The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Miss says the Unity Schools Old Students Association (USOSA) Sports Carnival will help promote nationhood and social cohesion in the country.
Musa said this during the teeing-off of the USOSA golf tournament at IBB International Golf and Country Club, Abuja, on Saturday.
He said he was happy to be a product of a Unity School, adding that it shaped him into the man he is today.
Newsspecng reports that no fewer than 42 Unity Colleges from across the country slugged it out for honours in 14 sports at this year’s carnival.
He said it was exciting to see the calibre of people at the sports carnival, adding that every local government, tribe and religion from across the country was represented, which depicts unity in diversity and promotes social cohesion.
“It is a pleasure and a great privilege to be here. Growing up and remembering from where we came from and where we are now, we can only give God the glory.
“It’s exciting to see the pedigree of the people we have here. From all over the country, there is no local government, no tribe, and no religion that is not covered here.
“This is what Nigeria should be; this is Nigeria. We grew up together, not knowing the differences. It’s unfortunate that the fault lines are being exposed now.
“But the good thing is that we still stand strong, and this is a mark of unity, and we are the the face of unity.
“We will continue to do that and work very hard to ensure that Nigeria progresses,” he said.
He noted that Federal Government College, Sokoto, gave him the platform and the foundation he is standing on today, adding that he remains grateful for attending a unity school.
He stressed that unity schools were the pride of the nation, but said it was rather unfortunate that the standards were not being maintained these days.
“Over time, things happened, but I think we are looking into the issues to ensure that what we benefited from the unity schools, we also allow the new generation to go through that.
“Unity schools made the difference in our lives, and it will be sad if we can not transfer the same thing to our younger ones.
“So, we will do everything possible to support the government in ensuring that Unity schools are back to standard,” he said.
Michael Magaji, the President General of USOSA and an alumni of FGC Kaduna, told Newsmen that the golf tournament was integrated into the competition to help strengthen the bond and unity among older participants.
He noted that the theme of this year’s carnival was, “Regniting Unity in Diversity,” adding that the carnival brought together no fewer than 3,000 USOSANS and 2,000 non-USOSANS.
“As USOSANS, we stand to promote unity, public education, and we are creating impact. We have members from all Nigeria, and a good number of them are golfers.
“Sports is also a tool for unification. It is a tool for team building, nation building, and promoting excellence, accuracy, and hard work.
“So, we need to imbibe that in the national narrative; nation building. As USOSANS and children of Nigeria who believe in this nation, we think sports is one of those tools that unite us. Golf is also one of the sports we are using,” he said.
Ahmad Hussaini, the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee and an alumni of FGC Kano, said USOSA was borne out of a need to save the Unity Schools from being sold by the federal government.
He recalled that during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government, there were plans by the then Minister for Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, to sell the unity schools under the government’s privatisation drive at the time.
“Some of us thought it wise that having benefited from unity schools, we form a pressure group to kick against the idea of selling off our unity schools, and that was how USOSA came about.
“In fact, when the government insisted that they were going to sell, we said, ‘sell and we buy’ and of the 110 unity schools across the country, we bought 95 of them.
“A village man like me from Auchi has become a national figure because I went to a unity school just like so many other of my friends and colleagues.
“If we decide to tell you our stories, you will realise that God has done so much for us, and so we can not rest on our oars. We must make sure that what we benefit, our younger ones should also benefit.
“But my deepest regret is that I couldn’t send my children to Federal government colleges because at the time they were ripe for secondary school, they were no federal government colleges and that was the reason USOSA kept fighting to make sure that we retained the unity schools,” he said.
Newsspecng reports that the USOSA Sports Carnival, which its second edition began on Monday and ended on Saturday.
