The Minister for Sports and Recreation, Mr. Kofi Iddie Adams, has promised to act on the recommendations of a committee formed to look into the unfortunate death of Nigerian boxer Gabriel Oluwasegun Olanrewaju, who passed away during a professional match at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra.
Addressing the media after obtaining the committee’s final report, Mr. Adams commended the team for delivering their conclusions on schedule and emphasised the government’s commitment to rectifying any shortcomings that might have led to the incident.
“Life is precious, and the incident that happened was unfortunate, but it serves as a call to be able to reform things,” Mr Adams stated. “The Ministry has received the report, and we will study it and make sure that we implement the findings because we took time to select the people with experience to serve on the committee.”
He expressed confidence that the findings would provide clarity on the circumstances surrounding the boxer’s death, adding, “I have no doubt that the time and energy spent on the findings will bring out the true turn of events and that nothing will be hidden.”
The Sports Minister took the opportunity to warn sports federations and associations to rigorously follow safety protocols and established procedures while organising tournaments, emphasising that the well-being of athletes should always come first.
“I hope this will serve as a lesson to other federations and not just boxing,” he said. “This is a wake-up call for associations and federations to do the right thing and follow the laid-down procedures in organising events.”
The committee was led by Major (Retired) Amarkai Amarteifio, who termed the incident as “regrettable” but emphasised that it should serve as a spur for change throughout the sports arena.
“Boxing has done so much to raise the country’s image, and we are among the best in the world. But sadly enough, we can’t say the same for now, and the reasons are quite obvious,” Major Amarteifio remarked.
He added that the report offers a “unique platform to address the pressing problems of sports, not only boxing,” and called for urgent reforms to protect athletes’ lives and uphold sporting standards in Ghana.
NKONKONSA.com
