Sports
LG Chairman Seeks Martial Arts Training For Corps Members
Chairman of Jos South Local Government of Plateau State, Mr Moses Dalyop, has called for the introduction of Martial arts training for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), members nationwide.
Dalyop made the call during the passing-out parade of the Batch ‘F’ graduates of Martial Arts and Self Defence Academy (MASDA) at Auta-Balefi, Karu, Nasarawa State.
“I will advise government to adopt martial arts training for all youth corps members in their orientation camps.
“I will also advise that every local government council should sponsor youths for this training to enable them to get equipped with defensive skills,’’ he said.
On the crisis in Jos, the chairman said that all the residents in the state capital were tired of crisis.
He said Plateau State and its councils were ready to cooperate with the Federal Government to find a lasting solution to the crisis.
Dalyop noted, however, that most of the crises were instigated by outsiders, making it difficult to arrest the situation.
“It is correct to say that the crisis in Jos is being propelled by outsiders and, as such, they are gaining from this crisis; that makes it very difficult to bring the situation under control.
“I believe that the current stand by Federal Government on the crisis will bring it to a halt and at our own level, we are ready to cooperate with the Federal Government to stop the crisis, ” he added.
Earlier, Mr Richard Uboh-Ekong, Combatant General of MASDA, called on the government and corporate organisations to absorb graduates of MASDA.
He also called for enlightenment campaigns to make the public to appreciate the need to inculcate martial arts skills in the civil society.
Uboh-Ekong said the academy had trained 800 young men and women in the art of threat discernment, self defence, crisis control and disaster management.
He said the training was not for the purpose of equipping young men with arts of militancy, stressing that it was aimed at equipping youth with defensive skills.
The combatant general said that security and defence of lives were for everybody, and called on government and corporate organisations to invest in martial arts and self-defence.
Mr Jephthan Tallen, one of the graduates, told newsmen that the training would go a long way in helping him as most of those who came from Jos had acquired the training for self-defence and not for them to act as warriors.
Eighty students graduated from MASDA, bringing to 800 the number people that had graduated form the academy since its inception in June.
MASDA management conferred the title of Patron on Mr Moses Dalyop, Chairman, Jos South local government, as graduates displayed their skills in Judo, Taekwondo, Kung-fu and Karate for the guests.
Iwobi spoke to Tidesports source ahead of Nigeria’s crunch playoff semi-final against Gabon on Thursday, November 13, in Rabat, Morocco.
The 28-year-old was reacting to Nigeria’s shaky World Cup qualifying campaign that saw the Eagles finish second in Group C behind South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
“We’ve managed to rescue ourselves from the dead,” Iwobi told Tidesports source.
We know we have the players and the abilities to compete against any other country in the world.”
The Fulham star pointed to Nigeria’s star power, highlighting African Footballer of the Year winners Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen as proof of the squad’s quality.
“We have last year’s African best player (Ademola Lookman), the year before that (Victor Osimhen),” he said.
“It’ll be a shame if we don’t make it, but we have a lot of confidence. We just have to prove it to ourselves.”
Nigeria’s path to the United States, Canada and Mexico has been turbulent, with two coaches departing during the early stages of qualifying before Éric Chelle steadied the ship to steer the Super Eagles into November’s CAF playoffs.
Four nations from the continent – Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon – will vie for a solitary spot to compete in next March’s inter-confederation playoffs, with a view to joining the already nine qualified African nations at the Finals.
It would mark Iwobi’s second appearance at the World Cup Finals and the Super Eagles’ first since the 2018 edition of the competition.
Back then, Iwobi featured in all three games as Nigeria was knocked out in the group stage.
The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Publisher of the Atlantic Bell Online medium, Mr. Celestine Ogolo has advised sports writers in Nigeria to diversify in sports writing and not to concentrate on football reporting alone.
The Deputy National President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Mr. Bonny Nyong has expressed commitment to support sports development and move SWAN forward.