The Vice-Chairman of Ikosi-Isheri local government who also doubled as the chairman of 57 Vice-chairman of all local government in Lagos, Hon. Princess Samiat Bolanle Bada, was full of praises for the Publisher of Somolu Newspaper, Sheriff Owolabi Bada over the firm’s initiative to wake-up the Lagos sports commission’s authorities on the possibility of the state beaming their searchlight on Somolu for more young table tennis players.
Princess Bada, who spoke at the grand finally of the maiden edition of Somolu Newspaper Under-16 Table Tennis championship held at the Agunbiade table tennis Centre, Somolu, Lagos on Friday, expressed her delight to the organisers for deeming it fit to organize such an event aimed at harnessing future table tennis players that will do us proud where and when the need be.
“The table tennis event no doubt has opened the way for sports commission’s collaboration to scoop talents that’ll bring pride and honour to not only Somolu but Lagos, Nigeria and the African continent as a whole.”
She noted that: “If the Lagos Sports Commission should do the right things with athletes without interruption from the ages of 11 to 16 years, the commission would better be for it if we discover talented athletes now, they would become champions in five years with articulate developmental programmes.”
She stressed further that the government must find a way of supporting this kind of initiative and Somolu being the hub of table tennis not only in the state but Nigeria as a whole’.
“I’m really impressed with what I witnessed today and I’m going back to my local government, Ikosi-Isheri to brief my chairman on how we can emulate such innovation for the benefits of our teeming youth”.
“It’s a known fact that the initiative is a laudable one and I appreciate the organisers for putting together such an epoch-making event which will go a long in not only reducing social unrest but also make Somolu/Bariga habitable to all and Sundry”.
Meanwhile, Somolu has the highest number of players in the National Table Tennis team who have been committed to representing their fatherland, Nigeria in the last one and half-decade.
As the luck will have it, one the Nigerian table tennis players, Jide Omotayo, a national record holder and Somolite was crowned the king of Ping-Pong in Africa while Funke Oshonaike, the sixth time women’s singles Olympics player ever remain unmatchable in the women’s category.
