By; JACOB ONJEWU DCKSON
As the second edition of the National Games begins at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, a key stakeholder in the sports sector has warned that full benefits from such good programmes may not be realized unless those at the helm of affairs at the Federal level are allowed to run sports for a longer time.
The stakeholder, Mallam Tunde Kazeem who is the National Chairman of the Directors of Sports Forum, expressed this while speaking on phone.
He explained that it would have been more productive if sport was allowed to be on its own as a commission, with a board of experienced sports administrators having a tenure of several years in charge.
Mallam Kazeem who is also the Director of Sports Kwara State recalled that the National Youth Games was first held in 2013 when Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi was the Minister of Sports and could not hold for two years, even though it was meant to be an annual event.
“In the past 10 years we have had several Ministers of Sports. The continuous change of those in charge has affected our development in the sector,” he submitted.
The Chairman of the Directors of Sports Forum said that if we really want to dominate the world in sporting events, sentiments must be brushed aside and anyone found capable of being in-charge should be left at the helm of affairs.
“It is shameful when we go for international competitions and small countries are beating us. We have to put our house in order,” he added.
