By Correspondent in Minna.
Members of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) in Niger state have been called upon to organize friendly football matches or other sporting events that could serve as vehicle to promote healthy rivalry amongst disenchanted youths in Niger state.
The Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC command in the state, Haruna Bala Zurmi, made the call when state the chairman of SWAN chapter, George Daniya, led other members of the executive on a courtesy visit to the command.
According to him, sports remains a very strong instrument that can be used in promoting unity amongst the diverse ethnic nationalities and segmentations in the state, Minna, the state capital in particular, and stressed the need for SWAN to partner with the NSCDC on how to use sports in promoting peaceful coexistence.
The Commandant, who spoke through his Deputy, Idris Danjuma, a former football player, said the usefulness and power of sports, as a tool for building bridges of understanding and promotion of peace, could be overemphasised.
While appreciating SWAN for the visit and commitments to the cause of promoting peaceful coexistence through sports, the Commandant assured of the association of the preparedness of the Command to deploy alternative peace building mechanism to serve as a bridge to ending gangsterism, holiganism and cult rivalries especially among youths in Minna metropolis.
He expressed concern that constant clashes between different cult groups, gangsterism, holiganism and thuggery in Minna had been a thing of concern, a development he noted promoted the Command’, desire to want SWAN to champion the cause of using sports as a tool to build healthy rivalry amongst youths.
Earlier, Daniya had told the NSCDC Commandant he and executive members were in his office to seek for opportunities with key stakeholders in the area of sports and using same as a veritable tool for the promotion peaceful co-existence amongst citizens.
Daniya reminded his host that it was important for young men/women and officers of the Command to engage in not only sports but any form of physical fitness capable of improving their health, a concept he said SWAN had been championing.
While expressing appreciation for the warm reception, the SWAN chairman intimated the Commandant of the forth-coming NUJ inter-Media Games/SWAN Week and solicited for the support and cooperation of the security outfit in the state toward actualising set objectives of the event.
