Stakeholders dissect problems of Nigerian Sports, call for concerted efforts to address it

It was a gathering of who is who in Nigerian Sports Monday, 24th November, 2025 when the maiden Big Sports Dialogue 0.1 was held.

The event organized at the Villa Dome, Ikoyi, Lagos brought together, policy makers, sports administrators, key players, sports marketers, private sector leaders and media practitioners who brainstormed on how to move the country’s sports ecosystem forward.

Welcoming guests at the well attended event which included the Chairman of National Sports Commission, Mallam Shehu Dikko, Director General of the Commission, Hon. Bukola Olokpade and that of the National Institute For Sports, His Excellency, Philip Shuaibu and the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Grassroots Sports Anthony Adeyinka Adeboye, amongst others agreed that the country’s sports has been in decline and concerted efforts must be made to reverse the ugly trend.

In his welcome address, Chairman of the Organizating Committee of the event , Osaze Ebueku explained that the dialogue became neccessary inorder to speak truth to the powers that be and unlearn what we have learnt.

Ebueku while expressing happiness with the attendance which he described as an evidence of the quality of the dialogue, noted that it is a journey out to proffer answers to the burning issues of sports in the country.

The MOC chairman, while agreeing that the issues of Nigerian Sports cannot be solved in a one day dialogue, announced that the outcome of the discussion will be published and submitted to the National Sports Commission for study and implementation.

Earlier in his speech, convener of the dialogue, Aron Akeredola explained that the dialogue is not a blame game but to confront issues honestly, spark new ideas and chart a lasting roadmap that will rebuild Nigerian Sports into a credible, profitable and globally competitive ecosystem.

Speaking at the occasion, Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Mallam Shehu Dikko, while commending the organizers of the dialogue for the wonderful initiative, noted that since the Commission came on board, the country’s sports is gradually coming back on track, promising that the momentum will be sustained.

” You will agree with me that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took a courageous decision by scrapping the Sports Ministry and replacing it with a Commission because he wants the country’s sports to grow.

” And since we came on board, we have been trying to change the narratives and it’s no longer business as usual. During the just concluded Federation elections, myself and the Director General insisted that women must be represented in all the Federations which was not the practice under the then Sports Ministry.

” We have also set up a reward system for athletes which is now yielding the desired result and with the mandate of Mr. President, we’re bringing a new lease of life to our sports and we’ll continue to do things that will make our sports attractive to private sector investors”, he assured.

In the first session of the dialogue, the panelists comprising of former Chairperson of Nigeria Women League, Aisha Falode, veteran journalists, Mitchhelle Obi and Olisa Adobor while speaking on the topic, ‘ Media, Women and Governance: The Triple Engine For Nigerian Sports Revival lamented that not minding the achievements of the country’s sports women, much attention is not being paid to them.

” It’s quite unfortunate that not untill recently when the government handsomely rewarded the Super Falcons and D’Tigress, not much attention has been paid to them. Women sports are relegated to the background which is not supposed to be, because most medals we’ve won at international competitions were won by our women and a woman also won the first individual gold medal for the country and they deserved to be treated fairly”, they said.

The panelists challenged the media to give priority attention to women sports which will go a long way in changing the narrative.

Speaking on ‘Policy, Power and Purpose: Rebuilding Trust and Accountability in Nigerian Sports Leadership, the panelists comprising of Chairman of National Sports Commission, Mallam Shehu Dikko, NIS Director General, Philip Shuaibu, former NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, and Nelson Ineh of GTI, strategic partners of NPFL, they noted that part of the problem with Nigerian Sports in the past has been lack of clear policy institutional reforms and accountability.

But they posited that with the Commission now in place, things are gradually changing.

They however advised Nigerians to believe in their country and avoid frequent criticisms which always paint the country in bad light to the international community.

In his contribution, NIS Director General regretted that the institute which was established more than 50 years ago for the training of coaches, elite athletes and paramedics have been a shadow of itself before his assumption of office .
He also lamented that the Athletes Development Centre established in Abuja by former President Olusegun Obasanjo was made non functional by the scrapped Ministry of Sports.
According to him, his administration inorder to correct the anomaly, came out with a 10 year working document which it has started implementing with the setting up of six zonal offices for the institute.

Ineh harped on the importance of building trust; saying that GTI believes that their massive investment in the country’s league will soon bear fruit.
He was of the opinion that why it’s good to harp on grassroots sports, it’s equally important to look at how these athletes develop to the next stage of their career which will help the country’s sports to grow.
The third panelists made up of Chief Executive Officer of Brilla FM, Dr. Larry Izamoje, initiator of Niger Delta Sports Festival, Itiako Ikpokpo, Rivers State Commissioner of Sports, Barrister Chris Green and former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola who joined virtually, charged NSC leadership to ensure that welfare of athletes is not compromised and any Federation President who could not attract sponsorship for his federation should be shown the exit door.

They also spoke about proper grassroots development programme and building a cordial relationship with athletes as well as ensuring that exiting infrastructures are well maintained.
” There is need for the leadership of NSC to maintain cordial relationship with athletes as it goes a long way in building confidence and trust.

They should also engage governors to construct new stadias and upgrade existing sports facilities in their states which will help in sports development “, they submitted.

The last panelists made up of the Director General of NSC, Bukola Olokpade, Sports Marketer, Mike Itemuagbor, Steve Osho and Basir Are in their discussion titled ‘ From Bronze to Billions, called for more private partnership in the country’s sports even as they recommended tax holidays and rebates to organizations that invest in sports

They noted that sports is a big business which when properly managed will contribute greatly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product and as such all efforts must be made to make Nigerian Sports work and attractive to the private sector