Lagos State Sports Commission Director General Lekan Fatodu has met the mother of teenage squash player Tanimola Mariam Oshodi after a viral video raised concerns about her daughter’s treatment by Surulere Local Government personnel.
Quick facts
- Tanimola Mariam Oshodi represents Lagos in the Under-15 squash team.
- Her mother is Kafayat Abike Oshodi.
- The meeting took place on Wednesday and included Tanimola.
- The Commission plans stronger policies, communication and inter-agency awareness to protect young athletes.
Tanimola was reportedly stopped from taking part in an important sporting engagement. Her mother, Kafayat Abike Oshodi, then voiced her frustration publicly.
Fatodu led the Commission’s management team in meeting Oshodi and her daughter on Wednesday. He said the purpose was to establish what happened and offer immediate assistance to the family.
Oshodi recognised the Commission’s contribution to her daughter’s sporting ambitions, as well as its support for other young athletes. She nevertheless called for closer cooperation between the Commission and government bodies throughout Lagos.
She said that stronger coordination was needed to ensure young athletes, especially girls, are not blocked from developing their sporting careers.
Fatodu assured the family that the Commission would engage the government body involved without delay in an effort to ensure the incident is not repeated.
He also outlined broader steps, including medium- and long-term action and a tougher policy structure for dealing with comparable cases.
The Commission intends to improve its communication with parents and young athletes so that urgent complaints can be handled quickly, Fatodu added.
He said ministries, departments and agencies would receive greater awareness of their responsibility to protect and encourage emerging sporting talent.
Fatodu said Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s vision was for Lagos to identify promising young athletes and help them reach their full potential.
Any person or institution whose conduct undermines that goal of empowering young people through sport would seriously damage the state’s talent-development efforts, he added.
The intervention follows increasing demands for better coordination among government institutions, so that administrative and institutional difficulties do not hold back the progress of young athletes in Lagos State.
