Nigeria Content Online

A
fresh election to bring in new executives into the Nigeria Olympic
Committee is to be conducted at the Olympic secretariat situated in the
National Stadium in Lagos today.

The election is
coming on the heels of last Thursday’s election, which was annulled by
the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which ruled that recognised
executive members of the current board who ought to have conducted the
elections were absent.

Tony Nezianya, Public Relations’ Officer of the NOC, say’s anyone who thinks the elections will not hold is mistaken.

“Of course the
election is going to take place, only a national disaster can stop it
and we are not praying for such to happen in our country,” he said.

“Everything is in
order and the IOC has sent in their representative to make sure he
conducts a credible election that would have a legal backing and
recognised winners.”

Mustafa Berraf, the
Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA)
Vice-President, is the IOC representative who will be supervising
today’s election.

Nezianya pointed
out that any contestant or interested party that decides to boycott
today’s election will be doing that at their own peril.

“The IOC man is
here already and he has been saddled with the responsibility conducting
a free and fair election. It would be unfortunate for anyone to boycott
today’s election,” he said.

Disturbing trend

The current
imbroglio at the NOC is a continuation of a disturbing trend associated
with elections into different boards of sporting bodies in Nigeria.

The most recent was
the Nigeria Football Federation election, which was only annulled some
weeks back after series of bickering among the contestants, accusations
and counter accusations of among them.

In the elections
today, former sports minister Sani Ndanusa who was elected in last
week’s anulled elections will attempt to wrest reins of leadership from
Habu Gumel, who has been at the top of the NOC for nine years.

In last Thursday’s
annulled elections, Ndanusa was voted for by all the 23 accredited
delegates in attendance to beat incumbent Gumel who was absent. Other
members elected were Jonathan Nnaji, who was returned as the 1st Vice
President, while Solomon Ogba was returned unopposed as the 2nd Vice
President and Tijani Umar as the 3rd Vice president.

Tunde Popoola
emerged as the Secretary General amassing 21 votes to defeat the
incumbent Banji Oladapo who was equally absent but had two votes while
John Hamakim defeated Uche Nebedum by the same margin in the contest
for Deputy Secretary-General position.

Bappa Aliyu and Tony Ubani completed the list of those elected last
week; however the contestants will today put their popularity to test
again today.

Big ticket athletes have pulled out of the Commonwealth Games, Scotland has delayed its departure to New Delhi and the New Zealand swimming team is seeking a “Plan B” should India’s showcase event be cancelled.

India had hoped to use the Games, held every four years for members of the former British Empire, as a display of its growing global economic and political clout rivalling China.

Instead, the Games have already descended into farce with some countries giving an ultimatum of a few days to get the Games ready or face the prospect of national withdrawals from an event which is so far only showcasing Indian traveller-tale cliches of filth, chaos and corruption.

Wales team chiefs said they had given organisers until later on Wednesday to guarantee that the venues and athletes’ village are safe before they make a decision on what to do next.

Thousands of athletes from around the world are due to start arriving this week, with the Games due to start on October 3.

A portion of false ceiling in the weightlifting venue caved in on Wednesday, a day after the collapse of a footbridge by the main stadium, injuring 27 workers, which highlighted problems facing organisers as they race to complete work.

Nobody was injured at the weightlifting venue.

Commonwealth Games Federation president Michael Fennell said on Tuesday the two-week event was seriously compromised by filthy conditions that have shocked delegations.

“There have been dogs roaming around the village, the apartments are filthy, there are piles of rubble and right now it’s not fit to receive 6,500 athletes and officials,” Michael Cavanagh, chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland, told the BBC.

“National Shame” was the headline of one Indian newspaper.

New Zealand’s swimming team left today for Abu Dhabi, with an official saying another competition was in the pipeline if the Games are cancelled. Australian and Canadian squads are in Singapore and the British in Doha, suggesting another Asian meet could be hastily organised.

There have been reports of stray dogs, stagnant water, workers urinating in public, and human faeces being found at the unfinished village where the athletes will live.

Stagnant pools of water, breeding grounds for dengue mosquitoes, lie around and a Reuters reporter said homeless people were living outside the main stadium.

Indian government officials say the problems, including the roof collapse on Wednesday, are mostly minor glitches and the Games will be a success.

But criticism is mounting even within India, where the country’s leadership is seen as out-of-touch and having failed to understand what is expected of a nation like India, which is not short of funds nor skilled labour to host a major sporting event.

