Dr. Patrick Adebola

Dr. Patrick Adebola

Richard Elesho

The Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, CRIN, Ibadan, will do all things humanly and technically possible to ensure a hitch free and top-notch Research Institutes Games next year. The commitment was given by Dr. Patrick Adebola, Executive Director, ED, of the Premier Institute on Wednesday in Abuja.

CRIN was given the hosting right of the 18th Research Institutes Games Association of Nigera, RIGAN, Games festival via an approval letter dated June 6, signed by Professor O.F Owolade, RIGAN National President. Scheduled for December 2024, the games coincide with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of CRIN.

Since getting the commemorative hosting mandate, the CRIN management has been working round the clock to achieve a memorable festival. The efforts include the inauguration of the Local Organising Committee, LOC, drawing a budget estimate for the event, assessment, and gradual upgrade of facilities in the institute.

A major step was taken on Friday, August 11, when the LOC was inaugurated in Ibadan. Headed by Dr. Adebola as Chairman, Dr R. Ipinmoroti as Vice-Chairman and Mr J Onatunde-Onanuga as Secretary, the 15-member Committee was inaugurated by the RIGAN National President.

“We are good to go. Of course, we consider it a rare privilege to have been selected as a host of the RIGAN games. We are not leaving any stones unturned in reaching out to our long-standing partners and stakeholders to give the needed moral and logistic support towards a superlative outing.” Adebola said.

Asked how much it will cost to host the event and how the Institute will raise the funds in view of the current economic challenges in the country, Adebola, a plant scientist, waxed philosophical. Listen to him:

“It will certainly cost a lot of money. We are still working out the details, but we are aware that nothing good comes cheap. We are not discouraged by the current inflationary trends.

When there is a will, God will always make a way. We have no doubts that the federal government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security will continue to back us. We are also reaching out to the sports loving governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, the chief host, corporate institutions, groups, and individuals to generously sponsor the event. We appeal to stakeholders to identify with us as we prepare for the festival.”

RIGAN was created by the Committee of Directors of Research Institutes, CODRI, in 1979. It comprises forty-five (45) Research and Development Institutes under the aegis of Federal Ministriess of Agriculture and Rural Development; Science and Technology; Health; Education; Transport; and Environment.

In 1980, RIGAN was formally launched by the then Honourable Minister, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Fr. Sylvester Ugoh, who represented the former President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Shehu Shagari.

Established in December 1964, the only time CRIN participated in hosting the game was in 1997 when it  jointly hosted it with two other Research Institutes in Ibadan namely the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, FRIN, and the National Horticultural Research Institute, NIHORT.

Aside from its overall health benefits, the game will create a platform for interactions among researchers and other staff from various research and development institutes across the country. CRIN will use the occasion to showcase its strength and contributions to Agricultural Research and Development in Nigeria and as such attract further collaborations from the array of government officials, stakeholders, investors, and private sectors that would be at the occasion.

Many sports talents, including Mutiu Adepoju, Austin Eguavon, and M. Monye were discovered in previous RIGAN games. Next year’s ten-day event is proposed to hold from 6 to 15 December.