FEW days ago, I stumbled on a friend in Lagos and we had the opportunity to discuss sports in general. Both of us were in Spain in 2016 where we were tutored on how to manage sports. We visited so many places, took notes but found it difficult to implement those ideas in Nigeria. The impromptu meeting turned out to be a blessing to me and readers of arguably the most read government-owned newspaper in the country. In our conversation, my friend whom I will not want to disclose here likened the situation which currently obtains to an “agbalumo tree”.
Agbalumo is a tree that produces seasonal fruits. It comes out in December and last till early March, depending on the geographical area. From then till December it fades away. While the Yorubas call it agbalumo, the Igbos call it Udara and the Hausas will tell you, it is Agwaluma. But for the Urhobos, it is “ Utien agadava” The English word for it is Cherry. It is a sweet and sour fruit that grows in tropical Afrrica. It produces a small , low calorie fruit with a sticky body and milky juice. It has a sweet and sour taste. This tropical fruit tree native to Africa, known for its sweet and tangy berry- like fruits grow on its own. These trees thrive in tropical climates and are well suited for regions like Nigeria and probably Uganda. Its scientific name is Chrysophyllum albidum and it belongs to the sapotaceae family. In fact, it is a west African origin exotic fruit with a tough leather – like green to dark orange skinn depending on the stage of ripeness. This is the season and soon, it will disappear from the market.
One may be wondering why I took time to dwell on the agbalumo tree. It is to tell you the link between the tree and Nigerian Sports men and women.
For the agbalumo tree, you don’t plant it. It grows on its own and communities where they exist stumble on them. They are not nurtured . You don’t need to remove the weeds unlike other crops.
Some communities cut them off because to them, that is where evil spirits meet and once it is cut off, it doesn’t grow. Nigerian Sports can therefore be likened to the agbalumo trees which are not nurtured but produce seasonal fruits.
In Nigeria, with due respect, what we have is accidental productions because we do not have a programme on ground to prepare them like what happens in developed countries. The few athletes that have made it are stumbled upon and once they fade away like the agbalumo fruits, we wait until we stumble on another one.
For a start, we don’t have the facilities and where they exist, we lack the maintenance culture . We are interested in winning laurels but we do not work for them and anytime, we fail, we cry like frog without any plan to remedy the ills. Gold medals don’t just fall like manna from heaven. You work for them.
Therefore, one may suggest that with the billions accrued to the National Sports Commision and the States too, we must embark on serious evaluation of how and why we are into sports.
The truth must be told, we have a long way to go both at the state levels and the Federal level. For now, there is no financial stability and career advancement. Often, the few ones stumbled on find themselves in challenging conditions with limited growth opportunities. They struggle to grow on their own like agbalumo tree and we harvest the fruits. Issues of unpaid salaries, inadequate infrastructure and a tarnished reputation which forces athletes to seek opportunities outside the country regardless of the risk involved. The absence of effective marketing, corporate investment and professional management further diminishes whatever aspirations they have.
At the National Sports Commision level, they have a grassrroot sports development department, albeit to remind them of their duties.
The main duties and responsibilities of the Grassroots Sports Development Department (GRSD) are:
Guide the implementation of Grassroots Sports Development Policies to carefully increase the number and quality of talents in sports.
Initiate policies on grassroots sports development in the country.
Serve as linkage between the Ministry and Grassroots to scout and select sports talents for the National Team.
Identify, nurture and develop sports talents.
Also, Plan, organize and coordinate the National Youth Games.
Their duty is to encourage mass participation of the citizenry in sporting activities.
Furthermore ,Coordinate and supervise the activities of the zonal offices.
They are to also Coordinate school and youth sports activities within and outside the country.
Part of their job too is to Coordinate the activities of NASCOM and other sports academies.
Finally, liaise with states to promote sports participation.
From my observation, those in charge have however failed to initiate policies on grassroots sports development in the country despite the billions of Naira at their disposal. Like the agbalumo tree our athletes have been neglected and allowed to grow on their own while we wait to harvest the fruits. The bottom line is that the Government must have a change of policy, do the right thing at the right time. There should be a developmental programme to nurture the budding talents that abound in all the nooks and crannies.
