The recent two-day tour of projects across the nooks and crannies of Ekiti State by media executives and journalists showed that Governor Biodun Oyebanji is a man who has an undying passion to take the Land of Honour to greater heights through the hitherto neglected sectors.
During the tour, many of the media professionals were surprised about the quantity and quality of the projects which are being executed without fanfare but with the ultimate aim of making a great impact in the lives of the people and on the economy of the state.
The projects inspected by the journalists who were joined by the members of the State Executive Council (the state cabinet) included roads, schools, channelization and drainages, hospitals, a housing estate, among others.
Two of the ongoing projects which caught the attention of this writer were the International Centre for Arts and Culture being built on a site near the Ureje River/Dam along Waterworks Road and the Indoor Sports Hall coming up within the precincts of the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion along New Iyin/NTA Roads both in Ado Ekiti.
These two projects speak to the Governor’s vision of using arts, culture and creative economy and sports to boost the profile of the state, raise internally generated revenue, create jobs for the unemployed, attract tourism, create a market for local artisans, traders and investors, make Ekiti a positive centre of attraction and market its potentials to the world.
The inspection team was surprised about the rapid pace of work at the International Centre for Arts and Culture and the Indoor Sports Hall. The former had its foundation laid by end of July while the foundation of the latter was laid shortly after. Despite the fact that the groundbreaking of the two projects were recently performed, the level of work was amazing.
The sporting sub-sector is an area Governor Oyebanji believes can be used to take many youths who could be tempted to be involved in unwholesome activities off the streets and be made productive and polished to become world beaters in various sports disciplines.
An indoor sports hall is a huge gap that needs to be filled to make the dream a reality. Since Ekiti State was created on 1st October, 1996, none of the successive administrations (military or civilian) thought it wise to build an indoor sports hall to expand the scope of sporting activities.
That narrative is about to change with the ongoing construction of an indoor sports hall. Addressing the media executives who visited the site as part of the two-day tour of projects, the Technical Advisor to the Governor on Sports Development, Dr Olusola Osetoba, explained that the site of the project was informed by non-availability of space at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium.
Dr Osetoba disclosed that the indoor sports hall, when completed, would be used for not less than 16 different sports including gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, handball, squash, badminton, table tennis, wrestling, boxing, weightlifting, taekwondo, judo, karate, scrabble, chess, among others.
She added that when completed, the indoor sports hall would place Ekiti at an advantage in hosting regional, national, continental and even global competitions and also give sportsmen and women opportunity to showcase their talents and potentials.
With the ongoing construction of the Indoor Sports Hall for the first time in the history of the state, Governor Oyebanji is sending a clear signal of the readiness of his administration to provide an avenue to discover more sporting talents and nurture them to the global pinnacle achieved by distinguished Ekiti-born stars like Olympic 100 metres relay silver medalist, the late Oluyemi Kayode; African men’s 100 metres champion, Olusoji Fasuba; African women’s 100 metres champion, Damola Osayomi; and Super Eagles stars: the late Ajibade Babalade, Seyi Olofinjana and Olanrewaju Kayode.
With the ongoing work on the complex, Governor Oyebanji is taking Ekiti to the exclusive club of states in Nigeria with facilities capable of hosting international sporting competitions with the attendant attraction of athletes, coaches, sports administrators, the sporting media, enthusiasts and spectators which is expected to rub off on the local economy in the future.
When the sports hall is completed and the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium remodelled to taste, who tells you Ekiti State cannot bid to host the National Sports Festival in the nearest future. Governor Oyebanji had already sown the seed and this would be a great legacy in his name when the dream becomes a reality.
The International Centre for Arts and Culture is another legacy project the people of Ekiti and those coming from outside the state would benefit immensely from judging by the motivation behind the vision as brilliantly articulated by the Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Professor Ojo Bakare.
Professor Bakare revealed that the project, when completed, would have facilities like a theatre for performances, an events hall, a gallery of modern arts and sixteen huts (representing each of the constitutionally recognised local governments) where works of arts and crafts that define the people of the LGAs are showcased.
The Cultural Centre will also have an Artiste Camp where people who come to make films can reside, a mall, an editing suit, studios, a research library and museum capable of attracting arts researchers and scholars from within and outside the country.
Another selling point of the Cultural Centre is that despite being wholly owned by the state government, it is being built to attract grants and funding from the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and other international bodies.
Being located on the riverside means that aquatic activities like fishing and boat regatta can take place at the centre with such activities capable of positively projecting the image of Ekiti as a destination of choice for leisure, recreation and tourism apart from its primary purpose of serving as a cultural centre.
The centre promises to be a nectar which would attract arts and culture enthusiasts, lovers and promoters providing opportunities for marketing, branding, interaction, cross fertilization of ideas, pot-pourri of culture razzmatazz and showbiz in addition to giving platforms to make the creative economy flourish without let or hindrance.
All these are expected to complement what Ekiti has achieved in the arts and culture sub-sector where the state has acquired international recognition with the breathtaking performances of Ekiti Performing Arts Company within and outside Nigeria including places like Hungary, the Netherlands and most recently France.
The International Centre for Arts and Culture and the Indoor Sports Hall would add to the ever-increasing monuments in Ekiti and they are expected to serve as legacies for which Governor Oyebanji would be remembered long after he might have left office.
- Ogunmola is a Senior Special Assistant (Media) to the Ekiti State Governor
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