From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Shehu Dikko, has revealed that the gradual and methodical cleaning of corruption in the sports sector to attract big sponsors will soon be completed.
Dikko made the disclosure on the sidelines of a meeting with the executive board of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), comprising all the heads of sports federations in the country, in Abuja on Wednesday.
Fielding questions from sports journalists at the venue of the meeting, organised to draw a framework and clean the system to attract investors, he admitted that the Commission is rebranding the Nigerian sports sector to make it attractive and investor-friendly.
“You can see what is already going on. We have a clear plan of how we want to do it and the job we want to do. It is not all about bringing in money but bringing the right money. If I bring in one naira, it is money. But we have to clean up the system, put it in the right perspective, and make it attractive to the big supporters, investors, and everybody.
“We have to put the framework together, and that is why we said that we are resetting, refocusing, and relaunching. We refocus by the way we do things to make them better, reset our thinking, and relaunch our sports to make it more positive. If we do that, we will achieve part of our key target pillars to attract private sectors, and this is what we are doing now,” he explained.
Asked if his personal relationship with Mr. President is responsible for the increased funds coming into sports, the former chairman of Nigeria’s premier league body said: “Mr. President is very focused, deliberate, and intentional in what he is doing. He believes that sports should be the key driver of the economy and a platform that would aid job creation, contribute to the economy, and make a social impact by improving security.
“If sports is working, security will improve because of the attention it creates. He is very intentional about it and felt that the best way to do it is to follow the direction of instituting the Sports Commission, giving it the needed and unprecedented support that has never been seen before.
“He also technically removed sports from all the bureaucratic impediments and placed it directly on his table. Everybody is seeing the direction it is going and appreciating it. That is why everybody is focusing on the same thing, and we could see that during the last sports festival. Everyone is happy about it because it is a huge success,” Dikko said.
Similarly, NOC President, Habu Gumel, in his remarks, tasked the sports federations to take up the challenge and ensure that Nigeria becomes one of the countries to be reckoned with in sports.
“I’m so glad that it’s a joint meeting between the Nigerian Olympic Committee, all the national federations, Olympic sports, and the Chairman and the DG of the National Sports Commission. So, we met to rub our minds, to discuss issues of mutual understanding, because we have to collaborate with one another, we have to work together in the interest of our country.
“And I’m happy that a lot of the national federations asked questions, clarifications were made, advice was given, and the chairman and the DG were able to answer all the questions to the happiness of everybody.
“We also discussed issues about the upcoming games like the Islamic Games in Riyadh, the Youth Games in Angola, the School Games in Algeria, the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, and even the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. We are ready to make sure that Nigeria shines in all the games that we are going to attend.”
Gumel said that funding had always been a serious challenge to the country’s participation in international events, but that the new era of sports might be different from previous administrations.
“Yes, funding is a challenge, but the National Sports Commission and the government are doing their best, and we are going to the private sector again, to ensure that the private sector gives us their support.
“This will enable us to go for the qualifications, and then, we can attend the games proper, so that we can be able to make our country proud,” Gumel said.
No fewer than 28 sports federations, including the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Nigeria Aquatics Federation, Nigeria Archery Federation, Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Badminton Federation of Nigeria, and the Nigeria Basketball Federation, were in attendance at the meeting.