Segun Odegbami, a football legend, has identified the power of sports as a strong force that can change the world in all ramifications, more powerful than the government.
While delivering the 15th distinguished public lecture of the Federal University Lokoja on Wednesday, Odegbami called for the exploration of the endless possibilities in the power of sports.
He said that his experience over the years, even after hanging his boots and venturing into sports media and marketing, opened his eyes to the various connections between sports and other fields, such as health and business, as he urged the university community and everyone to embrace sports and fully tap into its enormous potential.
“As a university community, I urge you to look critically at the stories I have shared today about some of my personal experiences and be ready to venture where no one has gone before.
“Explore the endless possibilities in the power of sports, the most potent soft-power tool on the planet that is connected to every aspect of our lives.
“Nelson Mandela, the late former South African president, was right when he said that sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, the power to unite people in a way that little else does.
“It speaks to the youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where there was once despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers,” Odegbemi said.
He equally recalled with nostalgia how hostilities between Nigeria and Biafra stopped temporarily to enable soldiers of both sides to listen to the radio commentaries of the two matches involving visiting Santos FC of Brazil, led by the legendary Pele, the most popular athlete in the world at the time, and Bendel Insurance FC in Benin and the national team, the Green Eagles, in Lagos.
He also disclosed that sports and media are siamese twins always in tandem with each other, adding that sports is the most flourishing industry in the world.
He lamented that universities have always set standards beyond students, who are gifted, urging them to rekindle the passion in students.
