Nigeria Content Online

Change is widely
interpreted as different things to different people. Although change is
largely accepted as an inevitable part of developmental processes, the
concept is undesirable to a sizeable number of people for various
selfish or ignorant reasons. Usually change is expected to start from
the top and filter down to the rest of an organization or people but
really can start from anybody! This is evident by significant changes
that have taken place through the bold efforts of faceless individuals
and small groups of people (at the time the change was advocated) that
became famous through their selfless efforts.

Many Nigerians
looking forward to change in virtually every aspect of the
administration and growth of Nigerian sports over the years have either
given up hope, or decided to join the band-wagon effect of taking
advantage of whatever spoils accruable from the existing ineffectual
style of running things. However, as a new wave of optimism gradually
builds up in the country, whispers are growing into audible requests
for change.

After all, it is
said that only the insane can expect a change by continuously doing
things the same way! It is clear to me that change can only be truly
effected through a thorough Sports Structural Adjustment Programme
(SSAP) implemented from the top. I refer to a Structural Adjustment
Programme (SAP) that will take us forward in leaps in bounds without
regret.

Basically, for a
SSAP to be successful, the foundations holding up the visible structure
of our sports needs to be drastically reorganized. To this end I am
suggesting an immediately implementable basic four-pronged approach:

I. Change the
current criteria of selecting or electing sports administrators to a
process that will ensure the injection of new minds (especially from
the private sector) with an understanding, genuine desire and necessary
acumen to develop or even copy modern trends for the good of our sports
industry. The existing selective process more or less guarantees this
does not happen as the sports industry has now become more of a
political tool, or positions within it used as a reward system, other
than being taken for what is, a potentially profitable industry.

II. Privatise
sports i.e. treat it as a revenue generating and profitable industry.
Government should divest from sports. As food for thought, the
estimated value of the Asian sports industry as at 2009 is
US$17billion, while America’s sports industry is valued at
US$410.6billion (estimated @ 40% of the global sport industry value of
over $1 trillion). Yet, Nigeria/Africa is not listed as a significant
contributor because we typically do not generate revenue but rather
spend from allocated government budgets. Whereas proven sports
initiatives have succeeded in creating jobs and satisfying response to
local demands for sport equipment for example.

III. Make existing
administrators work to earn the right to remain in their current
portfolios. It is obvious most of the various associations are comatose
in light of the absence of proper leadership. Therefore, there’s
usually no planning, goal-setting and actualisation within stipulated
time-frames. These associations rarely have any developmental plans and
so do not execute any; neither are they creative nor generate revenues.
Instead, the trend is to unabashedly wait for government funding, or go
begging for funds from individuals or corporate bodies (who are now the
wiser) when dire needs arise. From now plans and strategies to
actualise those plans must be part of the requirements of office and
remaining in office must depend on achieving these goals.

IV. Provide
international standard facilities that are accessible to the general
public or at least renovate existing ones and efficiently manage them.
This becomes pertinent since those playgrounds and open spaces where
talents were spotted and developed in the past have been replaced by
property development. In the same vein, coaches should be made
available to identify talent and provide fundamental train potential
athletes; at least that gives many talented but redundant coaches work
to do.

Some things never change though…

The on-going French
Open is once again underlining the dominance of Rafael Nadal on clay
courts as he breezed through the first week without dropping a set.
Venus Williams further reinforced doubts as to whether she can win
another Grand Slam. Don’t write her off just yet, her tourney Wimbledon
is round the corner and her sister Serena is still flying the family
flag. Roger Federer is as usual more or less coasting through the
rounds … until he meets Nadal, most probably in the final. The stage
is now set for another epic final week, rains permitting.