By Olajide Ayodeji Fashikun
I used to know that when journalists publish this kind of government correspondences, there will be trouble.
If this trouble will bring trouble and solution after, the journalist will normally for the sake of society’s progress offer to go through the cols of hell.
Somebody, (may God bless him) gave me this document. I read through over and again and concluded, “We are better than the Bourbons of France”
You want to ask me about the Bourbons? They never learnt from history and forgot nothing to history!
Please read through this letter. Had these wonderful ideas been implemented, would Nigeria have been scavenging for even a bronze in London?
See why we failed in London here. I will bring out the rest.
21st March 2004
The Honourable Minister of Sports and Social Development
Federal Ministry of Sports
Abuja
Through: The Permanent Secretary
Through: The Director of Sports Development
Dear Sir
RE: SPONSORSHIP OF GERMAN AND CUBAN COACHES FOR THE ATHLETICS FEDERATION OF NIGERIA
Further to the series of discussion with the Director of Sports Development, Professor Dubberke, Coach Peter Thum, The Cuban Embassy, etc.
I wish to formally apply for technical assistance from the German and/or the Cuban Governments to assist our Nigerian coaches, particularly the coaches in the six geo political zones to update their technical knowledge of the sport of athletics
The German and Cuban Governments will sponsor these coaches in terms of their salary and benefits while Nigeria is to provide local accommodation and allowances. It is instructive to point out at this stage that the AFN had foreign coaches here in the past from countries like, Germany, United States of America and Cuba
We have pointed out in other correspondences to the Ministry of Sports that our technical expertise in coaching and officiating has been neglected over the years. Nigerian coaches have largely relied on travels sponsored by the Sports Ministry and a few slots allocated by quota by the AAC/IAAF
In such circumstance those sponsored rarely venture out of their hotel rooms or the Nigerian Camps with the result that our knowledge and networking is almost zero
In our estimation this efforts has not been enough to cater for a country like Nigeria with a massive population. The same slot AAC/IAAF gives Nigeria with a population of over 120 million is the same slot it gives to Bahamas with a population of 170,000 people.
To underscore the seriousness of the situation for example, the AFN brought in Mr. John Velzian The IAAF Regional Center Director in Nairobi Kenya to Nigeria in 2002 to train about 30 (thirty) Nigerian technical officials in modern and up to date officiating techniques – if we had relied on IAAF quota of one slot a year it would have taken Nigeria 30 years to achieve the same results we achieved in one year
In addition, to the direct benefits these foreign coaches will bring to Nigeria in terms of technical knowledge, they will also be a credible point of contact and magnate for the very many international support and sponsorship programmes Nigeria has been missing due to lack of credibility, transparency and accountability
Furthermore the presence of these expatriate coaches will help Nigeria to sow the seeds of Sports Business as is currently practiced in place in places like Kenya, Ethiopia, etc. so that we can attract more local and international participation and sponsorship in Nigeria athletics camps and programmes
We know the Government cannot develop sports alone and that is the reason why we are trying our utmost best to lean on our international contacts and private resources to leverage the best we can because Nigeria has one of the greatest potentials in athletics close to if not better than that of the United States of America
In this regard, I, Dan Ngerem will take the responsibility of the local needs of these expatriate coaches for as long as they are in Nigeria; these will include their accommodation, mobility and local allowances as my own contribution to Sports Development in Nigeria
Athletics fortunes is fast dwindling in the country to the extent that in an Olympic year a big country like Nigeria has only two athletes in the top ten, three in the top twenty and about six in the top fifty in the IAAF world ranking and it has been like that for years well before the present board of the AFN was constituted
We, in the AFN believe that we can correct this ugly trend for the future if we start NOW! to take corrective measures with an eye to turn things around by the next Olympics
We hope that the Ministry of Sports will give this programme the urgency it deserves so that we can begin to lay the foundations of returning Nigeria to it’s pre eminent position in the near future
Already we have submitted all the necessary documents to the Sports Ministry for ease of reference and coordination
With best sporting regards
Dan Ngerem
President
Olajide Ayodeji Fashikun is of National Trail newspaper, A