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Ibrahim Bio, the
new sports minister, like his governor, Bukola Saraki of Kwara State,
is a diehard supporter of North London football club Arsenal. In
popular parlance, he is a Gunner for life. That Bio was appointed
Minister of Sports and Chairman, National Sports Commission the day
Lionel Messi led Barcelona to humiliate Arsenal is a sign that life at
his new abode will not be a bed of roses, it’s either he minds the gap,
or he gets consumed like others before him.

In the next few
days, Bio will be an household name. In a World Cup year, the head of
sports and the Super Eagles coach become important, if not more
important than the president.

Between Transport and Sports

The transport
ministry, where Bio is coming from, is a key sector of the economy.
Many are concerned that transportation is not working, but are not
talking about it because there are alternatives. There are night and
day buses to all nook and crannies of the country, so rail roads can go
to hell. Those that are rich make private arrangements to travel by
air, sea or land.

But in a nation
where about 99 per cent of the adult eat, drink and sleep football, and
where they cannot have an alternative Super Eagles or send an
alternative team to the Commonwealth Games, they are bound to have
opinions on every aspect of Sports, especially, football. Ask your
predecessor, the sports seat is a very hot one. As minister of
transport, you rarely get mentioned in the press, but as the minister
of sports you will not only get daily mention, the daily word you utter
is news.

Becoming a
successful sports minister that you hope to be is easy if you do the
right things and mind the gap between success and failure.

Mind civil servants

The first set of
people you need to watch out for are the civil servants. They are yes
men who will push to do the wrong things as long as they are
benefitting. Ask your immediate predecessor Sani Ndanusa, while he kept
doing the wrong things, the civil servants urged him on. Infact, a
director in the commission told sports editors at Nigerlink Hotel a few
months ago, that his loyalty to Ndanusa is so deep that if the man is
removed as Sports Minister, he will resign the next day. Weeks after
Ndanusa was removed, the director is still in the commission, infact he
was one of the directors that received you on arrival at the Federal
secretariat.

So you need to mind
this gap. If in doubt, call the ministers before you like Abdurrahman
Gimba, Sunmaila Sambawa and Musa Muhammad. These are guys that were
used and dumped by civil servants.

Between football and other sports

Bio, do not be
deluded. There are just two sports in Nigeria, football and other
sports. The idea of giving football and other sports equal treatment is
untenable.

I am an athletics
reporter, but I know that when Nigeria fails in athletics and other
sports, majority are not bothered, but when our football team fail,
even the market women call for the sack of the minister, the NFF and
the head coach. It is just like a minister in India or Pakistan saying
he will give Cricket and football equal attention. The citizens are
likely to forgive him if he fails to deliver in football, but woe
betide him if the cricket team fails.

It is the same
thing in Nigeria, medal is not medal, a gold medal in football is of
more importance to Nigerians than another other sports.

Bio should be more
concerned about Super Eagles’ performances in South Africa. The first
step is to direct the NFF to get a befitting accommodation for the
Super Eagles in South Africa. The Hampshire Hotel they plan to
accommodate the Eagles is not even good enough for the Eaglets.

Bio will write his
name in gold if he can expose the faces behind the scandals that has
rocked football in recent times, most especially the allegation levied
against members of the panel that interviewed Glen Hoddle and Lars
Lagerback and the allegation that Hoddle was dropped because he refused
to give them kickback and while Lagerback was employed because he
cooperated.

What is the outcome of the probe panel that investigated the missing money in NFF set up by the former minister Ndanusa?

Ndanusa’s legacy and Commonwealth Games

Bio, my kinsman and
the former speaker of my state House of Assembly, has pledged to build
on the legacies left by his predecessors, with the support of all
sports stakeholders. This is either a political statement or one
written by press secretary.

Ndanusa left a
legacy of failure; he was so consumed with his ambition to become the
president of an NGO that he neglected sports. At a time athletes were
crying for training grants for the Commonwealth Games, Ndanusa wasted
about two hundred and fifty million naira hosting Africa Sports
Ministers.

With the Commonwealth Games just a few months away, nothing has been done about preparation.

For Nigeria to put a reasonable show in New Delhi, I advise Bio to
set up Ministerial Task Force on the preparation of athletes,
independence of Civil Servants. Bio should also endeavour to pay all
debt owned the athletes and officials so that the Abuja Grand Prix will
not boycotted by athletes next month. Lastly, Bio should not only steer
clear of NOC politics, but should instruct associations and federations
heads to concentrate on revival of all death sports instead of sports
politics. Bio, the way of your predecessors were rough, but yours will
be smooth, if you mind the gap.