What did Bio do in eight months?

Bio

I am one of those who believed that only people with the background and good knowledge of sports should head the National Sports Commission. It was Sani Ndanusa who proved me wrong as he came into sports as a minister while serving as the tennis federation president. Yet, he fell short of expectations. Ibrahim Bio assumed office as the NSC boss on April 6, 2010 to replace Ndanusa and the problems of sports remain. During the week, Bio began his governorship bid in Ilorin, Kwara State. Though, it did not come to me as a surprise, I was shocked that he started the campaign before quitting his position officially as the NSC boss.

Before he was named as sports minister, Bio should have told President Goodluck Jonathan that he had a governorship ambition so that he could concentrate on that.

Between that time and now, one is at a loss on the achievement of Bio. It will be nice if the governorship aspirant can tell Nigerians what he has done for sports development in Nigeria. He came in without understanding the terrain and relied on some people to advise him on what to do, yet he did not make impact in Nigerian sports. The man was just biding his time to make his next move in politics. How will Bio perform well in sports when he had other career plans? What exactly has he done in eight months? Of course, I lost faith in him the day I learnt he had plans to become the governor of Kwara State in 2011. I knew that nothing good could come from a man with such an aspiration because he would be busy with various issues to realise his ambition. Whatever problem facing sports was secondary to him because of his desire to be the next governor of his state.

Bio is Nigeria’s nineth sports minister in 10 years and so the continuity problem lingers, especially because the tenure of this government ends in May 2011.

The leader we need in sports is the one with a vision to get results. Sport is about results and what we have witnessed over the years is a case of ‘soldier go, soldier come’ as we march on the same spot.

We need a minister who can focus on sports development generally and not concentrate on football. A minister who can see the future and plan well to take Nigerian sports to the next level with the abundant talents in the country in various disciplines.

Why Maigari, why?

The President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Aminu Maigari “stole the show” for the wrong reasons at the Glo-CAF Awards held on Monday in Cairo. Maigari stood up twice in crutches to collect awards at the event as if no other Nigerian was there. He struggled the first time to collect the Best Female National Team of the year award. Perpetua Nkwocha was at that event and she could have collected it. As if that was not enough, he went up again for the Presidential award and almost fell while battling to balance himself with the replica he was given. It was okay for him to be present but overstretching himself by mounting the podium twice was uncalled for. What was Maigari trying to prove? We all knew he was just recuperating after undergoing a knee surgery. He was simply unfair to himself and the country.

Apathy in the land

I wrote on the league last week and here I am again. No doubt, the Nigerian Premier League needs complete repackaging. I was shocked on Sunday to realise that the Nnamdi Azikwe Satdium, in Enugu was virtually empty during the big encounter between Rangers and Shooting Stars of Ibadan. The two teams are traditional rivals and I recall that they pulled crowds anytime, anywhere in the country. We need to take a second look at the entire league to determine why people are not coming to the stadiums. I know that the effect of foreign leagues on Nigerian fans is a big factor, but we just have to look for ways to bring back the fans. Football is not complete without fans.

The Rangers, Shooting match was on SuperSport and I was ashamed as a follower of the game in Nigeria to see what was being beamed to global audience. Kenyan, South African, Zambian and Ghanaian leagues are also on SuperSport and we see crowd making the game interesting.

For now, the NPL leadership is in crisis. The title sponsor rights awarded to a telecoms outfit is being contested. There is so much crisis in the league board than conceiving concrete plans to get things right. The NPL board should come up with plans that could make our league retain its lost glory. Till now, the true way to assess football standard in a country is through the domestic league. We have to woo the fans back to the stadiums. People love football in Nigeria and will be all out for it with adequate security and a conducive atmosphere.

Source:Punch