In this report, TAIWO ALIMI digs into the internal strife and corruption threatening to kill the nation’s sports citadel, National Institute for Sports (NIS).
UNDERNEATH the façade of a brilliant edifice looming larger than life and the dazzling academic toga of the National Institute for Sports (NIS), Nigeria’s biggest sports establishment, is a short fuse which if ignited could implode. It is like a simmering fire about to burst out.
It was supposed to be the greatest sports training and research institution of the nation. Conceptualised in 1972, Decree 31 of 1992 birthed the NIS, and gave it power and control. It was fashioned after the great Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), which began operation in 1981.
The legislation gifted NIS autonomy from the National Sports Commission (NSC), hence, it is given power to fire and hire, generate and spend funds, and create, initiate and execute ideas, with minimal control from the NSC.
Engraved into the framework of AIS dual function of inspiring quality sport manpower and development, and discovering, harnessing, nurturing and grooming young talents to stardom, the AIS gene has not rubbed off on NIS, as the former is blossoming while the latter is crumbling.
NIS/AIS
Numbers, they say, don’t lie. At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games – 319 current and former athletes of AIS competed in 19 sports and won eight gold, 11 silver and 13 bronze medals. Australia won 58 medals in all.
At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens – 289 current and former athletes of the institute competed in twenty sports and won 10 gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze medals a total of 32- out of 49 medals won by the country.
The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games had 263 current and former AIS athletes pocketing seven gold, nine silver and seven bronze medals out of 46 medals won by Australia.
While at the last Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, 158 current and former (including Paralympics’ scholarship holders) competed in 12 sports and won 88 medals; 41 gold, 23 silver, and 24 bronze. Australia won 177 medals in India.
For NIS, sadly, the figure is not inspiring. NIS yearly turns out graduates coming for diploma, higher diploma and advanced certificate courses, but it can boast of few accomplished athletes and coaches. Chioma Ajunwa, Nigeria’s first Olympic gold medalist is a former student of NIS as well as the late Super Eagles manager, Shaibu Amodu. The citadel of knowledge also made the late coach Yemi Tella, who led the Nigeria U-18 soccer team to gold medal at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in South Korea.
The performance index of the 25-year-old institute ranks far below those of its peers in the world and could fall even lower unless something is done quickly to reverse the crises threatening to engulf it.
Verifying the downward slide, Head, Coaching and Training Department, Jimmy Adeniyi said the NIS has fallen short in the area of manpower development and training. “We hardly go out for training and retraining. It is difficult to keep up with modern technique, which, of course, is constantly changing.”
The problems
Investigation revealed that the system is bleeding the institution dry. This reporter found a system fraught with internal wrangling, inadequate funding, sharp practices, abuse of office and poor welfare of staff.
However, internal wrangling tops the list and the crises did not start now. Its embers were found fanned by the immediate past Director/CEO, Dr Sunday Okhakume Ikhioya and it has simmered far longer to die a natural death.
Fired by discord, crises, distrust, fund diversion, the NIS is like a pregnant woman in labour. She will not experience comfort until she is delivered of the unborn baby.
Current sparks quietly in the tranquil ambience of the institute and strife is the order of the day.
Peace in NIS is fragile and breaks down at short notice with deep animosity between managers and union members and some staff.
The most prominent union in the institution Academic Staff Union of Research institutions (ASURI) are regularly at loggerhead with the management creating mistrust, tension and sometimes leading to litigation. The tension could be sliced with a knife.
That erstwhile director Ikhioya was consumed by this incessant bickering is to put it mildly. His eight-year tenure was so hot that he had to retire early for Dr Eke Kingdom Chukwudi to step in.
Behind him were trails of litigation, bad blood, and debt that his successor inherited.
In March 31, 2014, Dr Francis Akinremi’s led ASURI blew the lid off the hot bottle by requesting for documentation of income and expenditure for the year 2010 to 2013 under Director/CEO Ikhioya. This, the union leader, said was necessitated by management’s nonstop talks of scarce resources hampering the execution of statutory functions and staff training.
