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Last
week, I travelled to Simawa, a fast-growing community, sandwiched
between the Redemption Camp, along the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, Ikorodu
and Sagamu, learning how to mould red bricks. Simawa is completely out
of sight, to the extent that once I drive in, I am absolutely cut off.
There is no Internet connectivity or mobile phone reception. There is no
vendor selling newspapers; that is a luxury and you have to travel to
either Sagamu, or Ikorodu, or the Redemption Camp to purchase one. So,
for almost two days, I was completely incommunicado.

On my return, my
editor called and asked if I have seen the comments made online, to my
column of Tuesday, March 22. My response was ‘not yet’, and he
encouraged me to do so. What I met as comments to the column – ‘Dove
Sports Golden Belt Boxing Tournament: Setting A Standard to Save
Nigerian Sports’, was not only intrinsically intriguing, it was also
exhilaratingly amusing.

Here they are, unedited.

HONESTMAN: “this is
tenderful mr Paul, we have missed your very simple but intelligent style
of writing. Only hope those kalokalos killing our sports will try
emulate what u have done. Well done paul.”

MARY: “now I agree that u abe MAD. People like you should be managing sports in Nigeria. God bless you.”

FRANKIE: “this is
difficult to believe, but if indeed you were able to set this standard,
then there is hope for sports in naija. Pls send this to Fashola and the
goons around him. Goodluck Jonathan must also know about this. Thank
you paul for putting smiles on faces of those young boxers”

OJO-ADE: “mr Bankole, u should be sports commissioner or minister. Well done sir and God bless.”

OBIORA-EZE: “they wont let people like you to become the minister of sports. Keep the good job Mr. Bankole”

My first reaction
was to laugh, rather intuitively and almost simultaneously, allow my
sense of imagination take a trip. Sports Minister of Nigeria? The next
thing I remember was saying repeatedly “dreams on a volcanic mountain”
and as if not sure of what I had just read, went through the comments
all over again. By the time I finished reading the second time, it
dawned on me that it was an issue to be addressed critically.

I am indeed very grateful to all the commentators. I thank you all,
but please allow me to humbly say that the state of Nigerian sports can
be likened to a volcanic mountain, waiting to erupt anytime from now.
And the cabal, who erroneously ASSume that they are in charge right now,
will suffer the consequences. Please, mark this statement very well.
Those toying with the greatest passion of Nigerians will pay very dearly
for it. It is just a matter of time. I do not therefore dream to align
with this set of misfits. All I am trying to do is contribute my
God-given quota towards genuine grassroots sports development in this
great nation. I simply want to be different, by putting what I write
about into action. I want to let Nigerians know and believe that this is
one of the greatest sporting nations in the entire world, endowed
naturally by the Lord God Almighty, with massive potentials to rule the
world of sports. And, this, we can achieve, nay, we will achieve, by
learning to do very simple things the perfect way. This is one of the
ways we can save Nigerian sports. No more, no less.