Nigeria Content Online

This column is
seriously tempted to join others in reacting to the shameful exit of
this great nation from the on-going FIFA 2010 World cup tournament, in
South Africa. I have received numerous text messages and phone calls,
asking why I have adopted the “silence” attitude to such an important
issue, affecting not only the psyche, but lives of several football
loving Nigerians.

My reasons are many
and very simple. One of them is that I have never been interested in
this particular edition of the FIFA World Cup tournament, for so many
mysterious reasons, unlike my participation in the France ‘98,
Korea/Japan in 2002 and Germany 2006. It seems very odd, but that is
the truth and I will explain in subsequent editions of this column.
Another reason has to do with FIFA and the issue of government’s
“interference.” Interference is a word which I think has been so glibly
used and I suspect abused, by the football fraternity called FIFA, not
the national federations. Hence, there are lots of very interesting
questions we are collating for FIFA to answer.

Now, to the
business of the day. I stated in last week’s column that there is the
urgent need for the Lagos State government to effect fundamental
structural changes designed to ensure genuine grass roots sports
development in this state. I also counselled that the time for such
changes – no matter how painful they may seem, is NOW. There is no
pyramid in this state with a football club, to which thousands of our
God-given young ones can aspire to be part of later in life. None. And
the reasons given by sports officials are, to say the least, absolutely
unacceptable and unprofessional.

Like many other
young boys, I grew up dreaming of playing for teams like Stationery
Stores, E.C.N., Ports Authority, Police (Machine) team, and the great
Railways football team, amongst several others, founded and based in
Lagos. I make bold to state that there is no football club in this
state today, with all the required paraphernalia like a club-house (not
a semi brothel, please), formation of other sports teams like basket
ball, tennis, etc, as part of the club; and a functional, credible and
transparent board of trustees. Not only that, there is even no football
team in this state, governed by a football-playing governor, with a
structure that can boast of well managed reserve teams, scientifically
equipped age-grade academies, with qualified coaches/trainers to manage
the academies.

Installing change

Wednesday May 12,
2010, marked the 20th anniversary of the commencement of a professional
football league in Nigeria, and by extension, Lagos State. The statute,
which established the Football Association put in place to administer
the football league, stipulated in part, that all the football teams
registering to participate in the league, had seven years to be
transformed into professional football clubs. This has unfortunately
not taken place in any state of the federation – including Lagos. This
is a travesty of the nobility of this beautiful game – one of the most
viable (if not the most viable) vocations on earth today. It should not
be like this in our own dearly beloved, Lagos, a state of excellence.
This must change. The labour of past heroes of this great state must
not be in vain.

Permit me to
repeat, for the sake of emphasis, that no matter how mundane or
pedestrian grassroots sports development may seem to many of our so –
called stakeholders, administrators, corporate organisations, and very
unfortunately, some media outfits, if we fail in Lagos state to
establish a culture of excellent sports development – with integrity as
the foundation, the systematic evolution of young sports persons,
through a very sound scientific and up-to-date technical approach,
needed to take sports to higher levels in this state and Nigeria, will
never be actualised.

How did the
infrastructure and structure that once made this state force to be
respected nationally and internationally, collapse so badly within the
last two decades, that even Lagosians are no longer confident our
sporting prowess. How did our slogan change from Eko for gold
(excellence, valour, leadership, triumph, etc), to Eko for show? Why
have we allowed mundane things like lust for money and power tussle
crowd out very relevant and progressive issues that are meant naturally
to add value to the present administration in the state? Why do many of
our sports executives – association chairpersons, committee presidents,
ex-this, ex-that and some people who claim to be friends of Governor
Fashola, perpetuate the myth that their presence is permanent?

Why are ideas
plagiarised and committed into the hands of cronies, who eventually
debase the value of such wonderful ideas, in an extremely unworthy
manner? These are questions begging for answers.

Really, an overhaul of mindset and structures is needed. The first
step is to change this laughable idea of placing sports at the local
government level under the supervision of the agriculture ministry.