By: Maurice Inok FCAI
As l
write this, it is the Eve of the last Group World Cup qualifying game between the Super Eagles and Benin Republic. A Team coached by a man that was deemed surplus to requirements by Nigeria but which is currently topping our Group with a squad of players that can’t even come close to the embarrassment of riches and talents that the Nigerian squad has in its kitty.
Nigeria, with two African footballers of the Year in it’s squad, a Player of The Tournament in the last Afcon, Premier League players par excellence, strikers lighting up La Liga and Serie A and all the major leagues in the World is currently struggling to qualify for The World Cup while lesser Countries have long tied up their World Cup qualifications.
The reason for this piece is to awaken the responsibilities of the Sports Community and demand a drastic change and RENEWD HOPE in our Sports management, organization and Vision for the future. As we speak, we have a Government that is very sports friendly and has hearkened to the cries of the Sports Community by scrapping the post of Sports Minister and has put the power of administration squarely in the hands of the Sports Community through the National Sports Commission NSC.
This has long been the cry of the Sports Community who don’t seem to mind the fact that Sports is no more represented in the highest decision making body in the land. One wonders why the two cannot work together. With Sports as important as it is in the socio economic fabric of the Society, why shouldn’t it be represented in the Federal Executive Council? If laws need to be tinkered with or if the Head of the NSC doubles as Sports Minister then why not?
That is not the issue however because one would have expected that with power now in the hands of the Sports Community and not “a politician” we should be seeing radical and drastic changes and developments in policy formulation, planning and execution which should begin to change the outlook and performances of our sports men and women.
We sacked Gernot Rohr. Is the new Coach an upgrade or downgrade? We hear that the ever patriotic Eguavoen will be brought back to the Super Eagles. Same tired thing we always did to Shuaibu Amodu and Chukwu which never moved our Team forward. Even if the Super Eagles qualify for the World Cup, have we truly built a World Cup winning side despite the plethora of talents we have in the Team? Is there a plan to get a really good Coach that this caibre of Players yearn for or do we continue with unproven journeymen hoping against hope?
What are the developmental plans for our home grown Coaches? What are we doing to improve our Leagues and improve the standard of the Teams in the Leagues and what are we doing about the welfare of players? How will we revive our dead Age Grade National Football Teams?
In other sports, when will simple administrative errors stop denying our Sportsmen from competing in international Competitions that they qualify for without consequences? In Athletics and other Sports, how long will they have to wait to have National Kits that meet up to basic international best practices?
What plan is there on ground to refurbish our Stadia and keep them permanently in good working condition and generating revenue without destroying the pitches and running tracks? Isn’t it amazing that the Super Eagles are stuck playing in Uyo, in a Stadium that has given us our worst run of results in the recent past in which our National Team at a point was pelted and humiliated because of poor results and sabotage through infighting from within? What if the Akwa Ibom Government hadn’t maintained the Stadium or even built it?
We want to win the All African Games, what plans do we have for Swimming? A Sport that Egypt has perpetually used to keep us in second or third place or don’t we have rivers and pools in Nigeria or talented swimmers?
Will our Boxing, Wrestling and Weightlifting ever be revived? What are we doing with Combat Sports eg Tae Kwan Do, Judo and the very lucrative UFC? Can we revisit the processes that made us World beaters in the sprints and middle distance athletic races?Are we doing as well as we should in Table Tennis and the Racquet sports where our Supremacy has long been decimated? Where are the upcoming Atanda Musas, Babatunde Obisanyas and Yomi Bankoles? Thank God for the Cecilia Otus and Edem Effiongs but we’re losing our grip steadily in an event in which we should have been world beaters by now!!!
How are we planning to push our Basketball, Handball and Volleyball Teams to the next level. Praise must go to the D’Tigers and Tigresses who through sheer Talent, willpower, the support of the Federation and patriotism have elevated the game consistently.
These and more are the questions begging for answers from the Sports Community Administrators who currently hold the reins of power and serve in an Administration whose hands are open and ready to provide the necessary support but who however don’t suffer fools gladly.
Today, we are in a global Village and in an era of great sporting economic viability with extensive Media patronage and visibility, as long as Events, Competitions and Programs are properly packaged and organized with integrity, international best practices and transparency. Sponsors are failing over themselves to get involved in sporting activities however they also demand good returns on their investments, consistency and quality production.
The NSC as a matter of urgency needs to organize a Sports Summit. Not a jamboree but a bringing together of ALL past and present Heads of the NIS, Sports Commissioners, Chairmen of Sports Commissions, Directors of Sports and the Organised Private Sector, Sponsors, Media and Communication Giants, Tech Giants, Branding Experts, Hoteliers, the Oil and Gas Industry players, of course the Airline Operators and must include National Assembly representation
In three days of serious deliberations, a new policy framework for our Sports should be articulated and then sent to the National Assembly for domestication which should include penalties for non performance and less rigid processes for the removal and replacement of non performing bodies, Groups and Associations who make themselves cogs in the wheel of progress.
We must realize that sports has nationalistic ,social and economic implications and advantages for our Country. Whenever Nigeria wins in any sporting competition, the Country erupts in raptures of brotherhood, love and affection. Sports douses tensions and is the greatest unifier of our Country ever. Sports brings money into our economy, empowers our youths and families, provides jobs and recreation, develops Communities and has a bigger economy than very many Countries. Imagine the money in FIFA, Golf, Formula One, Tennis, Wrestling and Athletics alone. When will we as a Country begin to access the vast resources in the Sporting Sector. We have truly been left behind in this regard.
The NSC, by law, needs now to have a Board populated with knowledgeable people in the Sports Sector and not just a Chairman and DG operating on their own and if we seriously don’t do something drastic now that includes a Vision for the future and our Youths, our Sports will still be the SAME OLD SAME OLD story of dependence on prayers alone as it is now for our World Cup qualification and our sports will continue flattering to deceive!!! Delay is dangerous!!!
Maurice Inok FCAI, is a Fmr Chairman CRS Sports Commission and fmr President of Calabar Rover FC
