Minister of Sports/Chairman, National Sports Commission,  Bolaji Abdullahi, penultimate week inaugurated the boards of 20 federations in Abuja with a charge to them to work towards realising the task of winning five gold medals at the next Olympic Games. ENO-ABASI SUNDAY and OLALEKAN OKUSAN felt the pulse of some stakeholders, especially the athletes and administrators, on their expectations from the new boards.

AFTER elections into executive positions of 20 sports federations, which, as expected, did not go without controversies because of diverse interests, Minister of Sports/Chairman, National Sports Commission,  Bolaji Abdullahi, inaugurated the boards of athletics, badminton, basketball, chess, cricket, darts, fives, squash, table tennis, deaf sports, para-soccer, taekwondo, gymnastics, judo, karate, tennis, traditional sports, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling federations.

The board of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN) was not inaugurated due to a court order, which Abdullahi said the National Sports Commission (NSC) complied with pending when the issues surrounding the federation’s board election were resolved. The issues have, however, been resolved.

The NSC chairman noted that apart from the leadership of the 20 inaugurated boards being saddled with the task of improving the sporting fortunes of the country, the boards of seven selected Olympic sports must prove that their victories at the elections were merited. He named the sports in which he said Nigeria had comparative advantage to include athletics, weightlifting, wrestling, taekwondo, shooting, boxing and football.

Among other things, sports federations, serve as trustees of sport tradition, maintain and promote the conditions which encourage the practice and the development of their sporting disciplines at all competition and recreational levels.

They also strive to find  solutions, which satisfy the demands of their sports as well as work towards the advancement of the educational values of fair-play and the pleasures of the game in the country.

In addition to this, they are expected to partner with public-spirited individuals and organisations and source funds for staging regular developmental programmes and championships, where the skills acquired by practitioners of the sport and their readiness to represent the country will be put to test.

Furthermore, they also liaise with their counterparts/experts from around the world to ferret evolving trends and techniques and ultimately bring same to bear in their respective federations with a view to bringing Nigerian sportsmen up to speed with their peers abroad and preparing them for international competitions.

However, judging from views ventilated by sports enthusiasts and indeed followers of the different sports in the country, many, if not all of the outgone boards of sports federations blatantly failed in the discharge of their expected functions. The fact that the country could not win a single medal a the London 2012 Olympics, lends credence to their views.

The immediate past director general of the NSC, Patrick Ekeji, even though he superintended the process that produced the outgone boards had, just before leaving office barefacedly declared that membership of the federations was based on many reasons other than merit as the bulk of board members were friends of the past sports ministers.

Ekeji, who expressed disappointment in the performances of most of the sports federations as then constituted, had stressed that sports would only be developed when the federations, which are charged with the day to day running of the respective sports, are manned by people committed and capable of delivering on their promises.

“We had problems with the ways and manner memberships of the federations were sourced. Over the years, we had members of the federations who were put there because they were friends to ministers...That kind of roller-coaster has been on for a while now but the times has come for us to be very brutal by insisting that only those who qualify are there”, he explained.

Despite Ekeji’s proclamation, the status quo ante appears to have remained and this explains why many Nigerians are miffed by the return of certain individuals to occupy executive positions on the boards, where they provided little or no direction nor made giant strides during their first term in office.

The situation is further made hopeless when viewed against the background that inept management at the federation level will only continue to plunge the country’s sports fortunes no matter the tons of money sunk into sports development.

The likelihood of this happening is confirmed in a study entitled: “Management Factors As Predictors Of Sports Development In Selected Sport Federations Of The Federal Ministry Of Sports And Social Development In Nigeria” by  E. O. Morakinyo of the Department of Human Kinetics  and Health Education, University of Ibadan, and  Esther Oluwatoyin Aluko of the  National Sports Commission, Abuja.

According to the duo, “Sports management serves as the bedrock of sports development of any nation. There is the need to manage the vast sports’ resources, which include financial, material and human resources that exist in the field of sports. The ultimate aim is to achieve set objectives. In spite of the resource potentialities existing in this country for sports, Nigeria has not made any appreciable impact in international sports.

“The relevance and importance of sports make sports management the bedrock for sports development in virtually all nations. This is the aspect that is responsible for the smooth-running of various sports in terms of planning, organising, directing and controlling all essential inputs in sports. Sports succeed or fail in direct proportion to the appropriate decisions and actions of those responsible for managing them...” the study added.

A look at the composition of the sports federations reveals that a good number of those that have been elected into the boards are politicians, stooges of politicians and people who are interested in using the offices to prosecute personal agenda and not the cardinal objective of improving the fortunes of the sports.

In fact, some of them do not have the interest of the sports at heart, neither do they have what it takes to break new grounds in their respective federations.

