Sports and games, either through indoor or outdoor, have become a growing concern globally owing to frequent sudden deaths arising from increasing cases of cardiac arrests, heart failures and chronic diseases forcing health institutions and bodies across the world to advocate mechanisms that place health on the global front burner.
According to health practitioners, a person who regularly plays sports develops a healthy body, better body strength and better coordination. The physical benefits also include maintaining a healthy weight, preventing chronic diseases and learning the skills necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Games and sports, taken further, also help individuals to develop sportsmanship, confidence, courage, tolerance and many other good qualities. Playing sports and games make the body and mind fresh just as games of sports make humans fit, active, fresh and social. They teach lessons of cooperation, duty and discipline as well as messages of brotherhood.
This is why the sports and games have become major events in the human calendar. From school sports, it has moved to as far a height as national sports, continental sports, global sports and tournaments such as the AFCON, Olympics and the World Cup, etc. Sports and games have brought the world together in many ways positive.
Just last weekend, the Research Institutes Games Association of Nigeria (RIGAN), an umbrella body of research institutes in the country, held its 17th edition of a games festival where 998 contingents from 23 research institutes met and competed for medals and trophies in indoor and outdoor sporting events.
To underscore its importance, the Minister of State for Science, Technology and Innovation, Hon. Mohammed Hassan Abdullahi who declared the 10-day games open implored the participants to see the games as a means to forge harmony and unity among the research institutes as a way of getting together, collaborating and harnessing their findings towards enhancing national goals and objectives.
The RIGAN has as members FRIN, NVRI, IAR & T/OAU in Ibadan, NAERLS/ABU in Zaria, NIS in Lagos, NIFOR, NBRRI in Abuja, NIFFRI in New Bussa, NAPRI/ABU in Zaria, NARICTS in Zaria, NASRDA in Abuja, IAR/ABU in Zaria, CRIN in Ibadan, NSORI in Ilorin, NIOMR in Lagos, NERDC, NITT in Zaria, NILEST in Zaria, PRODA in Enugu, NISER, NCRI in Badeggi, and NIPPS in Jos, among others.
It was the turn of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) to host the event in Abuja. It did so precisely and well too. At the end of the 10-day edition of the RIGAN games tagged: Abuja 2022 RIGAN Games Festival which was held with pomp and fanfare, RMRDC at the weekend defeated the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR), Benin in the soccer finals to win the coveted Gold medal.
But the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), Ibadan in a gallant move emerged the overall winner amongst 22 research institutes that featured 998 participants at the games festival which entertained Abuja’s mammoth spectators at the Area 10 Parade Ground in Garki and Moshood Abiola National Stadium in the heart of the nation’s capital city.
RIGAN’s President, Professor Feranmi Owolade, told sports writers at the Area 10 Parade Ground in Garki Abuja, venue of the final match between RMRDC and NIFOR that Abuja-based RMRDC won Gold in the finals of the football match while Ibadan-based FRIN emerged the second-time, back-to-back overall winner in the medals and trophies table, with 20 Gold, 16 Silver and 16 Bronze.
The Nigerian Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), in Vom near Jos, came second with 12 Gold, 26 Silver and 10 Bronze while the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training/Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) came third with 12 Gold, 5 Silver and 7 Bronze.
It will be recalled that two years ago, among 20 research institutes which battled for trophies at a 10-day 16th RIGAN Games which was hosted by the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NIBRRI) at Sango-Ota in Ogun State, the same FRIN emerged the overall champions with 20 Gold, 21 Silver and 22 Bronze medals.
The RIGAN president who was visibly excited that the games festival was held successfully despite the on-going nation-wide strike by research institutes said that the hitch-free outing eloquently signified another major achievement of the founding vision of RIGAN as a veritable and formidable platform to forge strategic synergy, harmony and collaboration among the nation’s research institutes towards the overall speedy growth and development of the country.
According to him, the recent edition of the games festival recorded a higher turnout than the last edition owing to factors he listed as aggressive mobilization and forceful drive by his national executive body, improved cooperation from his academic colleagues and the excellent preparation and organizational skills by the host agency, RMRDC management headed by the DG/CEO of RMRDC, Professor Hussaini Ibrahim Doko.
“The RMRDC showed they were well-prepared. We had perfect facilities, outstanding officiating and excellent environment. The RIGAN vision as a platform to forge harmony and synergy among research institutes has again been achieved. NASRDA which made its first appearance at the games with about 100 contingents came 12th with 2 gold, one silver and three bronze. The games festival has united us as a big family where sport is a nucleus of national unity. We thank God’’, Professor Owolade said.
For the organizers of the games, Mr. Umar Lapai Batako, who is also chairman of RMRDC Sports Club and secretary of the LOC, the Abuja 2022 RIGAN Games was a huge dream come true. The former football star said that the successful outing was icing on the cake of the string of successes of his leadership of the sports club dating back to four years ago when he was elected.
“As the participants were arriving for the games, we were first confronted with accommodation issues because the figure we had outstripped our provision but in less than an hour, the National Institute of Sports intervened as our backup plans thereby saving our guests from any hassles.
“From that point, it was success down the way. The games has added another cap to us because when we took over, the Sports Club was comatose but today, it is alive, courtesy of the full support and understanding of our sports-loving and highly-focused director-general and chief executive officer, Professor Doko Hussaini and his management and staff. Through him, we got a bus, state-of-the art gym, 200 track suits and more. He made all the difference’’, said Mr. Lapai Batako.
RIGAN’s national publicity secretary, Mr. Amos Tabe and national assistant secretary, Mr. Victor John-Bako said that the association had grown in leaps and bounds owing to the resilience, cooperation and doggedness of its leadership and members.
Mr. Amos Tabe said that RIGAN discovered some international soccer stars such as the current manager of the national team, the Super Eagles, Austin Eguavoen and Mutiu Adepoju, among others.
“Austin Eguavoen was a product of NIFOR in Benin while Mutiu Adepoju was discovered by CRIN in Ibadan. Also, the current RIGAN vice president, Mike Monye emerged from the family. We appeal to research institutes that are still out of the loop to come, for example, the Nigerian Institute for Pharmaceutical Research (NIPR), Idu-Abuja, NASENI and Centre for Conflict Resolution’’, he said.
Mr. Victor John-Bako praised RMRDC’s trail-blazing efforts at the just-ended games and expressed hope that the NVRI, Vom-Jos which is to host the games in 2024 in commemoration of its 100 years of existence will consolidate on the gains and successes of Abuja 2022 RIGAN Games Festival to expand the frontiers of the vision of the founding fathers.
The participating institutes battled for trophies and medals in 14 games namely Football, Athletics, Volley Ball, Lawn Tennis and Basket Ball. There is also 5-aside Football for Veteran men of 50 years and above, Athletics- digital and veterans of 50 years and above for men while women’s age is set at 45 years above.
There were also sporting events such as Chess, Draught, Darts, Scrabble, AYO, Billiard, Badminton, Table Tennis, Tennis, Squash – veterans and digital for men and women within the age bracket of 50 and 45 years, respectively.
The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) was given the hosting rights for the 17th edition of the 2021 RIGAN Games Festival by the National Executive Committee of the Research Institutes Games Association of Nigeria (RIGAN) in July, 2021.
The games festival which has since become a prominent biennial event in the national calendar of sports fiesta was initially scheduled for December 2021 but postponed to the first quarter of this year 2022 at the instance of the Honourable Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu.
Emeka Nwankpa, a journalist and public policy analyst, wrote from Abuja
