{"id":163297,"date":"2025-05-20T21:49:59","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T20:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/gateway-games-sports-transcend-politics-remains-beacon-of-unity-obasanjo"},"modified":"2025-05-20T22:55:03","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T21:55:03","slug":"gateway-games-sports-transcend-politics-remains-beacon-of-unity-obasanjo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gateway-games-sports-transcend-politics-remains-beacon-of-unity-obasanjo","title":{"rendered":"Gateway Games: Sports transcend politics, remains beacon of unity \u2013 Obasanjo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>Former Nigeria President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has described sport as a unique activity that transcends politics, language barriers and builds lasting relationships among people.<\/p>\n<p>Obasanjo stated this in an address issued to welcome the 36 states\u2019 and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) delegates to Abeokuta, Ogun State on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>In his address titled \u201cA TRIUMPH OF THE SPIRIT\u201d, the former president encouraged all to embrace the camaraderie, build lasting relationships, and enjoy the celebration of pluralism and peace.<\/p>\n<p>He maintained that the NSF has continued to bring people together, fostering friendships across cultural divides and preparing athletes for future challenges.<\/p>\n<p>Obasanjo said, \u201cAs we gather in Abeokuta for the 22nd National Sports Festival, let us reflect on the essence of these Games.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince their inception in Lagos in 1973, the festival has been more than a competition. It has served as a beacon of unity, rebuilding the bonds of peace and mutual respect after the Civil War. Today, it continues to bring people together, fostering friendships across cultural divides and preparing athletes for future challenges.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut the true spirit of these Games lies beyond medals or state rankings. It is found in courage, perseverance, and the joy of participation,\u201d emphasizing that the thrill of competition is not about the scoreboard but about embracing the love of sport itself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn sports, we find a unique connection that transcends politics and language barriers. Now, as we gather here, I encourage you to embrace the camaraderie, build lasting relationships, and enjoy this celebration of pluralism and peace.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMay these Games bring joy, unity, and the triumph of the human spirit,\u201d the former President stated as he welcomed the participating athletes to Ogun State,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Nigeria<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. Former Nigeria President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has described sport as a unique activity that transcends politics, language barriers and builds lasting relationships among people. Obasanjo stated this in an address issued to welcome the 36 states\u2019 and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) delegates to Abeokuta, Ogun State on Tuesday. In his address titled [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":163296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[17251,254,479],"class_list":["post-163297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-gateway-games","tag-nigeria","tag-obasanjo"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Gateway Games: Sports transcend politics, remains beacon of unity \u2013 Obasanjo - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Former Nigeria President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has described sport as a unique activity that transcends politics, language ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gateway-games-sports-transcend-politics-remains-beacon-of-unity-obasanjo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gateway Games: Sports transcend politics, remains beacon of unity \u2013 Obasanjo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former Nigeria President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has described sport as a unique activity that transcends politics, language ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gateway-games-sports-transcend-politics-remains-beacon-of-unity-obasanjo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-20T20:49:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-20T21:55:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1747765552.237681.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gateway-games-sports-transcend-politics-remains-beacon-of-unity-obasanjo#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gateway-games-sports-transcend-politics-remains-beacon-of-unity-obasanjo\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Gateway Games: Sports transcend politics, remains beacon of unity \u2013 Obasanjo\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-20T20:49:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-20T21:55:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gateway-games-sports-transcend-politics-remains-beacon-of-unity-obasanjo\"},\"wordCount\":301,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gateway-games-sports-transcend-politics-remains-beacon-of-unity-obasanjo#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1747765552.237681.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gateway Games\",\"Nigeria\",\"Obasanjo\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gateway-games-sports-transcend-politics-remains-beacon-of-unity-obasanjo#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gateway-games-sports-transcend-politics-remains-beacon-of-unity-obasanjo\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gateway-games-sports-transcend-politics-remains-beacon-of-unity-obasanjo\",\"name\":\"Gateway Games: Sports transcend politics, remains beacon of unity \u2013 Obasanjo - 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