It was pumps and pageantry on Tuesday March 22, 2022 as the maiden ‘Survival Golf Tournament’ which held at the Ikeja Golf Club in Lagos recorded an appreciable and commendable success against all odds.
The tournament designed to commemorate the survival of Covid-19 pandemic had participants from clubs across the country, particularly the South West Zone as Ikoyi Golf’ Clubs, Lagos; Tiger Golf Club, Ibadan; Ibadan Golf Club; Abeokuta Golf Club; Ilorin Golf Club among others.
Against this backdrop, participants as Dr Tunde Olujobi believes the tournament should be sustained and organised on regular basis as he was ready to give his support for the sustenance of the tournament.
Dr Olujobi, a Board member of the Ekiti State Primary Health Care Development Agency affirmed, “The main thrust of this event is to appreciate the surviving of the Covid-19 pandemic which took many lives; not everyone was lucky to survive it; families and friends were separated; economic and social activities were disrupted, yet Covid-19 has come to stay with us.
“But engaging in sporting activities as golf is one good ways of keeping fit physically and mentally as well as wading off diseases in our lives; we need to create that awareness on the need to be involved in sports and interestingly, golf is life as the saying goes, which is best suited for this cause because it’s for all ages.
“For this reason, I’ll say this is a well thought out tournament by the organisers and it should be sustained, because of what engaging in sporting activities means in our lives particularly with golf game; I’ll want this tournament to be held on regular basis, at least every year, if not every six months; I also pledged that I’ll hugely support the progress of the tournament – kudos to Dr Remi Johnson for the initiative,” Dr Olujobi enthused.
Also commenting, Dr Bose Oyewusi of Ilorin Golf Club who commended the organisers however, harped on the need for aggressive publicity to create considerable awareness for the progress of the tournament going forward.
“This tournament is a welcome development that everyone of us should support; it took the initiative of Dr Remi Johnson to come up with this laudable event, Survival Golf Tournament, to mark the survival of the Covid-19 pandemic and also empathise with those who lost their lives.
“But going forward, I will appreciate the need for aggressive publicity by the various media outlets – newspapers, online newspapers; radio and television, the social media as well to give the tournament the awareness it deserves for more people to key into the project, because there’s need for partnership, sponsorship and participation in the tournament,” Dr Oyewusi emphasised.
Invariably the positions of Dr Oyewusi was corroborated by Dr Oladunni Owo who added that the tournament was part of the international ‘Women’s Day’ celebration which came up recently across the globe.
But Dr Owo was quick to mention that the tournament was for everyone without discrimination: “Survival Golf Tournament” is for men and women; young and old, not just women alone; but it’s also an avenue for women to assert themselves in the scheme of things in the society; it’s part of thé International Women’s Day.
“The tournament should spur us to chat the course of women participation in golf – going into grassroots development to catch them young,” just as she concluded with commendations of Dr Remi Johnson’s initiative, “She is a wonderful person; we will keep supporting her.”
However, at the one day round of golf, winners emerged in various categories with Peter Omokaro the overall winner of the tournament.
During the closing ceremony of the well attended tournament, which had club Captains and other personalities present, a minute silence was observed for the repose of the souls of the Covid-19 victims.
Dr Remi Johnson in her closing remark thanked everyone who made the tournament successful in all respect, while wishing them God’s guidance to their various destinations.
