The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa has said the aim of the CDS Democracy Day U18 Basketball Championship was targeted to strengthen civil-military cooperation as well engaging youths in healthy competition in order to promote mutual understanding and respect.
16 teams, 10 male and 6 female, are participating in the second edition of the CDS basketball tournament holding at the package B of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Making his remarks at the opening ceremony on Sunday, General Musa said the tournament symbolises the spirit of teamwork, discipline, resilience and healthy competition that defines Nigeria as a great nation and the qualities exhibited by its democracy heroes adding that the competition is a testament to the nation’s commitment, resilience and progress towards promoting unity, social cohesion and national pride.
“The primary objective of the tournament is to strengthen civil-military cooperation by positively engaging the youths in healthy competition while promoting mutual understanding and respect. Equally, the organisation of the championship aligns with the people-centric pillar of my leadership concept which is, “To Nurture a Professional Armed Forces of Nigeria that is People-Centric, Capable of Meeting its Constitutional Responsibilities in a Joint and Collaborative Environment”.
“This pillar leverages the involvement of the populace as stakeholders in the overall efforts towards strengthening our nation’s resilience to counter security challenges, of which this tournament is one of the initiatives. While we remember and honour the sacrifices of those who fought for our democracy, this tournament symbolizes the spirit of teamwork, discipline, resilience and healthy competition that defines our great nation and the qualities exhibited by our democracy heroes.
“So, as we mark this significant milestone, we applaud the selfless efforts of our democracy heroes, who went the extra mile to unite our country and people for a noble course resulting in the democratization of our country. Hence, this competition is a testament to our nation’s commitment, resilience and progress towards promoting unity, social cohesion and national pride.
“This engagement fosters togetherness in the spirit of sportsmanship and affords the youths legitimate means of livelihood. In preparation for this event, we have assembled an impressive lineup of talented players, coaches, and officials. The championship will feature a total of 16 teams comprising well selected male and female teams from the North West geopolitical zone and the Federal Capital Territory,” the CDS stated.
In some of the matches played on Sunday, Plateau recorded 42 basket over Hornets’ 31, Nasarawa overran Gilali by 32 to 28 scoreline, M2 Academy were better off of Niger by 40 points to 18 while FCT defeated N-Youth by 41 to 32 basket.
Some of the matches that will take centre stage on Monday are Gilali vs Plateau, Hornets vs Nasarawa and M2 Academy vs Apo.
