The President of Emeka Charles Kalu Foundation (ECK Foundation), Chief Dr Emeka Kalu, has asserted that it is high time the politicians as leaders of our nation should began applying different approaches to tackling the increasing social vices that has continued to gain roots in our society due to avoidable issues as unemployment, lack of qualitative education and other diffficiencies associated with poor leadership by men vested with the responsibility of providing it.

Speaking to the press during the kickoff ceremony of the ECK Foundation 2023 Football Tournament that took place in Bende on 30th December, 2023, the US-Based Civil Engineer and Chairman of Starcoll Oil Services Limited,  insisted that unless leaders who are ladden with the responsibility of offering solutions try different approach to tackling sensitive issues challenging our society, the much needed solution will not come because you cannot continue to do same thing over and over and expect different results.

“If you want a different result from what is known, you must be pragmatic enough to do things differently. The issue of crime, kidnapping, drug abuse and other social vices among our youths is alarming. Giving them handouts or hiring them as thugs by our politicians to do dirty works has only succeeded in making them allergic to positive changes, therefore,  I think we must view the matter from a different prism of reality to underscore the maginitude and proffer solution.

“This is my main reason for setting up the 2023 version of my foundation football tournament. I hope to scout for talents and sponsor them because any one idle youth you take off the street is one  potential social vice ripped in the bud. I am fulfilled to say that the joy and excitement I saw in them before, during and after the Tornament, the comments I got from them has gingered my resolves to do more in this direction because it proved to be a fruitful investment.

“I have decided to increase the Tornament stake to over N5 million with better organization as well as make the necessary contacts to push the talented ones to opportunity of playing professional football. we will not leave the job of helping the society only to the government and leaders must try different approach too”, he said.

Meanwhile, the N1 million stake for the 2023 version was shared apiece by the contestants with the winners going home with N400,000. The second position went home with N300,000, while the third and fourth positions went home with N200,000 and N100,000 respectively.