After his Supreme Court victory last month, I found it necessary to join the millions of the people of Kano state and well-wishers elsewhere to congratulate Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for his success and also pray for his success throughout his tenures.
It is furthermore necessary to intimate His Excellency on all the problems impeding sports and its embarrassing decline in sports and how to probably address all of them.
To successively achieve this, I thoroughly and carefully studied the state of sports in the state and at the end I discovered all the ills that surrounded and encumbered it. This has no doubt a factor which refused it to develop in the state.
It is also the one that hampered the state from being in the league of best sports states in the federation.
Thus, sports, besides being a provider of employment, also provide one of the best ways through which the goal of total growth and development can be achieved and this makes it an important part of every man’s life because it contributes to his or her physical health.
That is why sports has been discovered to be part of man’s life because the biological nature of man has made it mandatory for him to engage in one form of physical activity or the other from birth to death.
Therefore, sports have a number of benefits which I will serially itemized and explained as follows: –
*Physical Benefits: Participating in sports can help one to stay physically active, which is crucial for him or her to stay healthy. It also helps the people to stay fit, reduce the risk of obesity and other chronic health conditions.
Regular physical activity also helps the people to develop coordination, strength, and flexibility, as well as increase stamina and overall physical endurance.
*Mental Benefits: In addition to the above benefits, sports can help students develop critical mental skills. Sports teach people how to work together as a unit to achieve a common goal, leading to greater teamwork, collaboration, and leadership skills.
It also improves students’ decision-making skills, boosting their confidence and self-worth.
*Social Relationship Benefits: – Participating in sports helps the people to build relationships and build higher self-esteem.
*Education & Careers Benefits: – A career in sports offers diverse opportunities beyond just playing on the field. As sportsmen and women who are marvelous at sports can use it to their advantage and get scholarships for higher education.
Sir, sports also have a great impact on our personal lives. It allows us to learn, discipline and stay focused and motivated toward our goals.
Health wise, sports can also help to reduce the risk of several non-communicable and age-related diseases as sports activities have positive effects on health. And better health may be associated with higher productivity.
Consequently, sporty people may have higher earnings and wages than those that are not. And developing sports is like developing the people. mastering any sports can also lead individuals to become professional athletes and play for their nation as well.
From the above, it is certain that sports are important for a nation’s development and growth because they help foster a sense of national pride and unity among citizens. It also helps to instill values such as determination, discipline, and respect for others.
Through sports, people learn to work together as a team and strive for excellence. Playing sports can also have physical and mental health benefits, such as improved strength, balance, and coordination, as well as the development of problem-solving and leadership skills.
Sports have a powerful economic impact as well, creating jobs and generating income through ticket sales, merchandise, and sponsorships.
Additionally, sports can be used to promote social change and raise awareness of important issues such as health, education, and gender equality.
Overall, sports are an essential part of any nation’s development and growth. They provide citizens with an opportunity to come together, celebrate their shared culture, and work together towards common goals. At the same time, sports nurture a sense of responsibility and build character through dedication, focus, and discipline.
Therefore, through sports, nations can improve the physical and mental health of their citizens, promote economic growth, and create a more harmonious society.
That is why sports are always an integral part of general education and the advantages derived from sports are numerous and beneficial to man’s existence.
From the above, the governor of Kano state can see and understand the importance of sports in any society and the need to develop it.
Therefore, His Excellency, the governor of Kano state needs to look at the Problems facing Sports Development in Kano State and address them.
The first problem according to my findings is that of administration and management which is bedeviling and constituting a big hindrance to the development of sports all over the state, be it Kano Pillars football club, Kano State Sports Commission or Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.
But the parastatals or ministry listed above have their peculiar problems which could be due to so many factors.
Number one factor in the series of problems that is hindering their development is the lack of qualified personnel in key sports administrative positions such, General Manager, Directors, Head of Departments/Units (Secretariat, Account, Audit and Stores etc.).
The second according to my understanding and findings is the absence of qualified technical personnel (Technical Crew/Coaches) in the parastatal or the ministry.
The next is the wrong appointment or assignment of unqualified and unproductive personnel in sports positions at the various sporting parastatals.
The issue of long overstayed personnel in sports positions at parastatals and lack of adequate funding visa-vie poor management or mismanagement of available sports funds is yet another topic.
Lack of sports development programs and poor organization of sports events are another failure in Kano sports which is the main factor that is resulting in brain drain in Kano’s sports especially technical personnel with no possible or easy replacement.
And to address these, I recommend the following actions to be taken to save sports from collapsing in Kano state.
In Kano Pillars Football Club for instance, I recommend a part-time chairmanship position for the club with about fifteen (15) board members to dictate the affairs of the club.
A General Manager who is going to be chief executive (CEO) of the club should be appointed. This is the convention anywhere in the country.
There is also the need for key Administrative positions to be appointed/assigned for secretariat, account, audit, stores sections of the club for proper accountability.
Appointment of qualified Technical Crew/Coaches for the club is another important thing to do.
There is also a need to provide working guidelines/standing orders for the club as at present there are none. The State Assembly should be contacted for an Edict for running the club.
The government also needs to provide a permanent office secretariat to the club to stop the management from roaming about.
To shun bureaucratic bottlenecks, the management of the club needs to be reporting directly to the office of His Excellency, the Executive Governor of the state.
In the Kano State Sports Commission, the Executive Chairmanship position for the commission should be retained and appoint eight (8) board members to work together with the Executive Chairman of the commission.
Administrative secretary’s position should also be retained for the commission but should be a well learned and experienced person and more administrative positions/divisions to be created for the commission.
The commission also is in need of more qualified technical crew/coaches to discover and train players or athletes.
The government needs to redesign the commission’s secretariat as the present structure is old and dilapidated. The new structure will also house more offices.
For the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, the government needs to retain it as the ministry of sports is currently in practice in all states of the federation.
There is a need for a commissioner to be appointed in the ministry so that sports can be fully represented in the State Executive Council.
As the present administration in the state prioritizes youth and sports, as the ministry, it is good that a commissioner be appointed to formulate youth and sports policies in the state, while the other agencies are the implementers.
There is also the need for the appointment of a youth who is conversant with the intricacies of youth and sports to serve as the Honorable Commissioner.
Sir, these if well implemented will no doubt transform our fledgling and undeveloped sports into something else.
Allah yasa a gama lafia, ameen.