Akinremi remembered the struggle vividly. “I was arrested and slept in detention for two days for demanding for what is just. We had no choice but to take the matter to court because we saw it as infringement on our right.”
“We had no option but to follow the suit through. We felt that Freedom of Information Act 2011 gave us the right to access NIS books,” noted Akinremi with anger.
Other defiant letters followed, and allegations and counter allegations became part of the system.
In April 2015, ASURI wrote to the governing council of the institute over allegation of gross misconduct against the NIS under the immediate past director.
The strongly worded petition alleged the management misappropriated over N120million IGR. It requested the governing council to investigate.
By July 10, 2015, when Lagos High Court Justice S. Saidu delivered his judgement, granting reliefs sought by the applicants, ASURI and NIS balance sheet was available to all staff through ASURI, Dr Ikhioya had left the scene for Dr Chukwudi to grapple with the madness that NIS had become.
“When I came on board on May 15, 2015, NIS was completely in confusion,” Dr Chukwudi seated behind his desk, said in dejected voice. “There was problem between the management and the management board. They were in court and when I received the court verdict, I had to call both parties and settle them amicably. We agreed and that was the first step to refocus and make peace, that we are one Nigeria and should live like one. If we don’t agree together, we cannot achieve the goal and action statement before us. That was the first thing.
“I inherited a lot of debt; the bursar can give you the precise amount. I started paying, especially the academic staff and the one that broke the camel back was the 2014 sandwich programme that was not paid, which I paid off gradually with the little that we are getting from government. Staff welfare was also one of the problems that I had to deal with.”
Poor funding
The current CEO also pinned the problem down to low funding by government. “I cannot say that this is precisely the amount that we need to do all we want to do. I am an administrative person, but when we make our budget for a capital project and it is cut down, it is what we have that we make use of.”
However, investigation by the reporter revealed that NIS’ trouble is not entirely of lack of fund. The official financial statements from 2012 to 2013 bear a staggering income from subvention and IGR.
In 2010, a combined N414.6million was generated. It rose to N602.5 million in 2011. By 2012, it crashed to N497.7million and gained marginally by N2million to record N499.7 the following year.
Rueben Ichado, the NIS bursar insists that government subvention and IGR had sunk lower than what obtained in 2013. “We don’t get as much as we want. Even IGR is low and we have to use what we get.”
A lecturer in Sports Management Studies has a different opinion though, he argued: “NIS problem is not lack of money, but misuse of what is available. If the little that is available is judiciously used, we would not be talking of poor performance in NIS.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the lecturer cited corruption and abuse of power as key factors militating against development.
Alleged misappropriation
The 40-year-old NIS building is the face of then institute. It serves as classrooms, offices, and hostels for scores of students, and staff. Gone were the gay and busy atmosphere the building used to radiate. The emptiness that hung around the edifice can be measured with a coin.
For the old students and lecturers of the NIS, the elevator was a spectacle to behold.
Comrade Ken Omezi, acting chairman of ASURI informed that the elevator has not worked for one day, in ten years.
However, in 2007, N4.2milion was allegedly released to refurbish the elevator and another N4.7million went into repairing it three years later in 2010.
Bayo Oluwaniyi, an engineer and head facilities/ procurement refuted the claim. According to him, “The elevator stopped working a long time ago. It was installed 40 years ago when the building was built. It developed fault and when we presented the budget for a new one, it was too high and we resorted to refurbishment. Twice we spent some money on it more than ten years ago, it worked for a while and stopped. For eight years now, no money was spent on it.”
Tartan track
The NIS football and athletic pitch track also became an item when official record released by management showed that N19, 005.000 was paid to Kye Builders Investment limited for the construction of tartan track.
When the reporter paid a visit to the field, adjoining the new NIS building, there was no trace of a tartan track, and there was no ongoing work on it. The facility has a standard football pitch that generates over N1million yearly, but without a tartan track.
