Insecurity: Don’t Abandon Nigeria, Yakubu Maikyau SAN Begs Youth

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Yakubu Maikyau has pleaded passionately with Nigerian youths to sustain their hope in the country, in spite of the numerous challenges confronting the country.

The senior Lawyer specifically appealed that the youths should not abandon the nation, because they are the ones to salvage the nation from economic, social and political ruins.

Maikyau, who spoke on the opening of the Abuja Lawyers’ Football League on Saturday, recalled the event of 1989 in Saudi Arabia, when Nigerian youths engaged their USSR counterpart in a world cup tournament, adding that the Nigerian team was four goals down, but with hope and determination levelled up and won the game. The senior Lawyer said that with the kind of hope and determination exhibited at the time, the current youth are also capable of bringing back the nation to the right path of glory, in spite of the challenges.

Maikyau, who is the sponsor of the this year’s edition of the football contest, dedicated the cup named after him to the Nigerian youths for their resilience and sense of patriotism.

He said he was happy to invest in a fertile ground of football sponsorship tournament, adding that sport, especially football, has kept Nigerians together over the years.

“Permit me to say that it is during football tournaments, be it local or international, that Nigerians forget their tribal, political, religious and sentimental differences. It is during football tournaments that sworn enemies bury their differences and hug each other, in spite of their differences. For this reason, I urge the Nigerian youths not to despair, and not to abandon Nigeria project, since the youths are the ones to turn Nigeria to a meaningful nation”, he said.

In his own remarks, the Chairman of the occasion, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN described the yearly soccer tournament as a noble idea, helping legal practitioners to show case their potentials.

Fagbemi, whose speech was delivered by Sam Ologunorisa, SAN, noted that football has proved to be a veritable tool of uniting Nigerians of different backgrounds.

The senior Lawyer lamented that sudden death occasioned by cardiac arrest has become rampant among Nigerian Lawyers in recent times, because of lack of physical exercise and proper functioning of the heart.

Fagbemi expressed optimism that the soccer tournament will not only promote unity among Lawyers, but promote good health and future football staff.

Organiser of the tournament, Mr. Olujimi Poko, who commended Maikyau for accepting to host this year’s tournament which is the fifth, disclosed that this year’s tournament witnessed an increase in participation, from eight last year to 16 this year. He noted that the competition was initiated to help Lawyers move away from their sedentary lifestyle, relax and also interact with one another, adding that proceeds from the tournament will be used to support displaced persons in Abuja.

The first match of the day was between Maikyau Strikers and J. S. Okutepa Lions FC; Maikyau Strikers won with a lone goal.