By Saidu Abubakar
National Sports Commission (NSC) Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko joined other Ministers of Sports in Africa, UNESCO Anti-Doping Convention officials, stakeholders and experts across the globe at the Interregional African Ministerial Meeting held in Banjul, Gambia on Tuesday.
The meeting discussed and reached agreements on steps to strengthen the governance of sports in Africa, fostering cooperation at the regional level, convergence for sports values, ethics and integrity, anti-doping programs while strategically positioning the continent in the global sports ecosystem.
This was contained in a statement by Ajayi Kehinde (Mrs), Director (information and PR) of the NSC.
Mallam Dikko was also among the panelists/selected speakers at the meeting and presented a paper titled “Building the Legacy of Major Sports Events” where he brought his almost three decades experience in the sector to bear. He shared Nigeria’s experience and NSC’s current objectives to attract hosting rights for major sports events as core part of the general vision to upgrade the nation’s sporting infrastructures, positively promote the country and enhance Nigeria’s global sporting prowess.
He further seized the platform during his presentation to outline and advance the ongoing structural and transformative reforms of Nigerian sports under the Renewed Hope Initiative for Nigeria’s Sports Economy (RHINSE), while outlining the strategic vision of RHINSE, deliberate steps being taken and the expected outcomes including RESETTING the structure of the sports ecosystem to transition from a competition-driven framework to a production-based, value-adding, development-oriented industry as well as making sports key part of the economic drivers in Nigeria in addition to its social impact.
It was a consensus among the entire meeting that Nigeria is on the right path. Hence they pledged unalloyed support to the process. They appreciated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the bold decisions and deliberately elevating sports development to the front burner in Nigeria by declaring it as a National Asset while providing unprecedented support and investment to drive its growth.
An elated Dikko pointed out the immense benefits of the meeting for Nigerian sports.
He said, “On the sidelines, I engaged the Director of WADA Africa, Mr. Rodney Swigelaar and the CEO of USA Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), Mr. Travis Tygard in relation to Nigeria’s quest to strengthen our anti-doping framework, providing updates on the status of the ongoing legislative work on the Nigeria Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) Bill including the proposal in the 2025 fiscal year to build a world class anti-doping lab in Nigeria to serve the whole of Africa to which both parties committed to providing all the necessary support and enablers to make the project a success. The WADA Africa delegation further committed to continuously support and engage with Nigeria to ensure all pending doping processes are strengthened and resolved soonest to ensure Nigeria is fully compliant.”
He continued, “I further engaged with Her Excellency Amb. Minata Samara Cessounma, the Africa Union Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development on the need to collaborate to upscale and enhance the operations of African Union Sports Council Region II which Nigeria is hosting the headquarters and leading the process. Preliminary exploratory discussions were also held to encourage Nigeria to consider making a bid to host the African Games 2031 among other collaborative initiatives between Nigeria and the Africa Union in advancing sports development in Africa.”
The meeting also had engagements with the Gambian President HE. Mr Adama Barrow and other senior Gambian officials including the Vice President and the Minister of Youth and Sports Mr. Bakary Badjie.
Dikko concluded thus, “The NSC will continue engaging with all stakeholders and colleagues across the globe in our quest to boost sports development in Nigeria hinged on sustainable frameworks and create a sports economy in Nigeria in line with the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tiinubu.”