For example, officially NIS made N1. 4million renting out the pitch in 2010, N719, 900 in 2011, N1.1million the following year and N563, 500 in 2013.
“That is not the only facility where money is generated every weekend. The lawn tennis court is there. The gymnasium, the Conference Hall, the hostels and canteen are all rented out for money,” according to Dr Akinremi.
Bursar Ichado confirmed payment of N19, 005,000 as mobilization fee to Kye Builders in 2014 before funding issue stalled the work. “The project was captured in the 2014 appropriation and the amount earmarked for the tartan track was N157million. In Dec 2014, we did contract evaluation and Kye Builders the most qualified. On Dec 30, 2014, 15% of the contract, the statutory provision was paid. That was how N19, 500, 000 came to be. We had hoped that between January and March, 2015, further money would be released so it was put into the 2015 budget. Unfortunately, it was struck out. Same thing in 2016 and that is why we could not complete the project. Kye had moved their equipment into site, but they could only do the long jump, discuss, shot put, javelin as well as grading of the track. We did artwork, filling and grading to make it usable. That is what our money could accomplish. The money was not misappropriated as some people believe.”
Conforming Oluwaniyi said tartan track could not be laid halfway. “For us to be able to finish the job, we have to cough out over N100million, which we do not have.”
In order to validate Oluwaniyi’s claim, the reporter made further inquiry on final cost of construction of a standard tartan track. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) put the value of a standard tartan track at $1million (about N315m)
Training
A large chunk of the NIS finance, the management claims goes into staff training and welfare packages. At least over N80million was officially recorded for this from 2010 to 2013, yet, coaches have complained bitterly of lack of it.
“There has been a lot of deceit in this area of training and workshop. There have been instances when money was approved for workshop outside Lagos for over more than 100 coaches, yet we did not see the money nor attend the trainings.”
Determined to unravel this mystery, the reporter secured photocopies of official memos, cheques and payment vouchers.
“The first one is a national workshop on skills and techniques in athletics, basketball and football from November 9-14, 2015.”
According to the internal memo raised and signed by the bursar, Ichado, N2, 496,000 was approved by the current director for 104 games masters to attend the workshop.
Voucher for release of money as well as invoice by one Destiny Catering Logistics Services Ltd, Kaduna also surfaced.
Further clarification from coach Adeniyi revealed that the institute attended no workshop/training in 2015. “I am in a position to know if 104 game masters will leave NIS, nothing of such happened. It is a ploy to siphon money,” he complained.
Again, barely one month after, just about six months into the tenure of Director Chukwudi, a similar memo of another national workshop on skills and techniques in athletics, basketball and football originated from Bursar Ichado and got the approval and signature of the NIS boss. This time around, a sum of N2, 415, 110. 00, payable to Evergreen Restaurant Nigeria Limited in Lokoja road was paid out.
The workshop was for 100 game masters and not one coach had attested to being on the team.
“It was a ruse to grab money,” Akinremi bewailed. “It did not happen.”
Alleged diversion of fund
The Nation’s finding shows a case of fund diversion as confirmed by the bursar, when he was confronted with facts and figures.
He said, “The actual amount involved is N5.3m. The money was spent from between 2014 and 2015. That time we have governing council and the tradition is that since they do meetings regularly we have to service the office of the chairman, his vehicles and those of others. It was an unwritten rule and the chairman of the council was Col Idu Enoche (rtd). NIS was spending N600,000 every month and along the line it went up to N5.3m and since we cannot put it in our financial record, as it is against the rule, we have to generate memo to record those things and the tellers for all the payments are here. It is not that we organised any workshop, it is to settle some things based on understanding of all. The council knew about it and we can prove that the money was not misappropriated by the director or by me.”
Director Chukwudi, who sat close to Ichado, shook his head intermittently as he was talking.
He quickly exonerated himself. “I don’t have any knowledge of this,” he said to no one in particular.
Gymnasium
Another strange memo that hit many staff below the belt is one affecting the removal of domestic items in the NIS gymnasium with the full approval of the director.
