 |
| Uduaghan |
What follows after Nigeria’s failure at the 2012 London
Olympics? What shall be done to stop the plunge Nigeria’s sports has taken in
recent years?
Delta State governor Emmanuel Uduaghan will attempt an
answer to these when he hosts a national sports summit in Abuja October 30.
Crack resource persons at home and abroad have been
contacted to deliver papers during the summit that will hold at Transcorp
Hilton, Abuja.
The idea to hold a sports summit was that of Dr. Uduaghan
and it struck him to do so when Nigerian athletes were crashing at the
Olympics. The governor was pained by Nigeria’s failure and he felt that he
could play a role that will help the country. His state, arguably, is the
number one in sports development in the country. And if all states could show
interest in sports the way Delta does Nigeria will be better for it. Uduaghan
thinks that even Delta could do more.
“This is not about Delta. It is about Nigeria. We all have a
duty to develop this country and sports is one vital area that has not been
properly addressed. I want experts, respected sports administrators and people
knowledgeable in sports to gather together, brainstorm and be loud on where we are getting it wrong and what should
be done and the way to do it,” Udughan said last week.
“We want people to recall the past, analyze the present and
and proffer solution that will help shape our future. We cannot continue to be
complaining without doing something about it. I believe there should be a way
out because we have talents in this country. But we are not developing the
talents. Why are we not doing so? These are the things the summit will attempt
to answer. I believe there’s a way. Let’s find that way,” Uduaghan said.
Executive Chairman of Delta State Sports Commission, Amaju
Pinnick noted that what will make the Abuja summit unique is that Governor
Uduaghan has promised to take the report of the summit to the Presidency for
possible implementation and assured that President Goodluck Jonathan would be
happy that something drastic is done to sports in Nigeria.
No comments:
Post a Comment