2018 MIGA Games: Buhari Emphasizes on Athletes Promoting Unity

2018 MIGA Games: Buhari Emphasizes on Athletes Promoting Unity

Zainab Tanimu

Kaduna, North-West, NIGERIA

President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday, November 25, 2018, tasked athletes at the Ministry of Interior Games (MIGA) to promote unity as the Games aimed at discovering new talents for Team Nigeria.

In his address at the opening ceremony of the Ministry of Interiorized Games 2018 at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium Kaduna, President Buhari, who was represented by Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna state, said that the MIGA Games will foster unity and harmony among the services under the ministry.

He said, “we welcome the services and the ministry of interior to Kaduna state, as we promise to do all possible to make the Games a success.

“As we prepare for the 2019 general elections, in February and March, it is important that peace and unity be our watchword. We appreciate the efforts of the ministry of interior and other security agencies, they have done a lot to ensure peace in Kaduna state,” the President added.

The Minister of Interior, Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd), in his address, noted that the Games is in line with the commitment of President Buhari’s administration to promote harmony and collaboration among the services.

“The Games will enable the services to share idea and relate warmly on issues around us to impact positively on internal security,” he said, adding that 1,784 athletes will compete for 218 gold, 218 silver and 242 bronze medals.

The 2018 MIGA games features the Nigerian Police, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp, the Nigeria Prisons Service, Federal Fire Service and Ministry of Interior.

While fielding questions from journalists, the Commissioner of Police and   Director of Sports Nigerian Police Force Aliyu Balarabe Abubakar expressed high hopes of the Nigerian Police wining the trophy.

He said the police is very much set for the games adding that the secretariat made available all the needed sporting facilities and therefore no atom of doubt as regards the police force producing the best athletes that would represent the country.

The MIGA Games will feature 13 events namely; athletics, badminton, basketball, football, handball, karate, squash, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, tug of war and volleyball.

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corp are the defending champions, having won the 2016 edition of the Games in Kaduna.

The opening ceremony was attended by representative of various military and paramilitary chiefs, ex-Director General of National Sports Commission, Alhassan Yakmut, Kaduna state Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Culture, Mr Daniel Danauta