…Says Port Harcourt is best place to be in Nigeria at the moment
Old students of federal unity colleges are heading to Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, for the 3rd edition of their sports festival.
Organisers say members were keen to head to the oil city despite the political tension that drove away some other national bodies. Theyy rather say Port Harcourt is best place to be in Nigeria at the moment.
The Unity Students Old Students Association (USOSA) also said they are heading to Port Harcourt to also preach peace in Rivers State and unity in Nigeria.
Speaking at a pre-event press briefing at the Garden Estate on Peter Odili Road in the oil city, Chidi Anene, General-Secretary of USOSA, who stood in for Michael Magaji, the President-General, said Port Harcourt is stable and peaceful. He said members were eager to show that Port Harcourt was still a business destination.
He described the coming sports festival that would kick off on Friday, April 25, 2025, as a very important event, saying USOSA has members from the 117 Unity Colleges in Nigeria.
He said those of them who studied in the Unity Colleges know that sport is a leveler because of competing and sweating together. He said it helps in bonding and forging unity that lasts after college life.
Anene, supported at the press briefing by Solomon Sokolo, chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC); Chioma Aninwe, Publicity Secretary; and Vivian Ozoekwe, Assistant Financial Secretary, described sport as tool for national unity. He also said sport is for young people who he described as the hope of Nigeria. He talked about the need to improve quality of the youth populace
Anene described USOSA as a place where the unity and good administration of Nigeria are uppermost in the mind, adding that the members discuss issues on Nigeria’s challenges and also proffer solutions. This, he stated, is because the Federal Government places huge investments on students of the Unity Colleges.
The Secretary-General said the Federal Government has set aside fund to revamp Unity Schools, saying that was one of their advocacy outcomes because they had continued to press for revamping of Unity Schools to return them to what they use to be in terms of infrastructure and learning.
He thus appealed to the Press to help in the fight to unite Nigeria.
He said: “USOSA today is all over the world, and we have one goal, to sell Nigeria and its unity. We understand that nobody is going to sell Nigeria more than us (the USOSAns).”
On Port Harcourt as a venue for the 3rd edition called USOSA Sports 2025, Anene noted that Port Harcourt is unique because many USOSAns live in the city and that the city was like home to the members.
Responding to questions from sports journalists on if Nigeria’s unity experiment was working in the face of apparent acts of disunity, the Secretary-General maintained that it was wise of the government at the time to introduce the Unity Schools system and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) as tools of unification soon after the Civil war.
As evidence of the experiment, he said: “It is working because our ex-students are everywhere contributing to national unity. There are many positive signs of the fruits of the experiment that are not easily seen. Our passion for unity is high. The next stage is to communicate this to the larger society through the press. Some of us have our best friends outside our ethnicities.
“In school, we cherished unity very much and this showed in many ways including the worship centre which was same for Christians and Muslims; Pentecostals and Catholics. During fasting, we broke it together. Many things were done together in the Unity Colleges. That is why when others are pulling apart from their ends, we are pulling together.
It could be why Nigeria has not gone worse in matters of disunity.”
He called on the media to sell what he termed positive news about Nigeria’s unity more.
On Port Harcourt as choice of venue despite state of emergency and perceived political tensions, he said the local organizing committee did huge work. He added: “We feel safe in Port Harcourt. This is the safest place to be in at this moment in Nigeria. We have no fear bringing our members to Port Harcourt.”
Explaining details of the sports festival, Sokolo, the chairman of the local organizing, released venues for each event in the Garden City.
He however noted that the event is beyond sport because USOSA as a body wants to showcase what Rivers State can boast of in some other areas such as dance, music, and forms of entertainment.
He said the event would feature Invitational Race involving secondary schools as part of preaching unity through sports. Other objectives he mentioned included showcasing Rivers State as a business destination.
Harping on unity during questions, Sokolo made it clear that USOSA members usually remained resolute during crisis in any part of Nigeria. “When Tiv-Jukun war was going on in Wukari, Taraba State, we all worked together in the state, both Tiv and Jukun members.
“The political tension in Rivers State is small matter compared to our passion for unity. In fact, this is the best time to come to Port Harcourt. If we were elsewhere, we would be saying, let’s go to Port Harcourt. We are here to preach peace and unity despite political tension.”
He also mentioned intangibles that the Unity Schools contribute to Nigeria. “We are silently working to keep Nigeria together. There is diversity but we one goal.”
Aninwe, the national publicity secretary, in her clarifications, said members of USOSA as Nigerians were free to hold different opinions on matters but that USOSA has one goal, which she said is unity of Nigeria.
She also revealed that the LOC members paid visits to the new Rivers State Head of Service and the new Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG), and the state government welcomed the sport event and offered to stand by them.
