup, three World Cup Tournament and three Olympic Games and George Usoro – the Nigerian police officer that formed the Nigerian Volley Ball Team and participated in several Olympics qualifying and all African Games. This is just to mention but a few.
It needs however be mentioned that in spite of the laudable accomplishments by these officers both within and outside the shores of the country, they, like the late DCP Ben Odiase who composed the Nigerian National Anthem, have remained largely unsung. Yet, the Nigeria Police has continued to produce sportsmen that have always raised the bar wherever they have flown the flag of the nation.
This year’s games, Anambra 2020, would yet again provide ample opportunity for relatively unknown police sportsmen to announce themselves, their talents and competences to the world. It would also serve as a platform to discover sporting talents in the police force who would re-enact the heroic and historic performances of our police legends.
The games, apart from promoting camaraderie among police officers, would undoubtedly enhance the physical and mental fitness of the participants. Needless to state that since policing is a physically and mentally demanding profession, sports have become a desideratum for every police officer.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) M.A Adamu, NPM, MNI, identifies with the unparalleled potentials of sports in actualising the targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) such as good health and well being, gender equality, sustainable cities and communities and in building strong institutions. He believes that the police games which is just a few weeks to the National Sports Festival in Edo state, would continue to provide the nation the opportunity to harness sports talents in the country particularly as Nigeria prepares for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games and the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Anambra 2020 presents the police with the golden opportunity to engage communities and build goodwill with the general public in a manner that would fill the trust gap, strengthen confidence building between the citizens and police and accelerate the attainment of our community policing goals towards improving our national security.
Our esteemed host, the dynamic and sports loving governor of Anambra state, the government and people of the state can be rest assured that this goodwill to host and sponsor the 2020 police games would further assist in integrating and re-uniting the police personnel with the people. We have no doubt that Anambra state will take advantage of the opportunities the games provides to project its tourism potentials and commercial prowess, in addition to showcasing its rich cultural heritage and hospitable ambience to the world.
It is hoped also that the event would help to fruitfully engage the minds of the youth in the area and arouse their interest in sports and policing.
Meanwhile, the chairman, Anambra 2020 Police Games Central Organising Committee, AIG Usman Baba Alkali, (MNI) has, on behalf of the IGP, called on members of the public in the state – the light of the Nation – and other contiguous cities to come out en-masse to the various centres where the fiesta would take place – the Ekwueme Square, Awka, Otuocha Stadium in Anambra East LGA, Rojeny Games Village, Oba in Ndemili South close to Onitsha, the NYSC camp ground where most of the indoor games would take place and the Police College Orji-River, where the shooting competition would take place.
He assured that this year’s games would provide an atmosphere for fun, enthusiasm and unparalleled record breaking performances.
DCP Mba is the police spokesman at the Force Headquarters, Abuja
