It seems to me most strange that the hierarchy of the National Sports Commission (NSC) would have preferred being the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). His penchant for discussing how to make the National Stadium, Abuja the home of the country’s soccer national teams or should I say the Super Eagles is disturbing. He makes sense in his speeches but the implementation remains an optical illusion. It is the frequency in discussing football issues that raises the one question of whether football is all that there is in his job description.
One was taken aback watching the rot inside and outside the National Institute for Sports (NIS) as captured on camera by the print and electronic media – visuals so nauseating to watch. This shameful exposé came to the public knowledge during the official visit of the NIS Director General (DG) Phillip Shaibu to the complex on Monday. Watching the DG’s tour of the NIS rotten structures explains clearly the total destruction of sporting facilities owned by the Federal Government around the country.
The place was inscrutable with leaky toilets whose stinking water formed small patches on the floor, which the inspection tour team struggled to pass through by either jumping or putting their hands on the dirty walls to navigate through the stench. A place called the powerhouse was potential gunpowder waiting to explode. Fitted with changeover units flung open, you could see loose electrical wires connected to God know where. Not too far away was a bed covered with wrapper, perhaps to shield the area from mosquitoes. The surrounding was despicable.
If I was the man in charge of the NSC, I would immediately find out how much has been budgeted for maintenance at the NIS in the last 10 years and what the cash was used for. After all, governance is a continuum. I would also want to know if those found living in the hostels are students or homeless people living there ‘without’ the knowledge of the owners of the place. Or is the NIS also a hotel of sort?
Again, if I was in Shaibu’s shoes, I would call in the engineers to see the NIS building and see if it would pass the integrity tests, going by what we saw during this inspection. Some of the cracks on the decking of several floors made it unwise for the place to be used for any human endeavour until proper work is done. And quickly too.
Put simply, the NIS was an eyesore when Shaibu visited and I wasn’t surprised that he hid behind one finger when he told reporters after the inspection tour that: “There is a lot of work to be done, but the cheering news is that the structures are still strong. What we need is a comprehensive renewal and not just cosmetic.
“My approach will be different because I have the will.” He likened the state of the institute to dry bones in the Holy Scriptures, which could be revived. “The situation is not as bad as the valley of dry bones. If there’s a will, then there’s a way. With commitment and teamwork, NIS will work again”.
According to Shaibu: “To get the kind of results we want in sports, certain bureaucratic bottlenecks must be addressed. That may include changes in policy and funding structure.”
“You can’t drive excellence when your workforce is demoralised. We’ll look at welfare, training, and performance incentives as part of the broader reform.”
“We are not just inspecting buildings. I will meet with staff, management, and students to hear their perspectives and chart a new course. Collaboration is key,” he said.
“The NIS is the engine room of Nigeria sports. If the NIS is sleeping, Nigeria sports is sleeping. That is why our sports have not been moving forward,” Shaibu said.
“Nigeria cannot be a giant of Africa in terms of size and economy and each time we go to international competitions, we’re not on the medals table. Each time we go to the Olympics, the silver medal becomes like gold for us, and so, it’s obvious that we need a lot of work to be done,” he said.
“We’re not inventing a new vision; we’re here to implement and renew what already exists. And with the support of the staff, the media, and all stakeholders, we’ll bring NIS back to the top,”
The refrain, ”we will bring NIS back to the top,’ would be the cliché that it is when he is faced with the frightening figures of how much is required to modernise the NIS. Shaibu would soon be confronted with the myriad of problems inherent in the NIS, including the high level politics that has left the NIS in ruins. The NIS is in a sickening state of disrepair. It would, therefore, be imperative to ask Shaibu what his plans are for the place, beyond the endless repairs.
The few classrooms in the video sadly reminded one of the Emotan Preparatory School, Benin City’s classes of yore. One hopes that Shaibu would change that narrative to the modern digitalised environments for learning globally. Perhaps, Shaibu could visit Australia where the idea of the NIS took it roots, to see the massive disparity over the last three decades. It is important to appeal to the former deputy governor of Edo State to think of where he could relocate the NIS temporarily, to allow for decent upgrading and renovation works. The NIS should be reduced to a reconstruction site if we truly want a new dawn in the place. The NIS should be the fountain of knowledge for sports here. NIS should be the mill for producing good coaches, games masters and mistresses who would be employed at the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the country. These coaches would hit the LGAs with one notion in their mind – discover, train athletes before exposing them to big sporting events such as the African Games, the Commonwealth Games, the Olympic Games etc. as future world beaters.
Sport is a big deal. It unites nations and enchants people. Besides, it has a global appeal, pulling fans and sponsors into a unique force that impacts positively on businesses and health. These positives can best be evaluated when the government has a template that makes it possible for businesses and philanthropists to key into the nation’s vision for sports.
Governments of sports-loving nations entice businesses with relief packages, such as tax rebates on their investments in sports. Given sports’ global appeal, governments effectively utilise the platform as their public relations tool to change people’s perceptions of their entities.
Grassroots development can be actualised through the hosting of international and continental sporting events. Most countries use these big competitions to woo the blue-chip industries to identify with sports. Besides, these competitions open up the hinterland with the facilities constructed, creating jobs in the locality. The facilities would attract the villagers to learn the games and, inadvertently improve their health.
