‘Sport has power to change the world – How true?’

Last Wednesday, at the invitation of the Federal University Lokoja, I delivered the 15th Distinguished Public Lecture of the university.I am devoting my column this weekend to a slightly edited version of the presentation.

When I received the invitation, what immediately came to my mind is that the university must know, or must have seen, something that the rest of the world does not about an ‘ordinary’ football player like me.

Let me state clearly upfront, therefore, that it will be sheer arrogance for me to come to this citadel of learning and pretend to be who I am not. So, I am here humbly without any airs, without any intention to go on an intellectual rigmarole to justify my position on the subject of today’s presentation, one way or the other.

So, having nestled comfortably against that background, I am here only to enjoy the spotlight of the moment, and to share my work in Sport (limited as it is) as well as my unique experiences, take you all on a journey to a place you have never been before, and probably a side of today’s subject matter that may not be found in established academic sports literature.

Once again, little of this my presentation is drawn from a book. It is the product of my personal experiences, significant and sometimes interesting; events, people and places that will help me to successfully navigate what is truly an intriguing topic for a public lecture.

To start with, the title of this presentation is not original to me – “Sport has the power to change the world – how true?” It is only the ‘how true?’ that I own, and will try to tackle today.

Otherwise, the title is a well-known and well-worn quote by a global political icon, delivered some 20 years ago in Monte Carlo. As lyrical and beautiful as