June 14, (THEWILL)- For the second time in a few days, Governor Yahaya Bello received an eminent sports personality when the former Super Eagles captain, Mikel Obi, paid the Governor of Kogi State a courtesy visit on Sunday in Abuja.
THEWILL recalls that on Thursday last week, the Governor received the first Nigerian ever to be the undisputed UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, on his return to Nigeria, in company of officials of the state and posed for pictures with the championship belt straddling a shoulder.
The visit from Obi created an opportunity for the long-time midfield star of English Premier League UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea to harp on the need for youth leadership in Nigeria.
While lauding the strides of achievements of Bello across areas of security, healthcare, infrastructure, education and agriculture, Obi said it was time for the youths to come out and take leadership positions across all boards for the betterment of Nigeria.
He then pledged to support Bello political aspirations as a demonstration of his commitment to youth-led progress.
Mikel verbalised this by saying: “It is an honour for me to finally meet His Excellency personally after all the good things I have heard and read about him from not just the people of Kogi State but from Nigerians.
“My main aim is to come here to show my appreciation and to thank him for all the things he has been doing for the people and also to support him in whatever future political positions he wants to go into.
“I would like to be there to support him, to be there by his side through this journey for him to achieve whatever he wants which is for the betterment of Nigeria.”
Obi’s pledge included the aspiration that he could work together with Bello as a team to achieve success in the Governor’s future political endeavours.
Bello responded with gratitude to the football star for the visit and his pledge to support the cause for youth leadership in Nigeria. The governor stressed the timeliness of the call for the youths to take the opportunity that had presented itself in the country.
He submitted that for that to happen, the youths must be woken to the necessity to step up and vie for leadership positions to change the existing narratives in line with the current realities and he urged Obi to use his voice and his platform to make this a reality.
He added: “We can always come from our comfort zone to support each other. If we do not take charge, we are going to blame ourselves tomorrow. The opportunity has come and it is now, not a second later.
“So you are going to integrate with us, not just as the superstar, Mikel Obi, but as one who will be in tune with what is happening at home politically. In the western world, because they have political stability that is why there is safety and security.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
