Former Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola has called on the government to embrace sports, as part of the country’s national development plan.
Fashola made the call while delivering a lecture at the unveiling of the frontline Nigerian sports journalist and commentator, Dr Mumini Alao’s autobiography, on Sunday.
Speaking on the lecture with the title: “Re-thinking the current Football Business Model in Nigeria as a Catalyst For Sports Development”, Fashola who recalled his unrelenting efforts in ensuring that sports is incorporated into the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan ERGP (2017-2020), during his time as a Minister, pointed out that since sports is now in “our national development plan, it is necessary to take many more steps”.
The first step according to Fashola, is to create an all-of-country awareness, using every media portal possible, “that as a people we are committed to optimising the enormous possibilities of sports as not just entertainment but also as a business and a profession”.
The former two-term Lagos State Governor advocated for development of manpower capacity for training talent, nurturing talent, and optimising their potential into positive outcomes.
This, he noted, will involve the full review of the education curriculum from primary school, through secondary schools, Polytechnics, and universities.
According to him, the approach will involve the National Union of Teachers (through the Physical Education teachers), the association of Nigerian Principals of schools, and the National University Commission (NUC) to develop faculties for specializing in sports education in universities (where they do not already exist).
Fashola recounted: “I remain mindful of cadet or amateur sports as distinct from professional sports and how they can feed into each other. That must start with specialized personnel such as the Physical Education Teacher (P.E) of which my last check revealed that there are about 747 in 406 schools in Lagos who hold degrees such as B.Sc Education in Human Kinetics, Physical and Health Education . But this platform does not permit me to go into more detail.
He added: “As we are building the manpower, we must commit to the infrastructure by integrating transport services to venues like stadiums and other sporting centres.
Similarly, Fashola called for proper governance, a clear calendar, regulations that must be enforced and perhaps, arbitration or other dispute resolution apparatus of the highest integrity and acceptance.
“While the first four items I have mentioned are challenging, governance is perhaps the most challenging of all in my view because it depends more than others on the character of people.
“There must be no room in this space for tardiness, sloppiness, or uncertainty. Everyone must know where they stand at all times. We will probably need new laws by National and State Houses of Assemblies. The Nigerian Bar Association will be critical in this regard” the ex-Minister stated.
He recommended that the National Sports Commission and the National Institute for Sports should sit down and prepare a National Calendar of Sports, of how local government and school sports will fit into the National Sports Festival to produce talents for the All African Games, which will feed into the Commonwealth Games, which will lead to the Olympics and World Cup respectively without clashing.
Fashola advocated further: “The Government at federal, state and local governments have many roles to play in a collaborative and enabling way.
“For example, fiscal and monetary policy tools such as tax credits, import and customs duties and concessions designed to stimulate investment in sports for construction, equipment and sponsorship will be needed.
“Lagos provides a good example of how event centres for parties have phased out street parties and unleashed a massive economy that is still growing and employing people in the entertainment industry, simply because the Government enforced the law prohibiting street parties and actively encouraged the development of alternatives. The principles will be applicable to sports development.
“Our international and diplomatic relations must consciously embrace this mission of sports development and seek to leverage partnerships and lessons from successful nations, not through a jamboree of travel but by inviting the best to work here and help develop our talent or by exchange programmes to build the capacity of our future trainers. (Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica in sprints and Kenya in the marathons.)”
On funding, Fashola called for development of a plan and programme that is capable of being funded, faulting agonizing about financing, without developing a workable plan.
“If there is a good plan, funding will follow it and there is an example of Club 400 in the past and a well-considered plan in the past which I will share before I close” the former Governor stated.
Earlier, Fashola established that in the history of human civilization, presently, talent is being most rewarded, predicting that this is just the beginning.
He affirmed: “Whether it is talent in photography, music, arts, movie making, or any other form of creative or entertaining work, the world view has changed dramatically; and sports, as an expression of talent, has come to be in the vanguard of high value earnings as a career”.
The book launch was attended by prominent sports personalities, including: former Minister of Sports Development, John Owan Eno; Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, ex-Super and National Eagles stars, such as “Mathematical” Segun Odegbami; Etim Essien, among others.
Also in attendance were: foremost Sports female broadcast journalists Modele Sarafa Yusuf; Aisha Falode, Media entrepreneurs and executives, author’s associates, friends and families.