It is early morning on Friday October 1, 2021. It is the 61st anniversary of Nigeria’s independence.

It is a public holiday where all Nigerians are supposed to celebrate their “liberation” from the shackles of colonial rule, the beginning of autonomy and the creation of a country designed in their image and likeness, and which functions independently of everything. third-country interference.

So, for the sake of emphasis and clarity (I’m digesting this slowly), each country chooses non-interference from third countries and establishes what it considers to be its best form of governance structure and system. It is because they would celebrate Independence Day because it marks a turning point in their history, a liberation from mental and physical “slavery”, the slavery of indoctrination and domination, and the freedom to associate and operate.
Indeed, independence of all kinds is sweet and deserves to be celebrated.

This is why, too, when sports federations seek their own form of independence, no one should blame them. It is the first article of all the constitutions of the sports federations. It has become their fundamental right: to be independent. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. What is good for the country is also good for the sports federations

So, this morning, I am thinking of the sports federations and the government. Their relationship in the Third World is umbilical in nature, linked to each other like Siamese twins. Severance pay is often fatal to sport and federations.

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The more I think about it, the more I realize that a happy medium must be found for sport to develop and prosper in a third world country environment where government funding of many aspects of sport and competition development. is inevitable.

What is needed is that the federations (or associations) constructively seek their independence without shirking any of their responsibilities. They can also assign certain rights and enjoy the greater benefits of a good relationship with the government. They can’t have both, eat their cakes and have them anyway. Oiling the interface between them is often the best option, but so far, 61 years after independence, this interface has been difficult to identify and even more difficult to lubricate.

At a higher level, countries don’t have to join the United Nations to exist, but if they want to, the UN never gives them rules and guidelines on how they should run their country’s affairs. , although there are certain fundamental standards and rights which should not be violated.

Likewise, no international sports organization writes, drafts or approves the statutes of sports federations. It would clearly be third-party interference. They keep copies of the constitution with them only when conflict issues are brought to their attention, and to ensure that certain basic standards and principles are observed, and that the content of constitutions is decided by consensus of the general assembly of the whose members are fairly representative of all the affiliates concerned.

How the federation manages its day-to-day activities and programs is also entirely a matter of its internal affairs, provided that they are not contrary to the fundamental principles which bind and guide the general organization, and that they do not violate the principles. statutes of the international organization.

Thus, the constitution of sports federations is the key which opens the doors to good sports governance, good relations between partners and affiliates and development at all levels.

Before now, for the past 30 years, some sports powers have manipulated them to create divisions and crises, and still use the threat of intervention by their international organizations to scuttle any opposition and perpetuate the decadence of the system.

We have been going through this same process for 30 years. We must no longer fall into the trap.

Sports federations that need to partner with the Federal Government of Nigeria to develop sport in the country and attend some major international events must be ready and willing to present their constitution to the government to ensure that the more ambitious goals of sport development in the country. the country are captured and represented in constitutions.

We have had two cycles of sport development in our history, each lasting approximately 30 years each. This is one of the most depressing things I have had to do in a long time, looking back on the Nigerian sporting history of 1990 and seeing how and where we went wrong and started on the path to self-destruction through ignorance, greed and the pursuit of narrow interests.

I have witnessed this whole journey, two cycles in 60 years.

The first 30 years were the “good years” for Nigerian sport. The next 30 years can be considered the ‘bad years’ for Nigerian sport despite Nigeria’s highest number of medals and trophies during the period. These were the lingering effects of foundations laid before 1990, still producing excellent results that could have skyrocketed in the 2000s had the process been sustained rather than truncated.

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We are about to enter the next cycle.
It’s an anticipated 30-year period that could hold either of the two promises as Nigeria and sport accompany it, perched on the edge of a cliff. Nigeria must jump off this precipice. It will either be a dive to the death in the abyss below, or the country will discover that it has in fact always had wings, and will “fly” into the skies of prosperity and true freedom.

The current Minister of Sports has delicately tinkered with what has been moving positively for some time now in the resolution of the Nigerian sport crisis and the loss of all vestiges of sport development processes and institutions in the country. He gradually and gradually puts his act together. He is now near the end of a journey that promises to be successful. He must finish the race… and win it!

It must get sports federations to include articles in their new constitutions that are domesticated to work in tandem with Nigerian laws, sports policies, real stakeholders and a broader national agenda.

International organizations do not write constitutions for national federations, otherwise there would be a general one distributed to all countries. Each country creates its own constitution. It’s a local matter, entirely. It attracts no international interference or endorsement, in the true sense of the word, except when people want to be mischievous and involve them in the process, a situation that has held back Nigerian sport for decades.

The constitution of all sports federations must have the input, direction and supervision of the Ministry of Sports so that it can guarantee government support and good relations with the government.

Each sports federation must therefore involve the ministry in the process of creating the constitution to ensure the best interest of the country, of the real stakeholders, and indeed all interests reflecting a document designed for Nigeria to guide Nigerian sports to achieve higher and taller peaks. visions beyond medals and trophies.

As I continue my thought process this morning, I see that something big is going to happen in Nigerian sport.

A new 30-year cycle has begun under Chief Sunday Dare. He must succeed by being courageous and finish what he believes is right. He should not be discouraged by the futile threats of international bodies which preach non-interference, but do so themselves by endorsing what is not theirs at the beginning and at the end. That the minister continue to do his microscopic and forensic checks and investigations. He is on the right track.

Happy Independence Anniversary to all Nigerians.

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