THE ONGOING TRANSFORMATION OF OLUYEMI KAYODE STADIUM
The BAO Impact Series No. 14
BY ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA
The sports sub-sector is very dear to the heart of Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji and he has demonstrated this time and again since his assumption of office.
The Governor sees sports beyond ordinary leisure or recreation. He sees sports as an integral part of economy that can be used to change lives and empower the younger generation.
Sports development is a key component of Human Capital Development, the fourth leg of the Oyebanji Administration’s six-pillar development agenda which aims to use sports for job and wealth creation and also add value to the state’s economy.
He believes that sports has become a big business and a money spinner with multiplier effects on the lives of individuals in turning around their fortunes and taking the youths off the streets thereby discouraging them from involvement in crime.
The sports-loving Governor is of the opinion that when the right sporting facilities and infrastructure are put in place, it will give the state opportunities to host local and international sporting events and this will rub off positively on the local economy in the areas of tourism and hospitality, patronage of local businesses, purchase of locally made materials and the spotlight the state will attract.
That is why his administration has invested immensely in sports development in the areas of funding, welfare of sports men and women, capacity building for officials, sponsorship to major competitions, procurement of equipment and provision of infrastructure.
Governor Oyebanji is investing massively on sporting infrastructure to give the young men and women avenues to showcase their talents, unleash their potentials and also strive to put the name of Ekiti on the national, continental and global maps.
Towards the end of 2024, the Governor performed the groundbreaking of the Indoor Sports Hall Complex which is located within the precincts of the Ekiti Pavilion along new Iyin Road with work already in progress at the site of the project.
Raising the bar of excellence in the sports sub-sector, the Governor has turned his gaze on the premier sporting arena in the state, the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium, located in the Okesa/Dallimore axis of the state capital. A visit to the complex reveals a massive turnaround going on which is expected to change the face of sports in the state.
The stadium which has a chequered history used to be known as the Ado Ekiti Township Stadium in the days of yore before it was named after a great sporting hero of Ekiti extraction, Oluyemi Kayode, who died in a fatal auto accident in his United States base in October 1, 1994.
The deceased, an athletics legend who specialized in sprints, reached the final of the 200 metres race at the Barcelona ’92 Olympic Games. He was a member of the quartet that won the 4 x 100 metres relay silver medal alongside Davidson Ezinwa, Osmond Ezinwa and Olapade Adenekan at the same Olympics.
Governor Oyebanji, with the gesture of overhauling the stadium, is also inadvertently honouring the memory of Oluyemi Kayode, thereby motivating the young sporting talents in the state to also strive to etch their names in immortality and unending greatness.
Earlier in the week, Governor Oyebanji paid a working visit to the stadium to personally assess the level of work being done to revamp the facilities at the complex and ensure that the task is completed in record time and delivered in line with specifications.
Apart from boosting the morale of the athletes he met on ground, the visit also gave the Governor an on-the-spot assessment of the project and to prove that the turnaround of the local arena is a project after his heart.
Few days after the Governor’s visit, members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly Committee on Youths and Sports also paid a working visit to the stadium to assess the level of work as part of their oversight functions.
One major feature of the ongoing work on the stadium was the procurement and delivery of the synthetic pitch. The condition of the pitch has been a sore thumb in the arena in the past but the problem is about to be solved as soon as the synthetic pitch is laid.
Apart from the synthetic pitch, a new tartan track will also be laid to boost track and field (athletics) events while other facilities like seats, roof, the locker rooms, the mixed zone, among others will be touched.
Governor Oyebanji is working hard to make the stadium more television-friendly by boosting its aesthetics and the facilities being put in place will showcase its beauty when events inside the stadium are watched on the television.
The stadium serves as the home ground of the two state-owned football clubs, Ekiti United Football Club which plays in the Nigeria National League (NNL) and Ekiti Queens Football Club which plays in the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL).
Recall that last season’s opening match of the NWFL between Ekiti Queens and Delta Queens was played at the stadium and it was shown live on a pay television. It is believed that when the ongoing revamp is completed, the stadium will be considered to host prestigious matches of local and international importance.
The benefits to be reaped when the turnaround of the stadium is completed cannot be quantified and Governor Oyebanji will always be remembered for bringing his Midas’ touch to that famed arena.
Ogunmola is Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media (Print Media)