State of Nigerian sports: Go back to school sports, Oduah urges Minister News

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State of Nigerian sports: Go back to school sports, Oduah urges Minister

By Victor Enyinnaya on April 24, 2017

A former Executive Committee member of the NFA and Director of Finance, Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Prince Isidore Oduah, has called on the Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung to think of redirecting the country’s fast declining sports back to school sports, a panacea he insists is the only option to redefine the country’s fading glory in sports.

Oduah made the call on the grounds that the country’s fortune in athletics, where it was a dominant player in Africa has unbelievably dwindled due to poor quality of leadership that prevailed for about eight years AFN.

“It remains of great concern that AFN leadership was clueless, which has so far led the sport into oblivion. The women athletes revolved around Blessing Okagbare and we saw the consequences. The men fizzled out. Even when Solomon Ogba resorted to importation of athletes of Nigerian origin as he did when he was Sports Commissioner in Delta State, for his state to excel in the National Sports Festival, it brought nightmare for the supposedly biannual amateur multi-sport championship. Ogba forgot that the way and manner he brought renewed poaching via elite athletes into the National Sports Festival destroyed the original concept of the festival by its founding fathers, obviously backfired.

Now, he is leaving the federation in total ruins. He met solid foundation coupled with result oriented programmes Dan Ngerem regime and that of Violent Odogwu-Nwajie left on ground. He couldn’t build on them rather sadly he squandered the goodwill just like that,” he recalls.

The five-time former member of the old Anambra State Sports Council told Dalung to read between the lines to come to terms that the only viable way out of the current zero level breath of sports in the nation is to go back to schools sports - a grassroots’ recruitment of numerous naturally talented young sports men and women at very reasonable age that would be groomed decisively to perfectly take over from the aging athletes that have nothing more tangible to offer after given their best over these years. Those of them that are interested and have passion for coaching should be encouraged to take to that.

“The bitter truth is that the country has never had it so bad like this in her sports, whereby every sport is in a state of disrepair.

The final collapse is imminent. It’s no mere alarm that has always been dismissed with a wave of the hand. There is fire on the mountain. Sports have totally been murdered. Things have gone from bad to worse in sports generally. It used to be the devastating decay of sporting facilities but today it has extended to lack of viable athletes, which has never happened in the history of organised sports in the country.”

The Financial Secretary of the Association of Sports Veterans Nigeria posits that he is deeply worried that the Minister has displayed himself as an unserious fellow before Nigerian fans of the different sports. He reminds Dalung that propaganda never thrives in sports administration because of sports is all about practical results glaringly showing for all to see. It is not paper work. It is what one sees. That is why the failures of Dalung are glaring. He has been all over the place giving what is not the true picture of how sports have fared so far. What currently obtain are gloomy indices at the lowest ebb. He pointed out that such false attitude of the Minister further exposed him as not fit to lead the vibrant industry he is bent on leaving in ruins.

Said Prince Oduah: “I don’t know where he was brought from and dumped on sports, purely because of party affiliation. He has no interest talk more of passion in sports. His pre-occupation is what he grabs in readiness for the next elections. He has shown he never neared the sports arena either for recreation, watch football, athletics, boxing, weightlifting, basketball etc before this supposedly national assignment. It is why he has practically mismanaged sports. It is the reason why federations’ chairmen took advantage of his nonchalant character and adamant to learning attitude and warnings which brought the entire sports to its knees today. If I say he is a failure it should not be seen as over statement.”

The veteran sports administrator added that High Chief Alex Akinyele remains the only one that came into the topmost cadre of sports administration as a novice but quickly learnt the rudiments, ran with them resoundingly and today his name is in the record book of sports as one of the achievers. He brought himself down despite his flamboyant nature and left enduring and meaningful dividends to the table of sports development in the country.

Where is Dalung’s refuge and place in sports today? Oduah further informed that he and other stakeholders are worried because this is the heart beat platform where youths are groomed and made to become whatever they want be in life through any sport of their choice.

“My vehement belief is that we must retrace our steps back to school sports if we actually want to get it right again. The answer lies with going grassroots to re-invent sports in its entirety.”

Oduah frowned at a situation whereby AFN and other federations import athletes for major championships, stating that the fairy tale aspect of it is that these foreign athletes of Nigeria extraction could not strike gold medal for the country which is the fantasy target of lazy federations chairmen, secretaries and coaches who easily forgot that Nigeria’s only Olympics gold medal till date, Chioma Ajunwa-Opara was home grown. Mary Onyali-Omagbemi, Falilat Ogunkoya and their fantastic relay teams were all home grown. Uchenna Emedolu, Ezinwa brothers, the Olapades, the Alis, Egbunikes etc of this world. It remains sad commentary as sports continues to dry up daily.

•Photo shows veteran sports administrator, Prince Isidore Oduah.

Source Daily Sports

Posted April 24, 2017