Sport in a new Nigeria

Odegbami

Whatever happens in the ongoing national elections in Nigeria, I predict that the country will never be the same again. A new demography has joined the ongoing political ‘war.’ This is an army of irrepressible young and educated people determined to change the political landscape with their energy, vision, knowledge, new media, creativity and the spirit of entrepreneurship.

There is a re-alignment of old political groups, and the creation of new movements in the country in the struggle to control the reins of power. The product of these agitations and developments will surely introduce new dynamics in governance beyond May 29, 2023, when a new federal government comes to power.

It is a generational passage with a younger generation playing much bigger roles in government, and holding them more accountable. In the sports sector where I belong, there is an effort to seek more recognition and move up sport on the ladder of priorities of governments at State and Federal levels. Before now and for decades, sport has occupied the lowest rung in the priority of successive governments. That needs to change.

Globally, the power of sport to influence social, cultural and economic development is gaining momentum and there will be no stopping it when the youths clearly see its power and also how it can be effectively deployed to change their world.

My own personal understanding of the power of sport derives from a few experiences, one or two of which I shall share here as a part of my humble contribution to setting an agenda for sports in the new governments.

My first experience was visiting the Amsterdam Arena, home of Ajax Amsterdam FC in Holland, many years ago.The Arena never sleeps. Driven entirely by private-sector