This is in sharp contrast with the position of the study, which says that “A good sports manager should have a thorough knowledge of sports; possess educational degree, preferably in the area of sports administration, professional attitude and commitment, in addition to personal characteristics like personality, intelligence, fairness, flexibility, integrity, honesty, leadership and sincere interest in the management of sports.”

In the study, which sports managers, coaches and athletes were sounded out in order to determine whether managerial skills, government policy, personal and professional preparations are predictors of sport development in selected sport federations in the country, it was revealed that the basic problem with sports development in Nigeria is that of leadership, as most Nigerian sports managers have found it difficult to rise to their sports responsibilities and failed in showing personal example, which is the hallmark of leadership.

It is a known practice to put non-professionals in the helm of affairs of sports management, and they invariably fail to enhance sports development in the country.

In the light of the above scenario, stakeholders are of the opinion that government should  waste no time in disbanding any board that is lacking in direction, incapable of rising to the challenges facing the sport or displays any shade of ineptitude.

With the country ranking high among those that perennially miss international competitions on account of lack of funds, stakeholders want the federations financially empowered to send teams or athletes for continental and international competitions.

For Anthony Babafemi, a judo coach, electing people into the boards of the various federations was not enough to guarantee that the respective sports would fare well. So he wants the elected members to be aware that they would be held accountable for their actions and inaction while in office.

He therefore called for the strict monitoring of the activities of the board members by the  NSC to ensure accountability and transparency.

National taekwondo coach, Osita Egwin, is happy with the constitution of the new board of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF). But like Babafemi, he has charged the board to ensure objectivity, transparency and accountability in its dealings.

“I am happy with the quality of people in the new board of NTF. But my advice to them is that they must be organized in all their activities because this is key as it is the first impression for any organization.

“They must organise local competitions and also expose the athletes to major tournaments outside the country. The coaches and officials should also be retrained to be up to date on rules guiding the game,” Egwin said.

In table tennis, Ondo State Coach, Dotun Omoniyi, believes taking part in competitions within and outside the country would help the players to improve.

“I am happy with the present board of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) because it is made up of people with passion for the game. But my main advise to them is to source for sponsors that will support staging of local competitions as well as expose the players to tournaments at top level.

“We are hopeful that this present board will add value to the game,” he said.

National squash player, Tunde Babayemi, wants the new board to rise to the challenges facing the sport.

Babayemi also wants the new officers to source for sponsors for local and international competitions.

Anthony Babafemi, a judo coach, stressed that it was not enough to elect people to the board, but the elected members should be aware that they would be held accountable for whatever happen while in office.

Babafemi said that the NSC should monitor the activities of the federations for proper accountability and transparency.

A cyclist, Blessing Augustine, says that all the federations need total overhauling for sports to be developed in the country, while Gbenga Dosumu, an Assistant Coach of Nigeria Amputee Football Federation (NAFF) wants the federation’s new board to focus on the development of the sport.

“The new board should ensure that amputee football is given the required publicity because most physically-challenged persons are talented in football but many are not aware of the sport.

“In fact, it is an obligation that must be realised, as we want obvious positive results. Amputee football can also perform creditably if given the same attention as football.

“The era of dearth of competitions must stop. Therefore, we want board members that are ready to commit their money and time for sponsorship drive,’’ he posited.

Douglas Kolawole, an International Tennis Registry (ITR) coach wants the board of Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) to pay more attention to sponsorship drive to transform the sport.

Kolawole said that the poor strides being experienced recently in the sport were because of dearth of competitions due to lack of sponsors.

“The only visible competitions appear to be the Governors’ Cup Lagos Tennis and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Senior and Junior Opens,’’ he said.

According to him, sports managers, who rely solely on government support for funding, would be obstacles to the development of the game they were elected to administer.

“Tennis has been at the receiving end of lack of competitions. Its fortune has to be resuscitated through regular sponsorship of competitions. Nigerian tennis players can qualify for the Olympics but they need equipment, experienced coaches, regular competitions and incentives to encourage progress,’’ he said.

Former international, Sadiq Abdullahi, urged the Sani Ndanusa-led NTF board to focus on youth development because there lies the future of the game.  “The new board should usher in a new era for 10 and Under Tennis Programme in Nigeria, which is a global initiative to improve tennis at the grassroots level.

“Nigeria cannot wait to join the movement. Many people believe that 10 and Under Tennis is the absolute best way to introduce and develop tennis players. NTF should join the global bandwagon. Also, tennis in schools is the next initiative the new board should focus on. Attempts have been made in the past to promote both initiative using International Tennis Federation (ITF) funds, but nothing substantive came out of it. The reasons are obvious,” he said.

The America-based former player believes collaboration with former stars is key.

“In today’s globally competitive sporting world, NTF cannot do it alone. They must develop a strategic plan, organize exhibitions, including former stars, organize senior tournaments (over 40), visit selected schools, and be open, inclusive and accountable,” he advised.