Just before 10:05 a.m. on May 30, the VIP contingent of the World Athletics Gold Label Okpekpe International 10km Road Race set off, kicking in a little over an hour after the elite athletes launched their run across the undulating hills and valleys of Etsako East in Edo State.<\/p>\n
Among those starting in the VIP group were a senator and a federal government director-general\u2014two of Nigeria\u2019s most busy political figures. Their presence wasn\u2019t a matter of necessity, but of deliberate choice, a decision they have repeated year after year and which has slowly grown into one of the event\u2019s most distinctive storylines.<\/p>\n
Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, now 74 and the senator for Edo North, finished in 1 hour, 17 minutes and 57 seconds. Comrade Philip Shaibu, the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Institute for Sports (NIS), crossed shortly after at 1:18:00, holding onto his personal best at the competition. The reaction from locals near the finish was loud and immediate. For many in the crowd, seeing these two men complete the course every year has become a kind of tradition\u2014anticipated with the same excitement as the elite action itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach year, the news that Oshiomhole will be there sparks a frenzy,\u201d said Callistus Omonfoma Ebare, a veteran broadcaster who has been a regular at Okpekpe and whose involvement has been as steady as the people who cheer. \u201cHe\u2019s a natural performer, and he always insists on taking part from start to finish.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was no change this time. In the build-up to race day, when he was asked\u2014via Chief Mike Itemuagbor\u2019s aide\u2014how long he expected to take, Oshiomhole admitted he couldn\u2019t say. Still, he promised he would finish, and he delivered. Even with next year\u2019s milestone in view, when he will celebrate his 75th birthday, Oshiomhole\u2019s message has remained blunt and consistent: if his legs allow it, he will return.<\/p>\n
For both Oshiomhole and Shaibu, the Okpekpe story begins less like a typical race narrative and more like a personal philosophy.<\/p>\n
Long before he became governor of Edo State, Oshiomhole cut his teeth as a trade union leader. In that role, he spent years observing how Nigeria\u2019s rural poor moved to cities in search of opportunities the countryside struggled to provide\u2014something that troubled him deeply. Once he reached power, he set out to challenge that pattern.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, Okpekpe is more than a race,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s also a statement reflecting the ideas I developed about poverty and rural-to-urban migration during my time in the trade union movement.\u201d He added that elites in government should not lecture rural communities against migration when the rural areas offer little of what people need.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are rational,\u201d he continued. \u201cIf you bring real development to the rural areas, people will choose to stay. But when rural communities are cut off, they can\u2019t even access an ambulance. That\u2019s why many women die during childbirth. And when places aren\u2019t easily reached, schools suffer too\u2014teachers don\u2019t want to go to locations that are difficult to access.\u201d<\/p>\n
His conclusion was equally direct: \u201cTo be rural is not to be poor. That\u2019s why I said we would build roads to those communities that had been abandoned for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of those connections linked Okpekpe\u2014once a remote part of Etsako East\u2014to Auchi and Agenebode. The road\u2019s dramatic hills and its green valleys drew the attention of Chief Mike Itemuagbor, a native of Okpekpe and one of Nigeria\u2019s most prominent sports marketers. In the terrain, Itemuagbor saw something that could be rare in athletics: a ready-made course. He proposed an international 10km road race, and Oshiomhole\u2019s administration backed the plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time, my opponents were asking, \u2018Why is Oshiomhole building a road that leads to nowhere?\u2019\u201d Oshiomhole recalled. \u201cBut once Itemuagbor started thinking about a road race, I saw it as an exceptional chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Okpekpe International 10km Road Race was launched in 2013. Twelve years later, it holds the distinction of being the first World Athletics Gold Label 10km road race in Nigeria and across West Africa, firmly placing Edo State on the global athletics calendar. What was once described by critics as a road without purpose now appears as a results date in World Athletics records, sitting alongside events from Nairobi, Valencia and Tokyo.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat road is why we have the Okpekpe race,\u201d Oshiomhole said. \u201cAnd I have to recognise Mike Itemuagbor. If government creates the enabling environment\u2014and in this case, if God used me to build the road\u2014then God also used him to work out how best to turn the infrastructure into something meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oshiomhole\u2019s involvement is not confined to praising the event; he prepares for it.<\/p>\n
In a video that circulated widely ahead of the 2026 edition, he appeared in a white Okpekpe T-shirt with a phone in hand, showing the distance he covered and the calories he burned: 8.92 kilometres in 85 minutes and 492 calories. \u201cGetting ready for the Okpekpe race in May 2026,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s good to start practising. Events don\u2019t just happen overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n
His case for Okpekpe goes beyond emotion. With the environment in mind\u2014no generators, no factories, and minimal vehicle emissions in the area\u2014he spoke as an amateur health advocate. \u201cThis might be the only road race where, once you take part, your lungs will feel better,\u201d he said. \u201cBefore you come to Okpekpe, go and see your doctor; after the race, go again. You may not be surprised if he tells you that the oxygen in your lungs has improved because you were breathing cleaner air.\u201d<\/p>\n
He finished with his usual candour: \u201cSo if you\u2019re my age and you want to live long, my friend, don\u2019t miss the Okpekpe race.\u201d<\/p>\n
That message is more than self-promotion. Norrie Williamson, a World Athletics-certified course measurer from South Africa and a technical delegate to the event on multiple occasions, has independently confirmed the underlying reasoning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Okpekpe course has one of the most distinctive terrains anywhere,\u201d Williamson said. \u201cThe hills and valleys create a genuine test for athletes, while the clean air and natural surroundings give conditions that are uncommon in road running. It\u2019s not only competition; the course itself is an experience. Okpekpe combines athletic intensity with cultural authenticity in a way that few events can match.\u201d<\/p>\n
