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By Chukwudi Abiandu
“I think on the whole, we’ve seen a very good finish, and I hope that everyone here (in Asaba) has thoroughly enjoyed one good week of high-quality athletics, I dare say, the first in the continent because there is something at stake.”
That was the remark of the President of the African Sports Journalists Union (AIPF), Mr. Mitchel Obi while fielding questions at the media centre as the curtains draw this evening, Sunday, August 05, 2018 on the 21st African Senior Athletics Championship, tagged Asaba 2018, held in the main bowl of the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, Delta state, Nigeria.
Mitchel Obi, who is also the vice president of the International Sports Press Association, the highest sports media association, summed up in that statement, the excitement that both athletes and spectators enjoyed while the athletics tourney lasted.
Kenya, topped the list of winners with a total 19 medals, made up of 11 gold medals, six silver and two bronze medals, all in the male and female categories. It is followed by South Africa, with a total of 30 medals, made up of nine gold, 13 silver and eight bronze medals. Nigeria, the host country, earned a total of 19 medals, made up of nine gold, five silver and five bronze medals, all in the male and female categories. The Nigerian men won one gold, three silver and three bronze medals, while the Nigerian women won eight gold, two silver and two silver medals.
Obi was full of praises and commendation for the people of Delta state, who he said has a man with the right vision in Governor Okowa, and describing him as the catalyst of all that made Asaba 2018 colourful and eventful.
Mitchel Obi said: “ I think they have a governor with the right vision, a catalyst for all what we are seeing here today. I want to visit this stadium one more time before the year ends, and see the score board in place, also see the lighting in full dimension, and then test the pitch to see whether the grass is as green as it is, whether it is good for the game, and beyond that, we have to improve in terms of how we blaze the trail in organization.
“I think it’s very critical, especially when it comes to the aspect of the media. The media has to be taken as a full partner in the consideration of any organization, and this, perhaps, is a message to stakeholders in sports that when you want to put up a show of this nature, you need to get the media fully integrated, so that they can help you with not only getting the people to be mobilized and galvanized to enjoy the best of sports, but also as a veritable partner in finding the right kind of corporate support.
“I think on the whole we’ve seen a very good finish, and I hope that everyone here has thoroughly enjoyed one good week of high quality athletics, I dare say, the first in the continent because there is something at stake. Of course, you know that for the first time there is prize money; you have $3,000 for gold medal, it has never happened before; $2,000 for silver medal and $1,000 for bronze medal. So, all round, the athletes are winning, the state (Delta State) is looking good and excited with the potential to spread, and of course, the people of Nigeria can say they are in the fray when it comes to hosting big tournaments,” Mitchel Obi enthused.
In terms of performance and the event that excited him the most, Obi said: “I stood up to salute the women in the 4×4 100m event. That is our old forte, and we are beginning to return to it. The girls showed that they had a good strategy, they worked hard at it. Again, in the relay, the girls had something more special. I don’t want to say that the future of Nigeria’s athletics is feminine, but you see; when the women are leading there is a difference.”
The baton for the next hosting of the African Athletics fiesta in 2020 was handed over to Algeria.