By Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Calabar

Nigerian School Sports Federation president, Mallam Ibrahim Muhammad said that organizing regular competitive national school festival in the country will help to address the problem of age cheating in grassroots sports development.

Muhammad stated this last weekend at the opening ceremony of the 4th National Sports Festival tag Calabar 2011 taking place at the U.J.Esuene stadium, Calabar, Cross River State.

He said that, “indeed, the golden era of Nigerian Sports was made possible with organized school sports which he said remains the nursery for the discovery and nurturing of budding talents”.

Declaring the championship open, Governor Liyel Imoke said the event would change the face of sports development in Nigeria stressing that the objective of the National School Sports Festival is to nurture the young into adulthood for the betterment of the society.

Imoke urged the three tiers of government to encourage the National Schools Sport Festival as part of their agenda for the development of young talent for the future generation of Nigerian athletes.

He said it is part of the state agenda to promote sports and identify talent, noting that he Cross River State Government has selected some schools into six competitive schools to groom them into world class athlete.

In his goodwill message, the Cross River State Commissioner for Education Prof. Offiong Offiong said sporting is a way of life and that sports festival is expected to bring the youths together, identify their talents and harness them to become future stars.

He said the comprehensive renewal programme of his ministry will ensure that necessary facilities for the development of talents are provided as well as promoting Inter-House Sporting activities.

21 states are participating in 22 events which include Athletics, Handball, Swimming, Volley ball, Traditional Wrestling, Football, Badminton, Boxing Weightlifting, Chess Scrabble, Gymnastics, Judo, Wrestling, and Karate Tennis among others.