Sports alleviate poverty

ABCDEFGGHI=Avoid Bribery & Corruption Daily Everywhere For Good Governance Here Immediately.

First it was politicians and pension fund thieves swallowing tens of billions. Next everyone had read George Orwell’s Animal Farm and a slippery snake swallowing N4m+ and then it was a greedy gorilla swallowing N6.7m – dumb animals accused of what politicians do with ease – swallow other people’s money. The Central bank of Nigeria, CBN, should spray for cockroaches and rats.

We begin another four years and must focus on the dangerous youth bubble – underprivileged, underprovided for and underemployed. They are witnesses to the corruption by street uniforms, the mega-theft and let down by the polity and the poor state of schools and hospitals and roads and an education system forced by bad education policies and poor funding. We teach the theory of everything with no practicals.

A nation which deprives parents’ salary and pension breeds a rebellious youth.

In our days in the 60-70s, sport was a weapon of youth development. We visited each other’s sports fields for Principals’ Cup, Grier Cup, National University Games Association et cetera. All these were murdered by government policy against practicals!

Nigeria has never participated in over 50 different sports on the world stage-an opportunity. Sports people get on TV and become role models and ambassadors for community and country. Is there one sports scholarship in Nigeria to university? In the USA, sports scholarships are important.  We deny the young their sport at our peril.  But we in Nigeria are known for our emergency sports facilities and last minute sportsmen and women. We are ‘Last Minute.com’ with a ‘Fire brigade approach’ to sports. How many times have our athletes and teams, after years of personal discipline, been seen begging for visas the day before international competitions like the Olympics or faced cancelation of national sports events due to politically motivated and criminally caused ‘lack of funds’ or being denied appearance stipends and match bonuses or even a hotel bookings while sports officials walk away with billions??? Always no prosecution for negligence.

Happily there is breath of fresh air and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa in Delta offers all governors an easily understudied ‘Sports Success Story’, which is following the footsteps of late great Ogbemudia in Bendel State to create a serious sporting environment; complete financially supported and rewarded environment to develop the youth in the state and raise the level of youth empowerment in the area and country. Ogbemudia’s Bendel Model for Youth and Sports and Education Development was condemned by other governors of the time and destroyed for being too successful and Bendelites were punished with highest cutoff points in JAMB. Today Okowa’s Delta’s School Sports Festival, Catch Them Young, Headmasters’ Cup, Principals’ Cup and active development ladders in over 50 different sports etcetera are reminiscent of the 50-70s. Today he gives youth N1m for gold medals.  Unlike other governors who have rubbish facilities and funding for sports leaving their youth unmotivated and unfocused, Okowa has empowered a generation.

Even within states the federal government might disrupts individualized development. Ogbemudia, Peter Obi and a few other governors have demonstrated that a lot can be done. The federal government is too slow to articulate devolution of powers as it has already been in power for four years with little devolution. Indeed ex minister, Babatunde Fashola just announced that states are free to generate and distribute electricity outside grid covered areas. Is it possible that governors did not know this? Of course all states have schools and universities in part pride and part answer to the discriminatory Unity School entry qualifications and  ridiculous JAMB cutoff points scheme which allows admission to federal government universities with no standards at all for some states which have claimed to be disadvantaged for over 50 years in spite of their huge budgets, men owning oil wells and VAT allocations.

One of the major steps to be added to the manifesto of all governments is ‘Practical Sports’ not just board games but physical, active, body developing, self-empowerment, mind improving, teamwork building, friend making, practical sports. To reintroduce sport in 2019-2013, all governors and even LGA chairpersons  in governance must get  their ‘Standing  Think Tanks’ to please visit the Olympics 2020 website to find out how many different sports disciplines Nigerians could add and excel in if well informed, well equipped, well prepared and well-funded. The funding must come into schools and in community youth centres firstly by governments which always complain of lack of funds but its officials are so used to 24/7 funded generator power and stealing billions from the people’s budgets. Stop stealing. The second source of funds is the private sector at local level, not Abuja HQ. Every bank and business must impact the school next door. The private sector has been too pre-occupied with short-term selfish advertorial goals and two or three sports of which football being number one.

Which unknown leaders murdered ‘practicals’ in education in sports, laboratory, library, technical schools, agriculture, engineering, arts and scholarships ruined school and university. For years students have been theory only. We even steal the practical aspects of health ‘Drugs and Modern Equipment’?

Any visionary government must direct youth into sport for employment, community development, empowerment and personal and honour.

Many youth in Nigeria are never even given a piece of paper and paints to identify and develop talent to triumph, your struggle to success, your potential to perfection. Domesticate sport as a poverty alleviation strategy.