The President of the Gateway Tertiary Institutions Games (GATIG) Council, Kehinde Olalekan Adeyemi, has urged higher-education authorities in Ogun State to make sports facilities a priority and invest in their improvement so that gifted student-athletes can reach their full potential.
Adeyemi made the appeal after the seventh GATIG concluded at the Moshood Abiola International Stadium in Abeokuta over the weekend, bringing a week of competition and related sporting activities to an end. He also serves as Director of Sports at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye.
He said campuses needed modern, properly maintained venues and equipment to identify, support and develop the considerable sporting ability among students across the state. In his view, sport should be treated as more than leisure, offering students a route to pursue academic qualifications while building careers in athletics and other disciplines.
“Students who possess outstanding sporting talent deserve both the chance and the right environment to improve,” Adeyemi said. He added that stronger investment in university and college sport could open additional career paths for young people, while contributing to their physical fitness and mental wellbeing.
The GATIG president praised the competitors, officials and participating schools for their behaviour during the championship. He said the respect and fair play shown throughout the event had played a major part in its successful staging.
He also called on the institutions to maintain the enthusiasm created by the games by expanding their sports schemes and providing opportunities for students to train consistently and test themselves in higher-level competitions.
The latest appeal reflects Adeyemi’s longstanding position that campus sport requires greater financial commitment. He has frequently warned that poor infrastructure at many tertiary institutions discourages participation and narrows the search for athletes capable of representing Ogun State and Nigeria at major events.
GATIG has grown into a significant meeting point for student competitors from universities, polytechnics and other higher institutions throughout Ogun State. At the seventh edition, Tai Solarin Federal University of Education (TASFUED), Ijagun, claimed the overall title, with Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, finishing second in the medal standings.
Adeyemi said the competition’s continuing expansion should reinforce the message that sporting progress depends on long-term support for facilities, coaching and athlete welfare. Given Ogun’s large and varied tertiary-education network, stakeholders believe better-equipped campuses could greatly increase the number of athletes available for state and national selection.
The GATIG council president was confident that closer cooperation between institutions, sports administrators and government bodies could turn tertiary campuses into stronger centres for identifying and developing talent. The championship closed in a celebratory atmosphere, with athletes and participating schools already anticipating future editions and the opportunities they may create for a new generation of Nigerian student-athletes.
