Wema Bank has emerged overall winners of the 2024 Nigeria Bankers Games with a total of 18 medals, made up of ten gold, six silver and two bronze, which held at the University of Lagos Sports Complex.
In the second place was First Bank with six gold, seven silver and four bronze medals, while Access Bank finished third with six gold, five silver and thirteen bronze medals.
In the football event that climaxed the months-long events that featured several sports to include football, athletics, chess, scrabble and table tennis, among others, Sterling Bank won cart home the gold after they defeated FCMB via penalty shootout when the full time produced only one goal apiece.
Speaking on the 2024 Nigeria Bankers Games and journey so far, Mr. Fela Bank Olemoh, founder of MediaVision Limited, said they are excited to see the climax of the 2024 edition of the games and how competitive it has been leading to the final.
“We are just excited that the Nigerian Bankers Game has come this far and has come to stay; it shows what we have been doing all these while.
For this year’s final, we have two competitive teams, Sterling Bank and FCMB. It is exciting to see that people are coming with their families, their children to watch these games and we look forward to it becoming stronger and stronger every year.”
On what keeps them going with this competition, he said:
“I think it is the intent. The Nigerian Bankers Games affords banks the opportunity to meet and interact, they have timeout from their usual work and make new friends. For them they look forward to this and that excites us.
I think Nigerian Bankers Games has a lot of games already like football, athletics, Chess, Scrabble, table tennis and a whole lot of them. For us, it is to strive and make it a lot more better but anything is still possible.
Next year, we plan to make it more bigger with addition of one or two sports like that. For us, the excitement is that the bankers and their families are coming and there are a lot of enthusiasm in the Games.”
Meanwhile, some of the bankers who won for their financial institutions spoke on their experiences.
Awotiri Segun, the Head of Operations, Etiebet Branch of Access Bank, who won 100m men’s gold, said it was exciting winning the race, saying he looked forward for greater challenges in the Games.
According to him:
“I haven’t really been into athletics although I did a little of it in primary school and secondary school days, as well as during my NYSC.
With this, I am looking forward to more competitive games in this Nigeria Bankers Game.”
In banking, we always focus on what we do inside and outside the banking hall but this has helped to balance our work and physical fitness. It is a good recreation for us as bankers.
It helps us in our social life because we get to meet and interact better. Because we do very rigorous training in order to compete, it helps our fitness and off-work balance.”
On her own, Oluwaseun Adewunmi, a marketer with Wema Bank who clinched women 200 meters, stated:
“It is not easy to win this game but I trained a lot and was determined.
This is my first time of participating in this this Game and I can tell you that the experience is huge; I thank God for this.
Absolutely, it is worth every effort because this is an opportunity for us to synergise outside the ever busy banking activities, it is worth every preparation.”
Bukola Olurunmaye of Wema Bank, who won three gold medals in tennis single, women double and mixed double, said:
“It feels great to win after all the efforts. I feel very happy to be winning it back to back and is something that excites me.
Honestly Nigerian Bankers Game is worth every stress and preparations put into this and I can tell you that they have been trying in this Games.
This Games brings about bonding and making new friends which can hardly be experienced in the office.”
On whether she had been an athlete before, she admitted being one before joining the bank, hence her passion for winning.
Miracle Henry, a Customer Experience Officer with Sterling Bank, a women 400 meters gold winner, said she was happy that her efforts in the preparations have been rewarded.
