By Quadri Labaika, Ajifa Solomon, Faith Zamani and Kachollom Bitrus Doro
The University of Jos today held the ground breaking ceremony of the Abdul Salam Rabiu Sports Complex ahead of the Nigeria University Games Association (NUGA) games.
The complex, which is a project of the Abdul Salam Rabiu Africa Initiative, is a 250 million naira project that will comprise a basketball court, tennis court, spectator’s stand and dressing room.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Tanko Ishaya thanked ASR Africa for their generous donation, assuring them of a judicious usage of the fund.
“We appreciate the Chairman of ASR Africa for the privilege of being beneficiaries of the grant. The chairman has really been a master planner and if Nigeria had five more of his type, the country will change for better.
“When we first got the hosting rights for NUGA games, I told people that this would be the best games ever and now, the ASR Africa Initiative has made it possible. The management is grateful and we do not take this for granted.”
He also enjoined the Plateau State government and spirited individuals to join the philanthropic effort to ensure University of Jos is well-suited to host the games.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Ubong Udoh, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative, in his speech remarked that the initiative, which is the brainchild of Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, is a 100 million dollar annual fund for social development.
“Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu is passionate about Africans and Nigerians taking responsibility to solve their problems by looking inward and creating solutions. First of all, this is part of the ASR Africa tertiary educational grant scheme. It is a fund dedicated to tertiary institutions to support their infrastructure development.
“So far, twenty two universities have benefited from ASR Africa’s 250 million naira donation while six were recipients of the 1 billion grants. ASR Africa has disbursed 19 billion Naira grants in the last two years” he said.
He revealed that the choice of Sports Complex for ASR Africa was not just to provide a recreation centre for students but to create platforms for social cohesion, build character and self-esteem that will mould great citizens.
Dr. Udoh assured the management of the continuous support of his organisation in technical areas, as well as other infrastructure. “This is the beginning of our partnership; it will certainly not be a one-off thing,” he affirmed.
In order to facilitate a high maintenance culture, Udoh said that the Initiative has a mutual accountability framework to ensure beneficiaries are responsible for the usage of the facilities.
Moving on, the NUGA President, Dr. Muhammad Bawa, praised the university management for their student centric approach to the games. “I am proud of the management because all the projects they have been talking about are for the students. Most times, when institutions make statements about the games being for the students, you’ll discover that it is not true. But Unijos has made us proud”, he said.
It is expected that the games will contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Plateau State, create job opportunities for the teeming youths and provide platforms for athletes to showcase their talent.
The NUGA games set to hold in November 2024 is set to attract no fewer than nine thousand people including athletes, officials and spectators.
The ceremony has in attendance the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Tanko Ishaya, the managing director of ASR Africa Initiative, Dr. Ubong Udoh, representatives of the Plateau State Governor, Barrister Caleb Mutfwang,NUGA President, Muhammad Bawa as well as Professor Ishaya Pam , the Chairman Unijos Sport Comittee amongst others.
PHOTO STORY OF THE EVENT
Photos by: Ponsel Dashe and Joseph Datep
