The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) are partnering on the ‘Conversations’ series, seeking to combine sports and diplomacy to drive Nigeria’s foreign policy agenda for Africa.
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare and the Director-General of NIIA, Professor Edosa Osaghae, are pioneering this landmark collaboration which will hold at the NIIA headquarters in Lagos on Thursday.
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“This partnership, which is the first of its kind, will explore and extend the frontiers of sports as a powerful tool for development in line with our ministry’s national sports industry policy projections,” Dare said in a statement.
Some of the experts expected to deliver papers at the seminar are Idorenyin Uyoe, a sports scholar and seasoned marketer based in the United States; Ron Freeman, a 1968 Olympics double medalist who is also a diplomat, humanitarian and peace activist and Professor Ikaweba, the director of the Department of Unity for the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation in Tanzania.
Meanwhile, Dare has congratulated Nigeria’s Anuoluwapo Juwon Opeyori on his victory at the All-Africa Individual Badminton Championships in Kampala, Uganda over the weekend.
Opeyori defeated the home boy Brian Kasirye of Uganda in straight sets, winning 21-14, 23-21 in a thrilling and pulsating encounter.
The Nigerian had earlier, also beaten the 2017 Champion Adel Hamek of Algeria in straight sets in the semifinal.
The minister commended Opeyori for doing the nation proud and displaying the unconquerable Nigerian spirit at the championships despite being the country’s sole representative.