The Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Hon. Bukola Olopade, on Monday led a high-level delegation of the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) to pay a courtesy visit to former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta.
The visit comes as Nigeria prepares to host the 3rd CAA U18/U20 African Athletics Championship in Abeokuta from July 16 to 20, with leaders in African and global athletics converging to discuss the growth and future of the sport on the continent.
Chief Obasanjo thanked the CAA for awarding the championship hosting rights to Nigeria and Ogun State in particular.
“We have facilities, and we have history,” Obasanjo said. “Any friend of Africa is most welcome in our state. We will cooperate, collaborate, and partner with CAA. We will be the best host we can be.”
President Malboum used the occasion to call for deeper structural reforms in African athletics, lamenting instances where the CAA had to solicit aid from World Athletics (WA) due to administrative shortcomings. He emphasized that such situations diminish the continent’s dignity and called for sustainable African-led solutions to African sports challenges.
Highlighting the launch of a new initiative, “the Africa Sports and Culture Development Foundation,”Malboum revealed that Chief Obasanjo has been chosen as one of the pillars of the Foundation and requested his consent to serve as Chairman of its Board of Trustees. The initiative aims to elevate African athletes and preserve the continent’s sporting and cultural identity.
Chief Obasanjo warmly accepted the honour and expressed his firm belief in the power of sports and culture as tools for positive societal transformation.
“I am open to any policy that will aid sports and cultural development—endeavours with a high level of positivity and productivity,” he said.
President Malboum presented the former president with a formal letter of cooperation, along with a book authored by a Cameroonian professor as a special gift to the presidential library.
The high-powered delegation, included CAA President Hamad Kalkaba Malboum, President of Asian Athletics General Dahlan Al Hamad, and President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) Chief Tonobok Okowa, sought the support of the former leader in advancing athletics development across Africa.
