Head of Lagos Sports Commission meets mother of young squash player
Lekan Fatodu, Director General of the Lagos State Sports Commission, met with Abike Oshodi and her daughter Tanimola, a young squash athlete. The meeting took place after a viral video emerged about the alleged obstruction of the girl’s participation in a sporting event, Premium Times Nigeria reports.
Incident circumstances
Tanimola Oshodi represents Lagos in squash and competes in the under-15 age category. According to the publication, employees of the Surulere local government authority allegedly did not allow her to take part in an important sporting event.
During the conversation, Abike Oshodi noted the support that the Lagos State Sports Commission provides to her daughter and other young athletes. At the same time, she called on the commission to strengthen awareness-raising work among other state institutions on the importance of supporting young athletes and preventing actions that could harm their sporting aspirations. She also stressed the need to protect the aspirations of young people, particularly girls who choose a career in sports.
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Promised measures
Fatodu assured the family that the commission would engage with the authority involved in the situation to prevent it from happening again. According to him, the commission will also consider measures to strengthen its response to similar cases involving young athletes.
Among possible steps, he named the development of a policy to prevent circumstances that could disrupt athletes’ participation in competitions, improving communication between the commission, athletes and their parents, as well as raising awareness among ministries, departments and government agencies about protecting promising sporting talent.
