Obafemi Awolowo University’s West African Games conquest shows bright future for Nigerian sports – Shaibu

The emergence of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, as the overall winner of this year’s regional sports competition among university students from West African institutions has been described as a good sign that “shows a bright future for Nigerian sports.”

READ ALSO: NIS transformation under Philip Shaibu has been remarkable, says UNIBEN vice-chancellor | Sports247 Nigeria

This statement was given by the Director General of the National Institute of Sports (NIS) of Nigeria, Comrade Philip Shaibu, who further commended the other representatives of the country for also putting up commendable performances.

Sports247 reports that Shaibu gave the verdict while speaking after Monday’s closing ceremony of the 15th West African University Games (WAUG) at the citadel of learning affectionately called ‘Great Ife’.

Shaibu also praised the OAU athletes for what he called their outstanding performances and dominance throughout the competition, stating that their achievement came through hard work, discipline and investment in sports development.

Their praise came after the hosts surpassed 22 other universities to take the top spot with a total of 122 medals (33 gold, 50 silver and 39 bronze), while the University of Ghana came second with 26 gold, 21 silver and 12 bronze medals.

Shaibu cheerfully stated: “The performance of Nigerian universities in the games shows that the future of Nigerian sports is bright. We at the NIS will continue to support university sports as a true platform to discover talents for the nation.”