With a total of 12 medals — six gold, three silverand three bronze medals — Gateway Region emerged winners of 2022 Adron Games which ended on Saturday.
The three-day sporting event was held at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos.
Gateway Region put up sterling performances in the track and field events to clinch first position.
In what could have passed for corporate Olympic games, the regions of the real estate company — Adron Homes and Properties Limited — in the country converged in Lagos for the games, all donned and gleaming in different sports wears and engaged in various sporting events to mark the sixth edition of the annual games.
Apart from Gateway in Ogun State, the other five regions of Adron Homes are Eko (Lagos Island), Capital (Lagos Mainland), Northern, Oyo, and Living Fountain (Osun and Ekiti). The Head Office, Directorate of Construction Estate Properties and Acquisition also participated in the wide variety of games, which included aerobics, 100m, 200m and 4x100m races; men and women soccer, volleyball, cycling, shot put and basketball. Indoor games included snooker, table tennis, chess and scrabble, while the more fun games included sack race, egg and spoon race, 3-legged race and tug of war Executive Director’s races.
Capital came second with four gold, three silver and three bronze medals, while Head Office finished third with four gold, three and three silver medals.
They were followed by Living Fountain (four gold, two silver and five bronze medals) Northern (four gold, two silver and two bronze medals), Eko (three gold, five and five bronze medals) Oyo (one gold, four silver and one bronze medlas) and Construction (two silver and two bronze medals).
At the opening of the games, Group Managing Director of Adron Homes and Properties Limited, Aare Adetola EmmanuelKing pointed out the importance of sports within the corporate world, saying it was the key to building a better future.
According to Dr EmmanuelKing, who is also Chief Executive Officer: “The importance of sports is universally upheld. It is the key to building a better future, hence its relevance even within the corporate space cannot be overemphasised. We often take sports and leisure for granted. Yet millions of people around the world do not have access to sports, or are actively denied their right to participate. We all admire the athletes and achievements on display during every global sporting event”.
On the rationale behind the games, he said: “The 2022 Adron Games is even more pertinent in this period when there is an increasing global focus on mental health wellbeing. Our Adron Games aimed at the promotion of physical fitness and indeed mental wellbeing could not have come at a better time”.
As part of the event each year, sports icons in the country are honored by the GMD/CEO of Adron Homes in recognition of their contributions to the sporting glory of the nation. The awardees also serve as role models, influencing good and healthy living by encouraging sporting exercises in the corporate world as a win-win strategy for ultimate effective productivity. The Ambassadors of 2022 Adron Games — Daniel Amokachi, Tijani Babangida and Chioma Ajunwa — were present throughout the three-day games.
A football match between ex-Super Eagles and Adron Contractors, which ended in a one-all draw, witnessed Amokachi re-enacting his goal- scoring dance which sent the spectators in a frenzy. Other Nigerian ex-internationals in attendance included Victor Aghali, Willie Opara and Wasiu Ipaye.
Another exhibition match featured Lotus Bank, partners of the games, against Adron All Stars.
On the effect of the games, Babangida said: “It’s a laudable concept and the GMD/CEO is trying to make his workers wake up to the importance of sports to health and productivity. So he does this mini-festival to bring all his workers together each year for bonding; some are runners, some footballers, cyclers and so on which is very good”.
Of the value they bring to the games, Amokachi said: “Well, it is also an opportunity for many people who have been seeing us from afar to get to meet us and it has some measure of value because when you talk about sports, you always need an icon around at least to speak.”
Former Nigerian track and field queen, Ajunwa was full of surprise and praise for the Adron Homes CEO for such rare passion in adding value to lives.
“Honestly, I thought it was just workers coming together just to keep fit but I’m speechless because even some states cannot do what an individual is doing. Look at what happened today; some boys danced, school children danced and he gave them plots of land. If our sports administrators had this kind of passion, I tell you Nigeria would always be the country to beat.
“He’s the sort of person we need in the sports ministry, you can see the passion; a person who wants to improve, who wants to give so that lives can be transformed. It’s not because he has too much. I must say I am deeply touched because that is what sports is all about.”
