Charles Ogundiya 
On Thursday morning at the Education District IV Headquarters, Sabo Yaba, the Surulere Constituency of the state announced 16 teams for the Femi Gbajabiamila Football Competition for Secondary School with official kickoff taking place on October 31 with two centres expected to host the one-month football tourney.
Speaking during the draws for the tournament, the conveyer of the tournament, member representing Surulere Constituency at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Desmond Elliot, said the tournament was born out of the fact that due to the hardship of the country, it seems as if the kids and children were neglected and there is need to get them involved too.
“We’ve been doing different things in our community in trying to alleviate their situation. But we also wanted to let the kids know that we are also with them,” he said.
“That should not deprive them of their health, their fitness, their being happy, and certain things we need to do as a community, which is talking about the social vices.
“It was also born out of the fact that we have so many vices these days that are prevalent in our schools, such as drug abuse, cultism, cybercrimes, just different things, bullying, inter-school fights, and the likes.
“Also, on the other hand, it’s not just about talking to the children, but also listening to them in areas of things that pertain to them, concerning how difficult the country is today and how we can help them in understanding certain things.”
During the draws, 16 schools picked from both the private and public schools; New Gate Baptist, Lagos Progressive, Muritala Ajadi, Iponri, Zumuratul, Gbaja Boys, SIC College, Ansarudeen, Adebola, Obele, Eric Moore, Community, Stadium, Akintan, Govt. College and Onitolo were all drawn against themselves.