It also highlights concerns about how India will effectively spend some $1.5 trillion on infrastructure over the next decade which is fundamental to manage fast economic growth and a growing population of 1.2 billion.

World discus champion Dani Samuels of Australia pulled out of the Games because of security and health concerns, as did England’s world triple jump champion Phillips Idowu.

Four other champions have quit due to various reasons, including injuries, in the last 24 hours.

“Sorry people, but I have children to think about. My safety is more important to them than a medal,” Idowu wrote on his Twitter feed.

Triple Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt of Jamaica is the highest profile athlete to skip the event.

An epidemic of Dengue, in part blamed on stagnant water around unfinished construction sites, has hit Delhi and thousands of people are being treated in hospital.

Many residents are fleeing Delhi during the Games, worried about security and traffic chaos.

Only days after two foreign visitors were shot and wounded by unknown assailants in Delhi, Australian TV broadcast how a reporter bought bomb making devices to smuggle through security points. Indian police denied he ever crossed a checkpoint.

Highlighting how the Games has become a political minefield for a government already reeling under high inflation, officials from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s office toured the village.

“The prime minister is of course extremely concerned,” Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar, who is overseeing the preparations, told CNN-IBN.

So far 77-year-old Singh, who took charge of monitoring the preparations a month ago after criticism of missed deadlines, has remained silent, underscoring what critics say is his out-of-touch leadership.

Sporting power Australia backed the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday and many venues, including the main Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, have been praised as world-class.

Officials note that other events, such as the 2004 Athens Olympics, were dogged by problems but turned out fine.

However, Canada’s Games team said it might delay the arrival of some of its athletes if adequate accommodation was not available.

New Zealand Olympic Committee officials have arrived in Delhi to inspect facilities and security.

“I think if the Commonwealth Games didn’t go ahead, that could have significant implications for the future of the Commonwealth Games, and that’s not something we’d like to see,” New Zealand Prime Minister John Key told reporters

Indian officials defended their record.

“Please try to understand… They want certain standards of hygiene, they want certain standards of cleanliness, which may differ from my standard,” said Lalit Bhanot, spokesman of the Delhi organising committee.

REUTERS

“Men
wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long hours of
complete darkness, constant danger and safe return doubtful. Honour and
recognition in the event of success.” This was an advert placed in ‘The
Times’ newspaper, in 1913 by Ernest Shackleton, asking people to join
in his 1915 Antarctic expedition. Here in Nigeria, at a time like this,
it is not only men that are desperately needed, women, too, are of
utmost importance to join patriotic Nigerians, who believe, like Austin
Okocha said, that there is the need for divine intervention, for
Nigerian sports.

This is the time
for us to apply a lot of wisdom. It will amount to idiocy of the
highest degree, if we attempt to continue with the shenanigan
shamelessly perpetrated in Nigerian sports today. Fellow Nigerians,
what is going on in the Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC), the NFA or is
it NFF (see the confusion?),

and the Nigerian
Sports Commission (NSC) is a travesty of the noble values of sports. An
insult on Nigerians, by a vicious cabal, who assume, that sports
administration in Nigeria, is their birth right. There is therefore the
urgent need to rescue Nigerian sports from the grip of these
unpatriotic Nigerians.

The plan is very
simple. Unlike the conditions given by Ernest Shackleton above, the
“expedition” as it were, is not ours. It belongs to the One who created
sports for His own pleasure. We therefore need God-fearing men and
women, hearts of stone need to be changed to hearts of flesh.

The Nigeria Sports Commission (NSC)

There is need for a
national restitution here. Moses Iloh, an elder stakeholder and
immediate past President of the Cycling Association of Nigeria, said
inter-alia a few days ago, that the NSC is not a blessing to this
nation. In order words, the umbrella body, meant to coordinate all the
other associations in Nigeria, is a curse to the nation. Our own
learned ex-international footballer, now a football administrator, has
also on several occasions, spoke and written about the illegalities
constituting the setting up of the NSC. Who were those responsible for
the military-style transformation of the Sports Ministry to the Sports
Commission, without going through the required constitutional process,
thereby allowing the albatross called decree 101 and its retrogressive
appendages, remain the platform on which sports will be administered
and managed in Nigeria? Who? Does anyone know? Please tell that person
or group of persons, that the blood of all the Nigerians who have died
in the course of watching matches involving our beloved Super Eagles is
on their heads. Except they confess, repent and do restitution, only
God knows what will befall them and the generations after them. Yes, I
wholeheartedly agree that a tsunami should blow the NSC away, if they
refuse to humble themselves and listen to words of wisdom. The NSC salt
has lost its flavour.

The Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC)

The testimonies of
the NOC speak volumes on behalf this committee, regarded as a conduit
pipe to siphon money into the pockets of a shameless group of people.

When last did
anything good come out of the NOC? Oh I am sorry. Go to the national
stadium and you will notice that the NOC secretariat is wearing a new
look. Beautiful and very psychedelic. This is why I will not blame
those already bitten by the sit-tight-syndrome bug, who believe, that
they must remain there eternally. Check our participations in the last
two Commonwealth and Olympic games, put the results of these games
against the billions of tax payers monies and judge for yourself. The
truth however is that there are some very credible and God fearing men
and women, who are either Secretaries or Presidents of associations
affiliated to the NOC, who we are made to understand are being
oppressed by the cabal within the NOC. There is the need for repentance
and restitution please.

Permit me to round up on a very sore note. I have heard Nigerians
calling on the organizers of female football in Nigeria, to allow the
women who represented us at the on-going U-17 FIFA Female world cup
finals in Trinidad and Tobago, graduate to the U-20 category.
Laughable! If you are one of such, please quickly go on your knees and
ask God to forgive you. Please note very well. As long as we are
praying for God to intervene in Nigerian sports, especially football,
this nation will not win any international laurel if we continue to
field over-aged players. Q.E.D.

You may have heard
recently that the private life of Manchester United and England striker
Wayne Rooney has been subject to allegations in several British tabloid
newspapers.

Once again, a rich
and famous sports star has apparently not been able to resist the
temptations associated with his status and his bank account. Am I the
only one who is not surprised? To be honest it didn’t shock me at all.

Without forgiving
the situation, if indeed it proves to be true, it throws light once
again on the lives of the privileged elite of the sporting world and
the morality of their conduct. It also raises the question of whether
there is enough support for these individuals from those who create
their stardom.

Tiger Woods’
transgressions were notorious but if anything, the culture within the
elite of Europe’s footballing class for promiscuity and philandering,
is more ingrained and widespread.

It would be fair to
say that exceptional circumstances contribute to this. In the
modern-day game, where soccer is an entertainment that captivates the
world, the players can attain unimaginable wealth and fame at a very
young age.

Often, in Europe’s
top clubs, there will be at least ten millionaires under the age of 25
within the squad. All whose faces are well known, are highly attractive
to the opposite sex and have money and time to burn. Some are single,
many are married.

Everywhere they go,
they hear how great they are and how they can do no wrong. They have
agents who help them buy houses, cars, help them pay their bills and
who book flights and holidays. What is the only thing that most of them
have to worry about? Running and kicking a ball.

The lifestyle is
alluring and glamorous and there are also many women who seek to
capitalise on this. A career can be built on being the girlfriend of a
famous footballer, and many are ruthless in their pursuit of such
riches as there is money to be made from kiss-and-tell stories.
Therefore, every time they go out, they have girls all over them.

Every time they are on the road, they have girls all over them.

What is worse, such
fame, means many footballers have few people around them they can
trust. In their mind, family and childhood friends are the only ones
who loved them before they were famous.

That leads to one
of the biggest mistakes, marrying their first girlfriend, the girl who
cared about them before they were rich. Believe it or not, players’
agents and coaches actually encourage them to do this, to settle the
player, create an image of maturity and to build the role-model persona
that is so valuable in the commercial world.

And herein the
problem lies, because with the attention and opportunities for sex
available to these guys, many cheat and then end up getting caught. Few
have the maturity to walk away from provocative situations and few tell
such groupies that flirting and sleeping together is off limits because
they have a wife at home.

It seems strange
that so much preparation is given to the players’ performance on the
pitch – with a support network helping hone every area from nutrition
to fitness – while the management of their lives as celebrities away
from the pitch falls on the shoulders of these young men alone.

In my eyes,
everyone needs to start taking more responsibility, starting with the
clubs who pay their athletes hundreds of thousands of dollars every
week. In our jobs we have training courses, right? Well why don’t teams
start enrolling players in media training and why don’t they organise
classes with sports psychologists? It might go a long way to exposing
these players to some of the temptations they will face in the future.

Agents need to grow
up too. Instead of encouraging their clients to get married to their
first girlfriend at the age of 25 or earlier, why don’t they manage
their life a little more intelligently?