Endorsements like that are hard to manufacture.<\/p>\n
At an earlier edition, Oshiomhole made a similar point about age and exercise. \u201cThe race helps me tell people of my age that age is not a barrier to physical activity,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m still able to run 10km. What matters isn\u2019t only how long it takes\u2014it\u2019s that I\u2019m covering the distance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The baton is carried with shared passion<\/strong><\/p>\n Philip Shaibu\u2019s relationship with Okpekpe runs along the same road\u2014literally.<\/p>\n The route between Oshiomhole\u2019s hometown of Iyamho and Shaibu\u2019s home base of Jattu leads directly into Okpekpe, a geographic detail that Ebare highlighted as deeply symbolic: two sons of the soil moving along the same stretch of asphalt, converging at the same finishing line year after year.<\/p>\n When Oshiomhole\u2019s time as governor ended, Shaibu\u2014who had been Deputy Governor\u2014took over the state\u2019s sports portfolio. With Okpekpe positioned in his own sphere of familiarity, and with his long-standing interest in sport, he moved to take ownership of the race\u2019s continuing growth. His involvement tracked the event\u2019s rise through the World Athletics label system, progressing from bronze in 2015 to silver in 2018 and reaching gold status in 2022.<\/p>\n Shaibu\u2019s appointment as NIS Director-General by President Bola Tinubu deepened the connection further. This year, NIS medical personnel, researchers, and media staff were placed throughout the event.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Okpekpe race is not just the pride of Edo State\u2014now it\u2019s the pride of Nigeria,\u201d Shaibu said ahead of the 2026 edition. \u201cI\u2019m already getting myself ready for this race. It\u2019s not my first time participating, and the 2026 edition won\u2019t be the last.\u201d<\/p>\n He meant it in a practical sense. Less than a day before race day, Shaibu completed a 5km training run at Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City. The next morning, he lined up at the start.<\/p>\n At the finish, he spoke about the event\u2019s economic reach\u2014how the annual arrival of competitors, officials and tourists brings measurable benefits to communities across Etsako land and Edo North. He then returned to the NIS role: \u201cOur medical team, researchers, media personnel and other staff members were fully involved and provided support throughout the race.\u201d<\/p>\n Those remarks were significant, but the impact of their preparation and participation was evident on the course itself.<\/p>\n The importance of Oshiomhole and Shaibu showing up each year is not lost on those who follow the event.<\/p>\n Frank Ilaboya, a former Owan West Local Government Chairman, described it as a lesson in discipline. \u201cWith their age and political responsibilities\u2014which can often be demanding\u2014it\u2019s inspiring to see them make time to join the runners at the Okpekpe Road Race,\u201d he said. \u201cIt demonstrates personal discipline, dedication and commitment. The message to both the young and the old is clear: you can achieve anything you set your mind to, as long as you stay disciplined and dedicated.\u201d<\/p>\n For sports journalist Tayo Ogunseye, watching the pair finish carried a wider message. \u201cWhat stood out for me when I saw Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and Comrade Philip Shaibu run past after the finish was the symbolic push for staying fit, taking our health seriously, and showing resilience,\u201d he said. \u201cThe loud cheers from the locals also underlined the good they bring to people\u2019s lives\u2014through infrastructure, and through the wider socio-cultural benefits that come via sport. In a real way, the world truly came to the community through this event.\u201d<\/p>\n That final point captures something central about what Okpekpe has become. Itemuagbor\u2019s vision\u2014shaped by one governor and sustained by his deputy\u2014has transformed an isolated village in Edo North into a destination for elite runners from countries including Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Morocco, and beyond.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the biggest effects of the race is that it brings international elite athletes into rural Nigeria, where the real Nigerians live,\u201d Oshiomhole said. \u201cThey smile even if they haven\u2019t eaten, and they\u2019re happy to see people from other parts of the world, with different colours, visiting their community. You can\u2019t imagine the joy I feel when I see those smiles.\u201d<\/p>\n At this 11th edition, Oshiomhole was formally honoured as Race Ambassador\u2014an official title that reflected what his conduct had already demonstrated. The ambassador role was fitting. As Ebare noted, Oshiomhole commissioned the road, championed the race as governor, promoted it as APC National Chairman, and now participates as a senator.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, the Okpekpe race is completely linked with Oshiomhole\u2019s name,\u201d Ebare said.<\/p>\n Shaibu\u2019s path at the event has also continued to build momentum. From Deputy Governor to NIS Director-General, his institutional influence has grown with each edition. His promise that the 2026 race will not be his last is backed by a consistent track record of turning up.<\/p>\n In a country where politicians often limit involvement with grassroots events to ceremonial ribbon-cuttings, these two figures who helped create Okpekpe keep returning to run the same hills they helped put in place. They aren\u2019t chasing cameras or optics. As Ebare put it simply, the road from Iyamho and Jattu has always brought them here\u2014and for Oshiomhole and Shaibu, it always will.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Just before 10:05 a.m. on May 30, the VIP contingent of the World Athletics Gold Label Okpekpe International 10km Road Race set off, kicking in a little over an hour after the elite athletes launched their run across the undulating hills and valleys of Etsako East in Edo State. Among those starting in the VIP […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1544,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Okpekpe 10km Road Race: Elite Runners Start in Edo","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Okpekpe 10km Road Race kicks off in Edo as elite runners begin across Etsako East hills, with Oshiomhole and Shaibu leading the VI","mma_seo_breadcrumb_text":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_url":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_hide_ui":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_labels":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n