It’s exactly a week after Play With Kwara Youths 4.0 and I can’t be more proud. When we birthed the initiative, we had a clear objective: NO MATTER WHAT, KWARA YOUTHS MUST BE UNITED. I needn’t bore us with how Youths from different spheres of life embraced PWKY at the first time of mentioning.
First, second, third and fourth edition are now things of the past, each edition bettering the one it succeeded, it’s never difficult to observe the steady progress, from the rise in entries, to the growth in the number of participants, to the hours spent on the pitch, to the incentives provided for the best performers in various games. Did you see the plaques given to the best performers? Even a sadist would love to have one in his closet. What about the cash awards? It may not be the largest sum of money to all but nothing can be relieving than how the winners of the cash prize have gone about putting the money into proper use. I’m elated, Saliu Mustapha must be proud of PWKY if they eventually get to know how the rewards they gave out were spent.
All of these point only to one thing: the Youths of Kwara are very serious and intentional about the word UNITY: We don’t want to be divided anymore, even if our political warlords don’t like the fact that we now have an umbrella that unite us, we don’t care. We are the ones for the future, we are the ones that must keep Kwara intact and peaceful, and Play With Kwara Youths have, over the years, shown that it’s the only platform with which we can live with our differences.
Of course, it’s not going to get easier, considering the fact that enmity and hatred can only thrive when the Youths of a society are divided, but at Play With Kwara Youths, we are casting a golden space in the history of our state, that which is being built by the resources, time and finance of every single individual who has participated in any edition of Play With Kwara Youths since its inception.
Now, we can only do better, and we aren’t resting on our horses until politics do not define who we are as a person, we won’t stop to stand up to the challenge of hatred and disunity in our state until we can’t treat each other based on the religion they practice or the part of the state they come from.
Beyond participation on the pitch, Play With Kwara Youths have made indelible interventions in the lives of Kwara Youths, from school fees payments, to emergency settlement, debt payments, name it: PWKY is beyond a sporting initiative and we can only be proud. In coming months, we’ll do wonderful things that no one envisaged, we’ll touch lives, we’ll make impact and we’ll unite the Youths of our dear state, these are what we must do, and no single individual will be able to lay claim to our success!
For Play With Kwara Youths 4.0, I appreciate all the participants for turning up and committing themselves from the start to when the final whistle was blown. Special appreciation to our wonderful coaches who spent very hugely from their hard-earned money to make PWKY a success: Engr. Jimoh Cook Ridwan, Dr. Badirudeen Apaokagi, Alhaji Hakeem Oladimeji Lawal, Qs. Muyideen Okunlola Kayode, Engr. Ibraheem Yinka Otukoko, Mr. Muhammad Funsho Abdullahi, Comrade Saliu Bolakale and Hon. Awogbade Olamide Blessing. You all are wonderful and PWKY appreciate you so much.
To everyone who contributed to the success of PWKY, His Excellency Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, Minister of Youth Development Hon. Ayodele Olawande Wisdom, Senator Saliu Mustapha, Senator Sadiq Umar, Hon. Muktar Tolani Shagaya, Rt. Hon. Engr. Salihu Yakubu Danladi, Engr. Nurudeen Adeyemi ENACT, Hon. Ibraheem Abdullateef, Hon. Abdulsalam Wasiu Onidugbe, Hon. Shehu Yahaya, Hon. Lekan Gadaff and host of others who contributed financially and morally. We appreciate you and we pray to God to grant each of you your heart desires.
Thank you all for committing yourselves to the oneness of Kwara.
See you next time,
Yusuf Mutiu Olaitan
Convener, Play With Kwara Youths
