Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has recognised Tobi Amusan’s achievements and rewarded her with money and property.
The governor of the athlete’s home state today announced a cash gift of N5 million and a house to Amusan after a year of stunning success for the 25-year-old.
Amusan has ruled the track and field world in 2022, setting the African, Commonwealth and world records in women’s 100m hurdles and winning historic races during the year.
She became the first Nigerian athlete in history to win a World Athletics Championships gold medal and set a world record (12.12 seconds in the 100m hurdles) in Oregon, United States of America in July.
Amusan had earlier broken the African record twice, and she went on to retain both her Commonwealth Games title in Birmingham in August and her Diamond League trophy in September.
The governor, who also named Amusan an Ogun State Sports Ambassador, hosted the athlete in Abeokuta today.
In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, Governor Abiodun described Amusan as a role model for aspiring girls who wish to fullfil their potential.
“So, you will be our Sports Ambassador; I am happy that you said you are not from any other state. You are from Ogun and not from Lagos and you want to come back home. We also want to ensure that you come back home,” Abiodun told Amusan.
“We want to assure you that as you come back home, you have a home here in the state. So, in view of that, we are also going to be presenting to you a home in Ijebu-Ode.
“On top of that, we will be giving you a small token, we will be donating to you a sum of N5m naira.”
Abiodun added that his administration was taking sports seriously and upgrading sporting infrastructure in the state.
He said: “We are in the process of rehabilitating a few of our sport facilities. I have spoken to the Minister of Sports and a few other people.
“But now that we have one of our own who is saying that ‘I want to train in that stadium’, that puts us under a lot of pressure to ensure we prioritise Ijebu-Ode stadium because we want you to come and be training in that stadium.”
Abiodun noted that Nigerian youths can conveniently combine sports and education, and urged them to learn from the likes of Amusan.
“Tobi has been able to succeed through a lot of discipline, hard work, persistence and a lot of faith in her ability,” he said.
Amusan acknowledged the role of Abiodun in her success and called on the Federal Government to invest more in athletes.
“All thanks to my governor for supporting me and I feel like the Federal Government can do the same when it comes to supporting athletes financially,” she said.