The items: a set of bar, a chair, one corner bar, one giant Heineken refrigerator and one giant Coca Cola refrigerator, were said to be the personal belongings of erstwhile director Dr Ikhioya.
Signed by Ibu Ngaji, approval was duly given by the current NIS director.
An agitated Akinremi called the action, ‘abuse of office’. “How can you come a year after leaving a place and remove belongings of the institute. It is wrong and against the service rule to use a government establishment for your own business as a director. How can a serving director allow a former director to remove items of the school after he must have left the place, more than a year? It is uncalled for and it must stop.”
On this, the director explained and concluded that, “It is a regular thing in the institute. The former director (Dr Ikhioya) wrote to us that he has some materials in the gym and I called the engineer to find out if those things are his and they confirmed that it was his own and so I approved for them to be removed. It is common among NIS staff to own business concerns as far as it is not affecting their job. Some of our staff own kiosks in the building and we allow them to sell things there. Even Akinremi that is talking has his own kiosk here.”
More strange payments
Still bizarre is a string of bank transactions that was made on November 3, 2016. NIS 2016 budget report records three separate payments into the account of ex-director Ikhioya on that day.
The money totaling N508, 700 was paid into his account number 0042800628.
Details show that the first N231, 600 was a Touring Advance (TA) to Abuja in 2014. The second was also tagged TA to Abuja in November 2015, while the third was described as ‘part payment for disengagement allowance.’
Bursar Ichado said they were legitimate payments to Ekhioya. “Before he retired he made some valid trips that were not paid and we decided to pay them when the money became available. The last of it is part payment of his disengagement allowance, which is a total of N817, 000.00. We have not paid the rest of it because we don’t have it now,” he added.
Whistle blower
Akinremi, an Ife prince, is popular among his peers for being fearless, and his bearing has pitched him against the managements of Ikhioya and Chukwudi. He had blown the whistle several times while serving as ASURI chairman and recently, as HOD Sport Management Studies Department. He said it has affected his promotion and led to the disappearance of his official file.
Akinremi is, however, worried about his file fearing that it has been doctored.
“I have written five times asking to see my file, but the plea has fallen on deaf ears. My file has disappeared into the thin air and I fear that it has been badly doctored. I will leave NIS one day, and my fear is that whatever they may have sneaked into my file would affect my career. I’m appealing again for my file to be brought out.”
Shut off
Dr Chukwudi is equally worried about the missing file “I came on board to meet the issue of the missing file. This missing file has been ringing bell and no member of this management is happy about it. I have set up a committee on it since August 2015, headed by the Registrar and up till now, no report has been submitted. At the end of the day, he (Akinremi) would still remind us about it and on three occasions he has told us that he knows where his file is, and my answer to him is ‘why can’t he go directly to where your file is?’, he asked.
The registrar said the committee is on the verge of summoning the former director and registrar to say what they know about the missing file.
The bottom line
Dr Chukwudi is not a man to be envied. He desires to reposition the NIS, but the crises he inherited constantly breaks away to haunt him.
“I have not spent two years in NIS and within this time, I have done so much. I gave a fresh look to the institute. We painted the building and repaired the offices, put air conditioners in all the offices and tiled many places. The places that water was leaking we reroofed, put in window blinds, and made the place look well. I initiate keeping fit for all staff on Thursdays in order to get us together and bring harmony. We pray together on Tuesdays. We did talent hunt programme and training for 24 schools in Surulere because if we don’t catch them young, you cannot replace the ageing athletes. There are lots of equipment that we need to replace the old and obsolete ones in the gym and all these things involve money and we need money to move this place forward.
“The NIS building is over 40 years old and all we could do is to keep maintaining and rebuilding every year. I will be very happy to leave a legacy here when I leave, not bickering, and acrimony.”
Director Chukwudi speaks of his big plans for NIS; however, his biggest challenge is to arrest the crises that are threatening the very existence of the institute. But will he be able to?
