Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko
Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, on Sunday hosted players and
officials of the Sunshine Stars to a dinner in Akure after the sad
experience of been trapped in crisis-ridden Bamako, Mali last week.
The governor who was full of praises to God for sparing the lives of
the players and officials urged Sunshine Stars not to be deterred by the
experience but strive to win the CAF Champions League title for the
country.
“Don’t be discouraged with what happened in Mali. You have to re-double
your effort and go for the trophy. God has reason for sparing your
lives in Mali at this stage of the competition. What you need now is
determination and confidence. God will surely see us through to the
final,” observed the sports loving governor at the Rev Emmanuel Bolanle
Gbonigi Hall in the Ondo capital city.
Earlier, the Chairman of the state football agency, Segun Adagunodo,
who was in the second batch of the contingent that was trapped in
Bamako, recounted the ordeal.
“We saw hell in Bamako because what we went through was like a war situation,” Adagunodo told governor and the audience.
“We were trapped in the hotel and we were hearing gun shots as if it
was music. There was a particular day the soldiers stormed our hotel in
search of ‘enemies’. It was a traumatic experience for us. We thank God
we came back alive.
“But I must say that the Nigerian Ambassador to Mali did not do well.
While the crisis was on, I put several calls across to him, but he
refused to respond. I thought the ambassadors were posted to foreign
countries because of things like this.
“He was with us during the match and even in the hotel after we drew,
but to my greatest surprise, he abandoned us at the time we needed him
most.”
Meanwhile, Sunshine Stars won the 2012 Ondo State FC Cup, beating Rising Stars on penalties.
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