Badminton: Yobe organises tournament for peace in Damaturu

Badminton: Yobe organises tournament for peace in Damaturu

Yobe state on Saturday organises a tournament to mark the return of peace after several years of insecurity as a result of the Boko Haram activities in the state.

Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee, Alhaji Bashir Baba Geidam stated this at the opening ceremony of the tournament in Damaturu.

Alhaji Bashir said formerly the tournament was used to called triangular badminton because for a simple reason that the game includes Gashua at the peak part of the state and then Postiskum and Damaturu at the bottom part of the State which formed a sort of triangular shape.

He disclosed that the essence of the tournament was to meet each other, interact and maintain friendliness and another important aspect of the tournament was to make people outside the state to understand that there is peace in Yobe because some people from other places outside the state do not believe that people do exist here because of the insurgency.

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“But by this kind of competition they will be aware that peace has fully returned to the state and that there are people here Damaturu, it is not a ghost state.”, he said. He added that the tournament consists of five associations from five different local governments of two states, Yobe and Borno.

“We have Damaturu Veterans, Nguru Desert Shuttles, Potiskum Badminton Clubs from Yobe and we have Biu and Kanem Badminton Clubs from Borno state.”, Geidam explained.

Garba Ajiyabo, one of the players participating in the competition also said was organized to appreciate the efforts of security agencies in the restoration of peace in the state. Ibrahim Muhammed, another player said, “Another reason for the tournament is to draw the attention of youths and engage them to take part in the exercise to divert their attention from bad thoughts.”