“Sports is a veritable means of engaging” – SRJ

Senator Ajibola Basiru of Osun Central Senatorial District has described sports as veritable means of engaging youths,take them off streets and crimes and expand their entrepreneurial frontiers.

Senator Basiru made the remarks while hosting Islamiyat Yusuf,a native of Erin Osun who won bronze medal for Nigeria at the just concluded Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in the United Kingdom.

“I salute the courage of Islamiyat in taking up weightlifting combined with academics. She has shown that issues about youths are not white collar jobs and crimes. We will support her and continue to support sports.”

Basiru charged youths to make a good use of their productive years to be self dependent and keep clear of delinquency. The Senator thereafter assured the teenage medalist that he would be responsible for the rest of her university education as a motivation for others who want to go the way of sports.

Earlier,the medalist,Islamiyat Yusuf had thanked the Federal and State Governments for supporting sports,and was appreciative of Senator Ajibola Basiru for hosting and recognising her as a worthy Ambassador of Nigera,Osun State and Osun Central.

She called on parents to always support their children in any positive things they do as her parents and coaches did for her.

Born on 19 years ago,Islamiyat an undergraduate of Lagos State University, has won local and international medals. She won 3 gold medals in Uganda in 2017,one gold and 2 silver medals in Egypt in 2018,2 gold medals in Algeria also in 2018,became fourth in Youth Olympics in Argentina and a gold medal in Mauritius this year before winning a bronze medal at the just concluded Commonwealth Games in Birmingham,the United Kingdom.