Saturday, 14th February 2009
Kaduna, Ready to Shock All
AS the zero hour approaches swiftly for the National Sports Festival, host state, Kaduna, said that they would shock doubting Thomases with their eye-popping facilities and a Games Village that would thrill athletes at the Festival tagged Kada 2009. The Festival kickstarts on February 15.
After recovering from a postponement, the state said that they have gained tremendously from private and corporate organisations who donated generously to make the Festival one of the best in the annals. State Governor, Muhammed Namadi Sambo, said that the state was now fully ready to provide a long lasting legacy to the youths of Kaduna State and indeed Nigeria.
Intercontinental Bank Plc contributed the princely sum of N100 million, PAN donated thirty brand new Peugeot vehicles. MTN contributed N40 million while Oceanic Insurance came forth with another N40 million, twenty of this in cash while the balance was made up in kind. Not to be outdone, the twenty three local governments in the state collectively doled out N115 million. All together, more than N300 million has so far been raised to make Kada 2009 a grandiose one
A grateful Sambo said that those institutions have proved worth partners to the state and to Nigeria.
At least two technical committees that have inspected the facilities billed to host KADA 2009 have affirmed faith in the state of readiness of the facilities. From the facilities at the gigantic Murtala Muhammed Square to the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, all the way through to the Trade Fair Complex scheduled as Games Village, the facilities tell a story of what uncommon faith and determination can achieve.
At the Murtala Square, for instance, those who visited the indoor sports hall barely six weeks ago would hardly believe their eyes at the amazing transformation the facility has undergone. The gigantic roof, the cause of so much cynicism lately, is already in place while the interior of the cavernous facility is already undergoing the final coat of painting. The major task at the hall remains the floor markings for the indoor games earmarked for the centre, the work of a single day, as contractors at the arena assured. Adjoining the sports hall is an array of courts, ranging from tennis to basketball courts, all ready for immediate use.
The synthetic hockey pitch, so beautiful with its green surface, is already giving athletes cause for joy as it is already being used for practice. Shehu Serti, one of the players, said that he has never played on such a surface in his life. Next to it is the clay hockey pitch, also ready and awaiting markings, another single day’s work. The Olympic size swimming pool which has been another source of so much worry to many is also almost complete.
The tiles in the interior of the pool had all been laid while other facilities like the changing rooms, the water drainage machines and the water purifiers had all been installed. With the cricket pitch, the arenas for the traditional sport as well as last minute lateriting being put in place, it is obvious that the gigantic sporting arena to which the Murtala Square has been converted would be totally ready to host athletes long before the February 13th arrival date.
The Ahmadu Bello Stadium, that long standing legacy of the vision of the former premier, is already sparkling in readiness for the opening ceremony of KADA 2009. With its mondo tracks already laid in readiness for the spike shoes of the athletes, and the grass being carefully tended on daily basis even as the facility has been repainted, the stadium has come alive, re-suming its sparkle. Even the rugs in the offices are being changed in readiness for the KADA games.