By Sani Mohammed Zaria (SWAN President, 1996 – 2002)
The appointment of Tukur Babangida as the Executive Chairman of the Kano State Sports Commission presents a defining moment for the future of sports in Kano. It is an opportunity not only to revive structures, but to reimagine a system that can restore Kano’s position as one of Nigeria’s foremost sporting states.
Babangida’s advantage is his deep understanding of the Kano sports environment. He is not an outsider coming to study the terrain; he is a participant in the history of Kano’s sporting evolution. As a former Director of Sports, Chairman of the Management Committee of Kano Pillars, and an active figure who represented Kano at state and national levels, he carries with him institutional memory and practical experience.
More importantly, he was part of the era inspired by the late Ibrahim Galadima — an era many consider a golden period in Kano sports administration. Galadima’s approach was anchored on vision, organisation, discipline, talent development, and purposeful investment. The challenge before Babangida is to preserve that foundation while creating a new model suitable for the realities of modern sports.
The first assignment should be a comprehensive Kano State Sports Stakeholders Summit. Before policies are announced and projects launched, there must be a clear understanding of where Kano sports stands today. Former athletes, coaches, administrators, sports associations, schools, private investors, and other stakeholders should come together to answer fundamental questions: What worked in the past? What went wrong? What opportunities exist? And where does Kano want to be in five, ten, or twenty years?
Such a gathering will provide the blueprint for a sustainable sports development agenda.
One of the biggest challenges will be breaking away from the mindset that Kano sports is only about football. Kano Pillars remains a major sporting brand and deserves continued support, but a truly successful sports system must be much wider.
Athletics, basketball, boxing, volleyball, handball, martial arts, and traditional sports must receive serious attention. Kano has enormous human talent, but talent without structure, coaching, facilities, and opportunities will remain undiscovered potential.
The state’s sports facilities must also receive urgent attention. Modern sports require modern environments. Stadiums, training grounds, indoor facilities, and community sporting centres must be renovated and equipped to meet contemporary standards. These facilities become centres for both elite performance and grassroots development.
Another major priority must be the complete reengineering of inter-secondary school sports competitions. The greatest sporting nations invest heavily in school sports because that is where future champions are discovered. Kano must rebuild a school sports system that is regular, competitive, professionally managed, and connected to higher levels of sporting development.
The administration must also embrace professionalism. Sports associations and programmes should be managed by people with technical competence, integrity, and measurable targets. The era of treating sports management as a purely administrative exercise must give way to a performance-driven approach.
Babangida must also guard against the temptation of focusing only on immediate successes. Winning trophies is important, but building a system that continuously produces athletes, coaches, and administrators is even more important.
The true measure of success will be seen in how many young Kano talents emerge, how many sporting disciplines regain strength, how many facilities become functional, and how Kano athletes compete nationally and internationally.
The shadow of Ibrahim Galadima’s contribution remains a reminder of what purposeful leadership can achieve. Babangida now has the rare privilege of building on that legacy and taking Kano sports into another era of greatness.
The assignment is enormous, but the foundation is strong.
