A menacing choice of action knows of no limit to the very end just as a fighting nursing lion will defend her cub till the end. NSC officials are fighting for mediocrity to the very end which this writer believes is near and that’s a prediction. A restructured NSC will likely be born with a brand new regime and real qualified people devoid of ghosts, spirits, ‘paper people’, paupers and the rest of unknown vagabonds perambulating as special assistants to many of those ghosts, spirits and officials. Tough choices of words but the message is clear and athletes of today and their supporters are no longer going to be muzzled or censored in a democratic society like Nigeria. Yes, their words are more expletives than what’s identified above.
Okay, let us assume the Sports Minister has good intentions for the development of sports in Nigeria and all things remain constant. Let us also assume that the grass root level is the target of such programs as the country has heard from the media in all platforms. Then, is it proper to make enquiry on how such programs will be carried out and if so, can it also be asked whether the current sports administrators can be entrusted to implement such programs with their current level of skills? Though these assumptions does not take into consideration the Sports Minister chasing children born abroad that the NSC or Nigeria never has anything to do with their development as athletes or their welfare.
Sports Committee (House of Representatives) Can Do Better
If these queries are valid, then who should have been (or be) asking these questions directed at the Sports Minister? It is clear that only the right questions be asked and by that Nigerian people as represented in the National Assembly ought to lead the way. Ideally, the enquirer must be knowledgeable in this subject area (sports). What we’ve got in Nigeria is a hydrologist (Geofrey Gaiya) who never competed in any sport and never qualified to be as an accountant, financial or marketing expert suggesting all kinds of ill-advised hypothesis that materials before him contradicted his lines of reasoning. Imagine, he said that NSC has only one line budget where expenses are lumped whereas the budget, I suppose he had something to do with before been approved was something the National Assembly sports committee review on a daily or monthly basis when that committee seats. The question is, if the Chairman for sports committee at the National Assembly is clueless on data before him, then how do we measure the performance value for money spent on sports through NSC? Loving football or being Rangers fan can never equate skills of administration in any endeavor and sport (or sports) is a very unique endeavor at that.
Let us be clear here, this writer is a Certified Public Accountant with over 30years auditing background along with legal skills (Master of Laws) to complement it and finds it very painful when novices challenges what appears to be wrong to everyone by posing as if they are an authority on the such subject due to their status or acclaimed status. The subject of sports has two directions in all countries and they the administrative and the technical (one can imagine this is the case in various industries). The technical side of things generally can be acquired through participation or directed practical training in that particular (or more) sports area while the administrative skills can be learned academically complemented by practical training. The point is a nurse is not a doctor and an engineer is not an accountant unless he/she gained such skills later.
This writer experienced this knowledge deficit nonsense on a visit to a particular large Bank branch in Lagos where the Manager was in fact a local language graduate who argued about what a ledger is or should be with his staff while this writer waited for assistance. Well, to cut the story short, this writer made sure that Manager obtained a position elsewhere and that staff heads that Branch within six months.
Status of Sports
The Sports Minister returned the same people that for over 20years never acknowledged problems bedeviling sports in the country and simply lacked the skills either administratively or technically. His view was based on the fact he thinks things are changing for the better due to lies by various federations and some reporters hyping Nigeria’s chances even as the truth confronts them.
Case in point, the President was deceived recently due to African Youth Championship results shrouded with age falsification allegations surrounding Nigeria’s team while truth writers suggested the dearth in Nigeria’s team based on the team performance. Fast forward, on the on-going World Youth Games, Nigeria’s boys and girls simply are not in the same league as the rest of the World. So, how do we see 2020 Olympics Games when our youth simply don’t measure up now? Waste of time and money unless changes are made right now.
Again, this writer will advise the President through this medium to immediately address all concerns because the NSC really serves no purpose rather causing more future problems. Imagine, Sports Minister sets up various panels to look into problems he created when he assumed office at huge costs to country. There were scandals from the London Olympics on athletics team selection and coaches, for example, a female marathon entrant accused NSC of bribery to be on the country’s team where the Minister set up a panel made up NSC staff and a jurist along with a police officer. There were scandals in the Football (bonus row, etc.), Volleyball, Swimming and Handball (currently in court) federations since Bolaji Abdullahi assumed office and his efforts has being to restore status quo which never delivered world ranked teams to begin with. Again, where is the country heading in sports?
Way Forward
Again, NSC serves no purpose at this time and must be shut down or significantly restructured.
National Assembly Sports Committees are simply clueless and why does it take Public Accounts Committee to lead in responding to Auditor General’s report and not Sports Committee.
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I rest
Dr. Rashid A. Balogun, CPA, LLB(Hons.), LLM(London)
