NSC, Counter Terrorism Center Collaborate To Strengthen Security Through Sports
Sports as a tool to boost security, curb societal vices and social re-engineering was on the front burner as National Sports Commission and National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC), office of the National Security Adviser met to forge collaborations fostering mutual interests.
Speaking while hosting the NCTC delegation at the NSC Headquarters, NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko highlighted the importance of sports to break the barriers, eliminate fault lines, unite the nation and deepen security in the country.
His words, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR envisions that sports should be a major social re-engineering tool and economic driver in the country. What you have proposed (the collaboration) is one of the major reasons the President set up this Commission.”
The NSC Chairman buttressed the need to deploy sports as a platform to engage the youths positively, provide hope and curb societal vices.
He said, “Sometime last year, in England, there was an unrest and people were breaking into shops and molesting foreigners. The Prime Minister first summoned the sports authorities and asked them when the Premiership would be starting. He believed that once those sporting activities were going on, the attention of the youths and indeed the larger populace would be diverted into meaningful ventures.
“That’s what we want to do with Nigerian sports. We want to ensure that sports activities run simultaneously across the country so that we can keep our youths engaged and the entire society happy and productive.
“We should be controlling 5 to 10% of global sporting talents. This will create a pathway for the young ones to aspire to excel and live their dreams and maybe bring home some dollar. Also we are working to infuse sports with education across the country so the education of the youths won’t be compromised while pursuing their sports ambitions.”
He advocated for even more priority to be placed on sports in line with notable African countries.
“We want you to use your office to speak to the relevant authorities and let them know that sports is also security. In Algeria for instance, after the security budget, sports is next highest. Morocco is investing hugely in sports and hosting tournaments all the time. What they do is that they take a percentage of budget from other sectors and add to sports so sports now commands the highest budget.
“This makes the country more attractive and peaceful. Every location you see in Morocco, you will see a small sporting facility. Egypt is doing the same thing. These countries see sports as part of security”, he added.
To this end, the Commission is pursuing aggressive sports infrastructure upgrades across the country.
“We are having meetings with the state governments and representatives of ALGON to see how we can develop more facilities across the communities in the country as a way of boosting security in addition to the ambition to discover new talents and provide the youths with a pathway to greatness “, he added.
He continued, “Sports unites us as a nation. When Nigeria plays, we all forget where we come from, the language we speak or where we worship. Everyone is a Nigerian and unite to win. The collaboration between NCTC and NSC is key to boosting and deepening security in the country.”
Earlier, the National Coordinator of NCTC Maj. Gen. Adamu Garba Laka advocated for the NSC collaboration in five fronts namely, sports-based youth engagement programmes; capacity building for coaches and athletes as mentors in communities; sports competitions to check extremism; availability of sports infrastructure as venues for community outreach and joint campaigns highlighting sports as an alternative pathway to security.
The parties agreed to continue to work together in collaboration to enhance the delivery of their respective mandates.
