Don’t play politics with Imo sports, Ndubuoke tells Uzodimma

By George Aluo

Veteran sports journalist and the most successful former chairman of Heartland FC of Owerri, Ezinwa Fan Ndubuoke has called on the governor of Imo state, Hope Uzodimma not to play politics with Imo sports.

Ndubuoke who spoke when Imo Sportswriters paid him a courtesy call said Uzodimma should strive to maintain the lofty sports programs which the Emeka Ihedioha Administration initiated.

Below is the address delivered by Ndubuoke to the sportswriters during the parley which took place at Mr Fan’s Place….

An Address Presented To Members Of The Sportswriters Association Of Nigeria, Imo State Chapter, During A Courtesy Visit. 

 Dear colleagues, 

 It is indeed my pleasure to welcome you all to Mr Fan’s Place,  the home of hospitality. When I was tipped off about this gathering, I was elated to say the least. This is because, since  the exit of  Ihedioha administration in the state, some of us have been observing a science of silence as far as issues affecting sports development are concerned, either in the state or at the national level.

So, this interactive session affords us another opportunity to exchange ideas with a view to tracking developments in the sports sector. 

 It is on record that by the special grace of God,I have worked with successive governments in this sector at both state and national levels for over three decades now.

It is always  exciting to share such experiences when the opportunity presents itself, like today. Instructively, I have availed my state, Imo, of such experiences between 2003 and January this year. 

Recent Sports Developments In Imo State: Dear colleagues, your visit today provides an opportunity to interrogate the present structure of sports administration in our dear state. It is on record that one of the focal points of the Ihedioha administration was sports development. Even before he was sworn in as governor,  Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, had a clear vision of using sports to engage Imo youths and provide job opportunities, while reclaiming Imo’s lost glory in sports. No wonder few months into his administration, the minister of sports,  Mr Sunday Dare, after going through Ihedioha’s blue print on sports  while on a visit to Owerri, declared Imo state as  the home of sports.

The starting point for Ihedioha administration was the establishment of the State Sports Commission,  aimed at removing the bureaucratic  bottlenecks associated with the old order. He embarked on aggressive provision, rehabilitation and renovation  of sports facilities across the state and even constituted a pan-Nigerian Bid Committee for the 2022 National Sports Festival. Imo athletes who fled  the state for lack of sports infrastructure and motivation were lured back through his ‘Return to Root’ programme. Imo was indeed on the March to greatness in sports. 

As major stakeholders, its our duty to ensure that the present administration in the state sustains these lofty programmes in the interest and benefit of Imo youths. Government is a continuum and we should avoid the temptation of bringing politics into sports. For instance, what structure is in place in administration of sports in the state? Do we still have a Sports Commission or are we back to the era of Ministry of Sports? Its our duty to investigate, educate and inform the public. 

Heartland Football Club: 

Gentlemen, the crisis rocking our darling team, the Heartland Football club of Owerri is regrettably. Its unfortunate that since 2014, when we left office, the club has gone from one crisis to the other,  culminating in relegation to the lower division, the first in the history of the club.

Oftentimes,  people allude the misfortune of the club to the ill-treatment meted out to those of us who toiled to return the club to winning ways even with a meager sum of Eight million Naira monthly subvention. However, i wish to state here today that we have since forgiven those who masterminded the ‘carnage’ in the club. They were driven by greed and selfishness, not by  the interest of the state or the club. 

Regrettably, the crisis rocking the club today is still traceable to greed, selfishness and  meddlesomeness by those who should have provided the moral compass for better management of the club.  Specifically,  some board members of the state Football Association and our own organisation,  SWAN are all  guilty in this regard. The FA ought to be the father and an impartial judge in all football matters but some members have pinched their tents with various warring parties in the crisis.  I therefore call on the chairman of Imo FA, chief Amanze Uchegbulem, a known voice in football matters in Nigeria to call his members to order if the body is to play it’s fatherly role seamlessly.

Similarly, our colleagues in the sports writing business are not left out of this unhealthy partisanship. The Holy Book reminds us in Mathew 5(13), that; ” You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its taste, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men”.

We as journalists are supposed to provide the moral compass in which the society is to be governed. What has happened to the ethics of the profession with the role some of us are playing in crisis ,as in the case with Heartland Football club? Is it all about bread and butter? This is sad. 

The present crisis is traceable to the immediate past Interim management board of the club. The former administration in the state came up with the idea of Interim management because, as the 2019/2020 Football season was fast approaching,  the Law establishing the Sports Commission had not been passed by the state House of Assembly and the Ministry of Sports was being phased out. When the law eventually came into existence the Interim management board headed by  the chairman of the ruling party at the time, refused to accept the Sports Commission, empowered by law as the supervising body, preferring to operate as independent body devoid of any government input in its  operations. This of course is a paradox when government funds the club 100%, with all vouchers and budget of the club processed by the Sports Commission. The Interim management Board ought to have ceased functioning as soon as the Commission came into being.  When the present administration in the state issued a circular, dissolving all Boards of government Agencies , we in the Sports Commission left office. Till date, no specific letter was issued to us to vacate office . As the new Football season is about to commence,  government should expadite the process of appointing a new management for the club. There is no provision for Interim arrangement in the administration of Football matters the world over. The Imo case was a child of necessity  at the time and should not transform into a permanent feature. 

 The Need For The Reurn of The National Sports Commission: 

Gentlemen of the press, I think the present minister of Sports Mr Sunday Dare has shown capacity, enthusiasm and clear determination to reposition Sports in Nigeria. However,  he needs help. The present structure of sports administration in the country is defective and may not support the minister’s aggressive drive to develop sports in our dear country. The minister should be encouraged by the fact that all the states doing well in sports in Nigeria today have all gone the Sports Commission way. We should compare our achievements in sports under the National Sports Commission with that under the Ministry arrangement.  Such lofty policies like adoption of Athletes and Facilities cannot thrive under Ministerial bureaucracy.

The minister wants to turn sports into a big industry. But how many businesses are being run successfully by ministries anywhere in the world. Hopefully, there will be opportunities to dwell more on this in the nearest future. 

 Thank you for your attention.

  Ezinwa Fan Ndubuoke(ksc)