Odegbami backs declaration of state of emergency in sports sector

Former Nigeria international, chief (Dr.) Olusegun Odegbami has joined the call for the declaration of a state of emergency in the Nigerian sports sector following the abysmal and shambolic outing of Team Nigeria at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Writing in his column in some Nigerian newspapers including The Guardian and Complete Sports, Odegbami says those blaming the athletes for not delivering have missed the point.

‘We must be humble and appreciate all Olympic athletes. Even on the Nigerian Olympians (WhatsApp) platform, I read strident condemnation of officials and athletes considered ‘failures’ as a result of administrative lapses,’ wrote Odegbami who described the condemnations as mere distractions.

‘These are distractions from the main issue, clouds that hide the real culprit of Nigeria’s failure – a country that does not take sports as seriously as it should.

‘Throwing money at the last minute without a solid development program, not making sports a priority area for government’s attention, and just hoping that medals will be won, are wishful and unproductive.

‘Lets step back from what happened at Paris 2024, look again at where the country stands in the area of producing a rich and consistent line of world class athletes, encourage the great performances (even without medals) that some of the athletes put up in some of the sports (recognized by the rest of the world but not Nigeria), do the things we should have done that we know but lack the courage to confront, stop the lamentation and move on to the next steps along the path to deserved success,’ Odegbami further wrote and called on the Nigerian government to take sports seriously.

‘The country must demonstrate this by declaring a State of Emergency in the sector. The President should sign the bill that brings back the National Sports Commission immediately, separating the Ministry of Sports Development from the Commission with clearly defined roles.

‘A board of the Commission should be constituted comprising tested, experienced and qualified stakeholders, technocrats and private sector players.

‘Amongst other things, the National Sports Lottery initiative should be re-jigged as a major means of raising funds for Nigeria’s sports development.

‘The constitution of Sports Federations should be amended under the supervision of the Sports Development Ministry to reflect Nigeria’s best sports interest and needs, with clear and achievable development agenda.

‘Nigerians are angry. They have a right and justification to be, but they should not vent their angst against the wrong persons, or for the wrong reasons.’