Gov Abiodun Makes World Champ, Tobi Amusan N5m, House Richer

• Names her Ogun State Sports Ambassador

BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – Nigeria’s World, Commonwealth, and African women 100-metres hurdles champion, Oluwatobi Amusan is now five million Naira and a house richer. All thanks to the benevolence of the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun.

This is as Amusan has also been named the Ogun State Sports Ambassador by the governor, who on 26th April 2021, officially adopted her as one of those athletes, whose exploits were unveiled by the Minister of Youths and Sports, Sunday Dare in the Ministry’s Adopt-An-Athlete scheme.

In announcing the N5 million cash reward and the house gift in Ijebu-Ode to the queen of the tracks at an event held at his Oke Mosan Office, Governor Abiodun described Amusan as a role model to the girl-child and a practical example of a truism that what a man can do, a woman can even do better.

According to the Governor, Amusan “will be our Sports Ambassador; I am happy that you said you are not from any other state. You are from Ogun and not from Lagos and you want to come back home. We also want to ensure that you come back home. We want to assure you that as you come back home, you have a home here in the state.

“So, in view of that, we are also going to be presenting to you a home in Ijebu-Ode. On top of that, we will be giving you a small token, a donation of five million Naira to you”.

Abiodun, who explained that his administration is on course to give the Ijebu-Ode Stadium the necessary facelift, said the call by the star athlete to use the stadium to train whenever she is in the country would further prompt his administration to fast-track the rehabilitation of the stadium.

“We are in the process of rehabilitating a few of our sports facilities, I have spoken to the Minister of Sports and a few other people, but, now that we have one of our own who is saying that I want to train in that stadium, that puts us under a lot of pressure to ensure we prioritize Ijebu-Ode stadium because we want you to come and be training in that stadium”, Governor Abiodun said.

The Governor said his administration considers the role of women very important in all spheres of human endeavor, adding that the passing of a law to ensure the full emancipation of women in the state signals the beginning of an era where women get more responsibility in the scheme of things

Furthermore, he said youths in the country can combine both sports and education without any disturbance, and urged them to borrow a clue from the world champion who combined both and is doing well for herself.

Also describing athletics as an avenue where discipline, leadership skills, and interpersonal relationships can be learnt, the governor said; “Tobi has been able to succeed through a lot of discipline, hard work, persistence, and a lot of faith in her ability”.

He said his administration considers Amusan as a point of contact for other youths in the country who have lost faith in what hard work, persistence, faith, and diligence can achieve, noting that her story as the World, Commonwealth and African Champion would further enlighten those still looking at the combination of sports and education as a waste of time.

In her response, Amusan, who acknowledged the support of Governor Abiodun towards her success, called on the Federal Government to do more for athletes, saying; “All thanks to my governor for supporting me and I feel like the Federal Government can do the same when it comes to supporting athletes financially”.

Also, her coach, Abiola Onakoya disclosed that the world champion is already giving back to society through an athletics development programme named ‘Tobi Abiola Athletics Development’ in Ogun State.