At least, if the
players stay single longer, then they can act more irresponsibility and
associate with as many escorts or strippers as they like without being
judged by society.

Success is a Pandora’s box, a life-changing experience, and for many footballers it needs to be managed better.

It seems Nigerian sports has become inured to
crisis. At a time the men charged with the responsibility of seeing to its development
are supposed to be rolling up their sleeves and putting their shoulders to the
wheel, we are seeing them being consumed by ambition.

Ambition by itself is not evil. Every human
being should have aspirations; without something to look forward to, life would
be truly meaningless. However, the kind of ambition that a lot of our
administrators have is the rabid kind; without any redeeming quality
whatsoever.

For them the injunction by Frantz Fanon that,
“if any philosophy is here being preached it is that man must not only exist
but must live well, the measurement of any intellectual activity being the
welfare of the people”, clearly has no meaning.

We have seen in the last one month how Nigerian
football has been brought to its knees first, through the ambition of Sani Lulu
to return to power and then through the scheming of his Man Friday, Aminu
Maigari, to mount the saddle after Lulu’s indiscretions landed him in trouble.

We have also seen how members of Nigeria’s
rugby family have refused to call truce to a battle, which has raged since 2009
when the National Sports Commission decided in its own wisdom to let interested
lovers of the sport bid for and take over its administration.

Instead of sitting down to seek ways of
revolving the disagreement, which arose when one party accused the Secretary
General of Nigeria Rugby Football Federation of influencing the handing of
concession rights to its opponents, they have lately engaged themselves in
verbal warfare.

To cap the disquiet in the sports fraternity,
officials of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, who ordinarily by virtue of their
being members of the world Olympic movement, ought to be staid and refined in
manner, have turned out to be hardly better than bickering ninnies.

At the centre of the storm are two men, Sani
Ndanusa and Habu Gumel, who if they properly sat down and reflected on their
stewardship to Nigerian sports should come to the conclusion that a quiet exit
from the scene at this point would be the fitting thing to do.

Losing
touch with reality

Both men particularly Gumel, who has sat on the
board of the Nigeria Volley Federation as president for about twelve years now,
cannot be relied upon to generate any ideas that will drive Nigerian sports
forward.

Under Gumel’s successor, Eddie Aderinokun,
volleyball thrived in Nigeria with players and officials alike freely relishing
Nigeria’s participation in local and international volleyball competitions.
Under Gumel’s watch the story has been different. Nigeria’s rating in the
global volleyball order has plummeted following its non-participation in key
international volleyball events. At the same time, competitions on the local
scene have become non-existent.

That aside, Gumel’s tenure as Director of
Sports Facilities in the Ministry of Sports witnessed the decay of sports
facilities around the country. Key national edifices like the National Stadium
in Lagos became breeding ground for criminals and haven for destitute and
prostitutes even as facilities rot away.

For many years, the facility, which used to be
the pride of Nigeria, was swamped by darkness as NEPA (now PHCP) cut power
supply owing to the refusal of the management of the facility to pay its debts
to the body. This deplorable situation existed despite the fact that the
stadium was raking in more annually from individuals, corporate organisations
and religious bodies who used its grounds for different programmes.

As for Ndanusa, who in his first term as
President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation revitalised the sport, which had
witnessed a steady decline prior to his arrival, he seemed to have lost his way
at some point along the way. His tenure as minister of sports was to put it
mildly an unmitigated disaster. The man, who upon his appointment promised not
to follow his predecessors in their blind devotion to football, became
inexorably sucked in into the vortex of football administration.

What genius these two men hope to bring to
sports administration at this stage beats the imagination. How they hope to
make an impact late in the day after squandering opportunity after opportunity
leaves one wondering whether they haven’t lost touch with reality.

It is barely a few weeks to the Commonwealth
Games in Delhi, India and Nigeria is anything but prepared. This clearly does
not figure in the calculations of Gumel and Ndanusa, who before he was fired as
sports minister this year should have supervised the preparation of the various
federations under his Supervision as minister of sports. As it turned out, he
was more interested in seeing the Super Eagles qualify for the World Cup in
South Africa.

If you ask me, Nigeria’s Olympic movement doesn’t need any
of these men. While Gumel has overstayed his welcome and should quietly retire
to contemplate other ventures, Ndanusa is too dour and lethargic to provide the
leadership needed to galvanise the Olympic to serious action.