The Director-General (DG) of the National Institute for Sports (NIS), Rt. Hon. Philip Shaibu, has revealed the Institute’s plans in the next four years.
“In the next four years, with our plans, all the 36 states of the federation and Abuja would have NIS offices. The reason is to take sports development programme to the grassroots because it is the best way for Nigeria with the abundance of talents to take it’s right position as giant of Africa.
“We need to bridge the gap in qualified coaches for the country. We are also going to collaborate with the referees association to train referees.”
He was speaking on the conclusion of his 3 day working visit to Edo State which afforded him the opportunity of inspecting the facility donated by the state government to serve as South South training center for the NIS in Benin.
The NIS boss who is a former Deputy Governor of Edo State was conducted round the building known as the Indoor Sports Hall at Etete, GRA Benin, by the management team of the Edo State Sports Commission led by the Permanent Secretary (PS), Mrs. Patricia Efe-Amenze.
Other top officials of the Sports Commission on the tour of facilities included the Executive Director, Sports Development and Operations, Mrs Sabina Chikere and the Executive Director, Edo South, Coach Baldwin Bazuaye.
The NIS DG said that the visit was to assess the level of readiness of the facility ahead of the commencement of operations in April.
Shaibu explained that the inspection was carried out jointly with officials of the Edo State Sports Commission as part of their collaborative effort to strengthen sports development in the state and the South-South region, noting that the facility is still solid but pointed out areas that require immediate repairs and upgrade.
He recalled his touch on the facility in 2018, when he visited the centre as Deputy Governor of Edo State during the state’s preparations for the 2020 National Sports Festival.
According to him, the facility was in a deplorable state to the extent that some officials advised the government to abandon it entirely.
“Some people said we should forget about it, but I refused. I took it upon myself to revive the facility and reclaim the property for the Edo State Government.
“If I had listened to opinions and failed to fix this place at that time, I would not be standing here today as the DG of NIS. Today, I am reaping the benefit of that decision. I am happy that the facility is still standing strong and fit for use.
“There are some amendments needed, doors, windows, toilet facilities, and we will work on them to make the environment more habitable.
“We are also engaging the Edo State Government on office space, because what we currently have here is not enough to make NIS fully effective,” he stressed.
Continuing, he stated: “I’m in Benin to inspect the facility in preparation for the opening of the NIS South South zonal office in Edo State. You will recall that as part of the recommendation of the committee that I set up on assumption of office, is to return NIS to it’s core mandate in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President.
“The 10 years development plan has it that we should decentralize NIS and have zonal offices and training centers scattered around the country in order to capture the grassroots fully.”
According to him, “we are in a hurry to start our programmes, and I hope that before staff resumption, the facility will be ready. I have been to other states, Ogun is ready, Taraba is ready, Enugu and Plateau are also ready, all thanks to their state governments and sports commissions.”
Shaibu also revealed plans to bring the College of Physical and Health Education, Afuze, into active use through collaboration with the Edo State Government.
“We are in a hurry to do this because we must train our athletes across all 42 sports at the basic level. Our games masters and coaches need foundational training. You don’t build champions without strong basics. We are starting with three months basic courses and later offer higher courses.”
On sports infrastructure, Shaibu strongly criticized the culture of building facilities without a corresponding maintenance culture.
“I will not support the Federal Government wasting resources on sports facilities without first preparing our sportsmen and women on maintenance culture. It is not enough to build beautiful facilities,” he said.
He lamented the poor state of national sports assets across the country, noting that Nigeria currently has only one FIFA-standard stadium, the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.
“The National Stadium in Surulere has become a playground, while the Abuja National Stadium has turned into crusade grounds for both Christians and Muslims. That is very bad.”
Shaibu assured that under his leadership, the National Institute for Sports is determined to change that narrative.