By: Chinedum Ohanusi 
 
Just 24 hours after he was grilled by an attention seeking and camera happy House Committee on Sports,  Senator John Owan Enoh, who since his appointment as Minister of Sports Development, had grappled with settling down, learn the ropes (like many of his predecessors who had nothing in their CV relating to sports);  or talk more of enunciating or giving sports the much needed policy direction it needed; was taken out in a cabinet reshuffle, that also blew away the Sports Ministry and rebirthed the National Sports Commission (NSC).

That President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) took the bold step, which had been severally canvassed, as a veritable route to revamping the moribund ecosystem of Sports in Nigeria, since 2016 when the NSC was abrogated, and what was left of it, was haphazardly tucked in under the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Department; confirms that Nigeria now has a "listening president". On the other hand, it is  gratifying to many who have in time past, successfully linked the sorry-state of our nation's sports to the reluctance of successive governments to appoint technocrats to steers affairs of the sector; that Mallam Shehu Dikko, a man of many caps in Nigerian, and International football, was given the plump job.

Since last Wednesday when the news of a new Czar to pilot the new NSC broke, which is to sprout up from the ashes of the dissolved Sports Ministry; there has been almost an endless back-hand-clapping; Congratulatory messages have inundated Radio stations, newspapers, online media, and all facets of the Social Media; and one would have thought by just announcing Mallam Dikko as the Chairman of the NSC, all the demons bisecting Nigeria's Sports Sector have been banished by a stroke of the President's pronouncement or signature.

Far from it. While many got carried away a bit, some of us were circumspect, and waited to get a clearer picture, mapping out the policy trust and direction of this adventure, which is not completely alien to some of us, with good memory. The additional piece of information from the presidency, never came.

Be it Ministry of Sports, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Sports and Social Welfare; or the National Sports Commission, it is a route we have passed in time past, and to an extent severally. I mean the changes in nomenclature aren't new, but the pitfalls and drawbacks that have held Nigeria down, making us unable to maximize the potential, athleticism and raw talents we possess as the most populated black nation on earth, with over 60% of our population within the ages of 35 and below.

*The Dynamics & Intrigues:*

The call had for long been that, instead of political loyalists or jobbers, let former athletes who had represented the country at the highest level possible, and with the requisite managerial expertise, be appointed to take key positions in the running of our sports; just like it is in the Health, Works, and a few other ministries, where only certified top professionals are appointed to take charge.

But does the man,  Mallam Dikko who is true and you true "Mr. Football" thick all the requisite boxes. In my candid opinion, the answer could be yes and no, depending on the school of thought one belongs.

The intriguing fact here is that the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), was already on the ascendancy, when Mallam Dikko alongside a former house of the Representative member, Nduka Irabor as (COO) took over the mantle of leadership from late Chief Osayuki Obaseki. But after more than seven years in the saddle, with Hon. Irabor ejecting himself halfway, for Mallam Salihu Abubakar to return as (COO); the league was bisected with all manners of challenges, on and off the field of play, and if I have to caption that with a single phrase, I would say it was down to "leadership failure".

The league, which was on free fall and devalued in all ramifications, had to be rescued by a former Sports Minister, Chief Sunday Dare; and three seasons on, things have started looking up again for the NPFL, under the headship of Hon. Olugbenga Elegbeleye, and Prince Davison Owumi as the (COO).

Ironically, Hon. Elegbeleye was the last Head of the NSC, before it was scrapped. The Ondo-born politician and sports administrator, put aside his self esteem, by stooping low, to help in revamping a league, that was in comatose for years. Is it not interesting that Mallam Dikko who grappled in his comfort zone (football) and was unable to leave substantial legacies as the Chairman of the defunct LMC, has now been given even a more audios task of revamping a broader spectrum of sports in the country. I am tempted to brand this another act of  reinforcing clear-cut failure, but I won't.

Earlier, I have given thumbs up to President Tinubu, for making bold to intervene in the hoodoo that seems to have overwhelmed our sports sector, and sports administration, in recent years; promoting some of the finest athletes and talents to have ample reasons to ditch their father land, switch loyalty to other countries, and become podium athletes.

So, whilst the media frenzy prompted by the coronation of Mallam Shehu Dikko as the new Sheriff, or the Games Master General of Nigeria, may be well-intended, the choice of Mr. President in making this appointment truly does not thick all the boxes. Nigerians expected more; a complete break from the past, to get one of Nigeria's Olympians, that has sweated and spilled blood while representing the country at major international games like the Olympics, African Games and various African/World Championships, to steer the unsteady ship of our sports. 

However, that Mallam Dikko was picked and the likes of Chief Segun Odegbami, Innocent Egbunike, Falilat Ogunkoya, Yusuf Ali, Mary Onyali, Daniel Igali were all overlooked, does not mean progress has not been made. For anything at all, I see his appointment which has been well orchestrated by people in football, and celebrated by many in the sporting media, as another opportunity for the Zaria-born Dikko to right the wrongs, and win back the trust of those of us that once held him in high esteem. Invariably, the margin of error, or excuses for failure (God forbid), are too slim or not applicable this time.

My trepidation at this point is that, hardly has any figure of note from the larger sports fraternity, joined in the congratulations frenzy that is still renting the media space. It does appear to me that key stakeholders like the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) elite sports federations, to Olympians and former or retired athletes; have all contrived to take the "sit down and look" posture.

To help Mallam Dikko succeed, the Federal Government will need to do a lot more, by ensuring that the public service and bureaucratic bottle neck attributes of the defunct Ministry of Sports, gives way to a milieu of technocrats, holding key positions to drive the processes of revamping our Sports, to a point where it can pleasantly restore our glorious past and dominance in international sports, while contributing substantially to the growth of our GDP. 

The government must also move quickly, and in collaboration with the new NSC, initiate an Executive Bill, which may be married to the Sports Bill, gathering dust at both chambers of the national assembly for over a decade now, is  updated and passed into law. It is a sad commentary that the once obnoxious Decrees 10 and 11 of the 1980s, later merged to become Decree 101 are still alive and breathing; and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) still draws from its budgetary envelopes as NFA! 

A well structured and updated Sports Bill is a _Sine qua non_ in any attempt to give Sports in Nigeria a new lease of life, as it will also streamline the operations of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and Sports Federations on one hand; then spell out the Welfare, well-being and reward system for our sportsmen (elite athletes) on the other.

This should not be a time to dig in, and go for the jugulars of perceived enemies; I mean those we have had cause to openly disagree with, or consider as persons in opposing camps. Rather, it is time for inclusiveness, to put Nigeria first, and contribute our own quota to help in making Nigeria great again in sports.