Governor Abiodun rewards Tobi Amusan with a house in Ijebu Ode and a cash sum of N5m

GOVERNOR Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has rewarded world 100m hurdles champion and record holder Tobi Amusan with a house in her home town of Ijebu Ode and the sum of N5m ($11,500) in recognition of his feats on the athletic track.

On July 25, Ms Amusan set the world ablaze by setting two world records in the hurdles, running 12.12 and 12.06 seconds in the semi finals and finals of the World Athletics Championships. She cleared a highly talented field to win Nigeria's first ever gold medal at a world athletics championship, setting the tournament alight in the process.

A few weeks later, she then won Commonwealth gold in Birmingham in the UK, establishing herself as an undisputed world class athlete. After clinching gold in the women's 100 metres hurdles with a tournament record of 10.30 seconds, she also then got the women's 4x100 relax team off as they beat England and Jamaica to Commonwealth gold.

In recognition of these feats, Governor Amusan of her home state has named Ms Amusan as an Ogun State sports ambassador. He added that she can also train at the Ijebu Ode Stadium whenever she was in the country and as a result, this would prompt his administration to fast-track the renovation of the stadium.

Governor Abiodun said: "I am happy that you said you are not from any other state. We want to  assure you that as you come back home, you have a home here in the state.  So, in view of that, we are also going to be presenting to you a home in Ijebu-Ode. On top of that, we will be giving you a small token, we will be donating to you the sum of N5m.

“We are in the process of rehabilitating a few of our sport facilities and I have spoken to the minister of sports and a few other people but now that we have one of our own, who is saying that I want to train in that stadium. That puts us under a lot of pressure to ensure we prioritise the Ijebu Ode stadium because we want you to come and train at that stadium.”

In addition, the governor said his administration considered the role of women very important in all spheres of human endeavour, adding that the passing of a law to ensure the full emancipation of women in the state, would usher in an era where they would get more responsibilities. He stressed that his administration viewed Ms Amusan as a point of contact for other youths in the country that had lost faith in hard work, persistence and diligence.

Governor Abiodun also noted that the Ms Amusan's story would educate those who still viewed the combination of sports and education as a waste of time. Thanking the governor for his gesture, Ms Amusan, called on the federal government to do more for athletes.

She added: “All thanks to my governor for supporting me but I feel the federal government can do the same when it comes to supporting athletes financially." Her coach, Abiola Onakoya, added that the world champion was already giving back to society through an athletics development programme named the Tobi/Abiola Grassroots Sports Development in Ogun State.