Introduction

1. I thank the Almighty God for making it possible to achieve the successful completion of the Milito-Diplomatic Sports Hub.

2. I appreciate Princess Angelina Akpan-Udoinwang, my mother, for the foresight in acquiring the land when I was still a child. I never knew anything about the land.

3. I appreciate the Manta Chief for ensuring that the land was not sold or appropriated after the demise of my mother in 1985, but preserved it till I inherited the land in 1999, having left clear instructions with his family a few weeks before his demise. Men and women with such honesty and integrity are very scarce these days.

4. The land was used to cultivate palm fruits, but when I could not get hold of a single bunch of the palm fruits, I decided to realize my long-nursed ambition of building a sports arena.

The Tennis Odyssey

5. My passion for sports, especially tennis, is well documented. My father, late Colonel Cornelius Mfon George, the pioneer commander of Nigerian Army Education Corps, was an unrepentant tennis player, so was his younger brother, Dr. Ita Umo. Tennis soon became a family pastime as my siblings and cousins got addicted to it. It was no surprise that I captained the Nigerian Military School (NMS) tennis team in my Class 4. From NMS to the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), till date, tennis has continued to be a companion.

6. I have won many tournaments within the country and abroad. I won the 3 Division Nigerian Army Tennis Singles Championship even as a Brigadier General. I do not just play tennis; I invented the “Agwo System” some 50 years ago. I demonstrated the Agwo System at the Adelaide Tennis Club, Australia, in 2010, to the consternation of even the coaches there. Tennis great Llyeton Hewitt plays his tennis at the Adelaide Tennis Club. Sequel to my demonstration of exemplary prowess in tennis, I am known as the Number 1, the Champ, or the Agwo System, depending on which tennis environment you find yourself.

The Vision

7. Having gone through my journey in tennis, it would not be difficult to guess my vision. The Milito-Diplomatic Sports Hub is envisioned as a premier centre of sporting excellence, purposefully designed to inspire, nurture, and elevate the next generation of Nigerian athletes. With state-of-the-art facilities and a holistic development framework, the Hub provides an enabling environment where raw talents will be transformed into world-class performances. The Hub is also positioned to address Nigeria’s underrepresentation on the global sports stage, and that is why we will place strong emphasis on grassroots development, professional training, and international exposure. By cultivating discipline, resilience, and excellence, the Hub aspires to produce elite athletes who will compete with confidence, win global accolades, and proudly project Nigeria’s sporting prestige to the world. All the aforesaid is encapsulated in our vision – to serve as a catalyst and an incubator, employing world-class facilities, to develop Nigerian youths towards achieving global laurels in sports. Consequently, children between the ages of 5 and 12 will be registered free-of-charge.

Never Again

8. We should not allow what happened to our daughter, Clara Udofa, the first Nigerian female to win an international gold medal for Nigeria at the age of 14, to happen again. She was ranked 511 in the entire universe; yet she had no sponsorship to propel her to her installed potential. It was not Clara Udofa that lost out of the international prominence; it was Akwa Ibom State, it was Nigeria. Incidentally, Clara Udofa is 48 years old today. She ought to have been a role model for Serena Williams, but that opportunity was lost. We must, therefore, resolve to produce the next set of Serena Williams, Djokovics, Nduka Odizors (The Duke), Coco Gaufs, Sinners, and Alcarazs from the Milito-Diplomatic Sports Hub, with your support and encouragement. Are we in agreement? Together we can reposition Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria on the international sports map.

9. Besides grooming the youths to attain national and international acclaims in sports, the adult’s wellbeing is also etched in sports. The MDSH’s motto is “Mens Sana In Copore Sano,” which translates to “A healthy mind lives in a healthy body.” So longevity and sanity are in congruence with sports. Furthermore, the necessary outcomes from the establishment of the MDSH are the employment opportunities it has provided for the host community and the state as a whole.

Facilities In The Hub

10. One may then ask about the facilities the Sports Hub promises to offer to the public. We have internationally-certified tennis and badminton courts, and because we want to produce our own Tiger Woods, there is a mini-golf course. There are table tennis tables, snooker tables, foosball tables, and indoor games like draughts, monopoly, chess, darts, scrabbles (to help in building vocabulary chest), ludo, and others. Since the grassroots is one of our targets, we developed a children’s arena where the little ones can catch their own fun while their parents are sweating it out. Children love snacks and refreshments, so we thought that a gift shop must be close to their arena. There are also fitness equipment for those who want to tone up their muscles and bodies.

11. Taking full cognizance of sportsmen and women being prone to sustaining injuries in the course of training, we included a first-aid bay, which will serve to stabilize an injured person, and if it becomes necessary, transport the person to the Mercy Hospital, which is some 2km away, for proper management.

12. For those members who will like to escape the drudgery of routine at home, the clubhouse provides a canopy for relaxation. Besides watching popular programmes on the TV or listening to soothing music, the clubhouse houses a bar and a kitchenette, where some hot jollof rice and grasscutter pepper soup, along with chilled “bottles of understanding,” will be churned out for the complete relaxation of our members and guests. So, if one does not play any of the games earlier highlighted, hope is not lost; the clubhouse will fill in the gap. I will not end my address without a few words on the Special Guest of Honour.

General Martin Luther Agwai – A Distinguished Commander

13. The General was born on 8 November 1948 in the present-day Kaduna State, North Central, Nigeria. He joined the Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Course 8 and was later commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the Armoured Corps of the Nigerian Army. Besides being the COAS and CDS, General Agwai was the Force Commander in the UN-AU Peacekeeping Force in Darfur. He was also in the UN peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone, as its Deputy Force Commander. I met General Agwai through his bosom friend and course mate, late Colonel YM Dickson, my Directing Staff at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) during my Junior Division Course. The General was a Major and I, a young Captain.

Conclusion

14. I thank the Almighty God for crowning my efforts at bringing sports development to the grassroots with the inauguration of the MDSH today. I am eternally grateful to General Martin Luther Agwai (Rtd), CFR for graciously accepting to inaugurate this sports edifice, to the glory of God and for the benefit of mankind.

15. To the general public, the place you have been waiting for is now here. Children, women, and men now have a facility to keep them engaged once they are at the MDSH. We hope to raise the next generation of sportsmen and women for international accolades by giving children between the ages of 5 and 12 free access to the MDSH. Parents, however, are required to register at mildiplosports.in and send messages to mildiplosports25@gmail.com.

16. Once again, thank you for your esteemed presence, and safe journey as you go back to your various destinations.