Fire the Minister for Sports, the entire Olympic Committee and the top Managers or Personnel at the Sports Ministry. Period. Until we learn to do that, leadership will careless about their stewardship. Most often, we overlooked the best and the brightest among us, while wasting our resources on sport administrators and politicians who do not appreciate or understand the essence of leadership - goal setting, team building, and result. If we could remove a striker who is not scoring goals while playing, invariably, we should be comfortable removing an Administrator or a Minister whose Ministry is performing abysmally below ordinary expectations.
The Afuze Sports Village built and
managed by Governor Ogbemudia and his administration revolutionized sports and
sporting activities in the old Midwest Region. Today, that Sports Village is a shadow of
its former self. How can we excel in
Sporting activities when those managing our Sport Institutions do not know anything about Sports or know when and how to scout for local stars?
Even though Segun Odegbami was first among equal in the Soccer World in Africa, he never had the opportunity to coach the Green Eagle at his prime. Just as Alabi Aisien of former Bendel Insurance - great and gregarious as he was - never had the opportunity to coach the Green Eagle. Once, it was reported that NFA had completed arrangement to appoint Mr. Aisien the Chief Coach of the National Football Team. The following day, The Nigerian Guardian Newspaper (yes, The Nigerian Guardian), wrote a powerful editorial praising the appointment, stating that it was long overdue. Well, it is history: Mr Alabi Aisien did not get the job and never had the opportunity to coach the Eagles before he died. As advanced and exposed as we are in the field of Soccer, it is high time we jettison the old habit of hiring coaches outside of our shore.
Until we learn to divorce our sports administration of undue political interference, nepotism, and god-fatherism, we will never experience improvement in our sporting engagement with the outside World.
Even though Segun Odegbami was first among equal in the Soccer World in Africa, he never had the opportunity to coach the Green Eagle at his prime. Just as Alabi Aisien of former Bendel Insurance - great and gregarious as he was - never had the opportunity to coach the Green Eagle. Once, it was reported that NFA had completed arrangement to appoint Mr. Aisien the Chief Coach of the National Football Team. The following day, The Nigerian Guardian Newspaper (yes, The Nigerian Guardian), wrote a powerful editorial praising the appointment, stating that it was long overdue. Well, it is history: Mr Alabi Aisien did not get the job and never had the opportunity to coach the Eagles before he died. As advanced and exposed as we are in the field of Soccer, it is high time we jettison the old habit of hiring coaches outside of our shore.
Until we learn to divorce our sports administration of undue political interference, nepotism, and god-fatherism, we will never experience improvement in our sporting engagement with the outside World.
We have numerous sport facilities
idling away all over the federation underutilized, while Sport Administrators
remain in office collecting salaries and emoluments. We are so much engaged in politicking and watching European Soccer in our living rooms and bear parlors that we no longer have interest or time to rejuvenate our once robust national league. Go to Facebook; all you read from your Nigerian buddies and family members is about the agility of Messi and the doggedness of Drogba and Rooney.
The fact that Olympic game comes every four years is nothing new. It is a truism. If that is the case, how come we only start to train few months to the commencement of the event? Whose responsibility is it to release funding for the training and preparation of our athletes?
The fact that Olympic game comes every four years is nothing new. It is a truism. If that is the case, how come we only start to train few months to the commencement of the event? Whose responsibility is it to release funding for the training and preparation of our athletes?
Nigerians are tired of mercy
after death. Let’s do away with the post of the Minister for Sport. In that
case, the Sport Administrator and his or her subordinates would be able to manage
our sporting activities round the clock, without subjecting the department to the
vagaries and instability that bedevil our political system.
In addition, we should disband and eliminate the Olympic Committee Team permanently. If Federal Government must send a delegate to the Olympic events, it could do that without establishing a parallel body like the Olympic Committee to compete for relevance and attention with the Sport Administrators. Such delegates should be specifically for that Olympic event as entourage or ambassador, and no more.
In addition, we should disband and eliminate the Olympic Committee Team permanently. If Federal Government must send a delegate to the Olympic events, it could do that without establishing a parallel body like the Olympic Committee to compete for relevance and attention with the Sport Administrators. Such delegates should be specifically for that Olympic event as entourage or ambassador, and no more.
Ordinarly, NUGA or University Game is the
best avenue to scout for domestic stars. But due to incessant student
riots and the "stay at home" idiosyncrasy by ASUU and Non-Academic Staff Union, our academic calendar
has been drastically altered with devastating impacts on our sporting activities. It is practically
impossible to organize sporting events when students are not on campus. No doubt,
the solution requires a coordinated approach from government, our Universities,
the Sport Ministry, NGOs and all Nigerian sport lovers at home and abroad. Above all, let’s
take politics out of our sports and sporting organization, and all will be well. Nigerians are full of energy and talents; get them engaged. If you do that, cultism on campus as well as the brazen killing and kidnapping ravaging the Nigerian landscap wold reduce drastically.
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