Dr. Fola Salau
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, made history today by hosting and winning the West African Universities Games (WAUG). It hauled a total of 122 medals, comprising 33 gold, 50 silver, and 39 bronze.
OAU was followed by the University of Ghana, Legon, with 59 medals: 26 gold, 21 silver, and 12 bronze. Benson Idahosa University, Benin, a private university in Nigeria, beat the University of Ibadan to third position with superior gold medals. It secured 38 medals: 21 gold, 10 silver, and 7 bronze.
During a colourful closing ceremony on Sunday, 11th October, the Vice-Chancellor of OAU, Prof. Adebayo Bamire, thanked West African students for their impressive display of sportsmanship, which contributed to the successful hosting of the games by the university.
In his remarks, the WAUG President, Mr. Shaibu Ibrahim Tanko of Ghana, thanked OAU for being a generous host to the youths and sports officials of West Africa from the beginning of the games to the end.
“OAU has shown that it is ready to host even bigger sports championships, like the African Universities Games and the World Universities Games, with this successful hosting of the WAUG Games,” Mr. Tanko said.
Participants at the 15th edition of the WAUG Games exhibited a strong spirit of camaraderie throughout the event, alongside competing in various sporting disciplines.
Meanwhile, the OAU football team capped a double celebration for the university by winning gold in an energy-sapping encounter against Lead City University, Ibadan.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes, with OAU winning 5-4 on penalties. The man of the match was OAU’s goalkeeper, Juwon Falade, who saved one of Lead City University’s penalty kicks.
