A former Minister of Sports and Special Duties, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, has attributed Nigeria’s challenges in sports development to the politicisation of the sector and the appointment of officials without sufficient professional experience.
Adedoja made the remarks at the opening ceremony of a national conference organised by the National Association for Physical, Health Education, Recreation, Sports and Dance (NAPHER-SD) at Bayero University, Kano (BUK), on Thursday.
The former minister, who chaired the occasion, said Nigeria had appointed 35 sports ministers since independence, claiming that he was the only one among them with professional experience in sports development.
He argued that physical education remained the foundation of sports development, but said the country had not adequately recognised the importance of engaging professionals in the sector.
According to Adedoja, the politicisation of sports administration had contributed to a lack of continuity in government policies and programmes, making it difficult to achieve sustainable development in the sector.
He said, “Nigeria cannot make it in sports development unless it recognises the importance of employing people in this area for sports development.”
Adedoja, who was the pioneer Head of the Department of Physical and Health Education at BUK, also highlighted the growth of the department from a one-man unit to five departments, creating additional opportunities for students and graduates.
He encouraged students in the field to remain committed, stressing that their profession contributes to human capital development and national growth.
The President of NAPHER-SD, Prof. Florence Bola-Adeyanju, urged the government to strengthen its collaboration with the association to address challenges affecting sports development in Nigeria.
She said the conference was being held at a critical period when Nigeria and the international community were demanding greater transparency, integrity and accountability.
Bola-Adeyanju noted that physical education, health education, recreation, sports and dance remained important to human capital development and national wellbeing.
Representing the Vice-Chancellor of BUK, Prof. Haruna-Musa, the Dean, Faculty of Education, Dr Abubakar Ibrahim-Hassan, described the conference as historic and said its theme was timely.
He noted that transparency, integrity and accountability remained significant challenges in a society where these values had, in his view, suffered erosion.
