 I must say that I'm very truly honored to be receiving this torch of unity and I will especially like to thank the hard-working Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Professor Oluwatoi Ogundipe, and his team for the honor. As a proud alumnus of Unilag, it's heartwarming to see us hosting Nuga again, 24 years after a highly successful and colorful outing in 1998. And I'm more certain that you will bring the capacity for delivering excellence for which Unilag is well known to bear on this particular games again this year. Sport has always been a great unifier. It offers us an opportunity to keep a step outside our sometimes contentious divisions and to embrace one another in support of our teams or in healthy competition and camaraderie. The virtues of discipline, dedication, teamwork, which are indispensable to success in every sporting endeavor remind us of what it takes to inspire the best in each other and to accomplish great things when we set our minds to the task. As our young men and women from universities across Nigeria gather in Lagos in March to compete in a range of sporting events, we'll once again get a chance to see the abundance of talent that makes Nigeria such a special country. For years, the Nigerian University Games Association has not only provided a space that allows us to see the value that every part of the country has to offer, but has also provided a platform for the discovery and honing of individual sporting talent, many of whom have gone on to represent Nigeria successfully on the world stage. The now legendary Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Teyama, who we fondly remember for his leading role in leading the Super Egos to victory in the 2013 Nations Cup and who in his prime was considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world, was once a university athlete and a proud product of Nuga's talent pipeline. Ulu Soji Fashoba, who won the 100m gold running for the Obafemiaholo University at Nuga many years ago, eventually went on to anchor Nigeria's bronze medal win in the 4x100m relay race at the 2004 Olympic Games and is now current African record holder for the 100m race. And of course there's also a Laby Sea for Laby, the famed Nuga alumnus from Elori who helped Nigeria to a silver medal in the 4x400m at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The highlight of a very successful athletic career, which included gold at the World Junior Championships in 1994 and silver at the 1999 Nuga Games and bronze at the 1995 All-Africa Games. How can we forget Chika Chukumerege, a shining symbol of excellence and commitment to craft who inspired by his gold-winning medal performance at the 2002 and 2004 Nuga Games would go on to represent Nigeria at two Olympic Finals and earn our first Taquondo medal at the Olympics. And if you look at Nigeria's sporting history, almost everywhere we have excelled on the global stage you will find athletes whose talents were nurtured in our universities and given a competitive boost by Nuga at one time or the other. Thomas Superfalcon's captain and goalkeeper, Precious Dede, Inkiru Okosieme, Edith Agoya, Adiolu Adekoya, who competed for UNILAC and the famous Mutiu Adekwadu who played for the University of Ibado and Shaii Olofijano who competed for Lautec once upon it. And there was a demo of who played for UNILAC then became a key part of the Super-1894 Akinshala Simeon, Amnina Tlori, both of Lasso, who now play for our national badminton team Olu Mide Ayodeji, Oye Deji, who went on to become an NBA star, a later captain of the Nigerian national basketball team, the Tigers and so many others. The socioeconomic value of the Nuga games is not lost on us and cannot be lost on us. We encourage the athletes who will be competing this year and I hope that the athletes who will be competing this year will not only represent their respective universities proudly and in the spirit of true sportsmanship but they will also realize that their achievements there are a prelude to bigger achievements and greater laurels for themselves and for Nigeria. As an administration we are committed to ensuring that you receive all support you need at every stage of your exceedingly promising careers and we again commend the administration of the University of Lagos led by Able VC. For the work you've done to facilitate a successful tournament, we trust that Lagos will give us a show like no other where after all a call for a show, God bless you all. Thank you very much.