PHOTOS: HOSEC Foundation Advances Campaign On Empowerment Of Girl Child • Organizes 4th Jide Adeshina Female Basketball Tournament
Head coach, Oyo state basketball team, Mr Taye Shofolahan, has called on government at all levels to give priority to basketball and harness its potentials in empowering the girls.
Mr. Shofolahan made the call at the 4th edition of Hope For Second Chance Foundation, HOSEC’s Jide Adeshina Female Basketball Tournament, held in Ibadan, in celebration of this year’s International Day of the Girl Child.
The Oyo state basketball coach who believed that a lot of people focus on soccer when other sports like basketball could be harnessed for unity and socio-economic development of the country, challenged individuals to also invest in the sports.
Shofolahan said, “I don’t think they can do it alone because what it entails even more than what government can handle alone.
“If it can even get some individuals that can even help the government, like the way they are doing in South Africa. It is not government that sponsor their games.
“We have companies that handles a particular game, taking them to a national competition, taking them out of the country not local competition alone.”
Mr Shofolahan said basketball and other games in Nigeria would be at the same level with football or even at higher level if there could be concerted efforts to make it great.
Earlier in her address, the Executive Director, Hope For Second Chance Foundation, HOSEC, Mrs Ibukunoluwa Otesile said the foundation organised the programmes to reduce the vulnerability of the girl child and provide platforms for opportunities and advancement for them.
Mrs Otesile, guidance counselor and child rights advocate said “If you look around you, the question is, are our girls are where they should be, are there voices are as loud as it should be, are they as protected as they should be? If the answer is still no, then that’s enough reason for us to continue to do this.”
Otesile said children should have equal access to opportunities and rights.
The HOSEC Foundation Executive Director hinted that, for the pucity of funds, this year’s Jide Adeshina Female Basketball Tournament was only able to accommodate forty-two girls for the competition.
She said “apart from the Jide Adeshina Basket Ball Tournament which is the fourth edition, there are other events like the pad-up-a-girl child initiative in at least five secondary schools, (for in-school adolescent girls), where there will be training of the girls, speaking to them on menstrual hygiene apart from distributing sanitary pads to them.
Apart from a gold medal, a certificate and trophy, Jide Adesina Team Faith received a cash award of ₦150,000 for the first position while the sum of ₦100,000 went to HOSEC Foundation Team Hope who came second and Goodness Morankinyo Team Strength received ₦50,000 for the third position.
By Mosope Kehinde
