Months after the completion of the National Para Games competition which was held in Abuja the Federal Capital of Nigeria, most of the officials that contributed to the success of the trip are yet to get their Daily Travelling Allowances.
And sadly the Kano State Sports Commission (KSSC) which was responsible for the trip is doing nothing to solve the situation.
In fact, to most of us the commission is the sole architect of the mess that put all those that took part of the Abuja trip to an untold hardship while in Abuja for the 2023 Para Games.
I could remember that the commission took a team of players, coaches, organizing secretaries, doctors, press, drivers, security etc to Abuja, the venue of the National Para Games without their DTA but with the promise of getting their pay on arrival.
But sadly, the commission did not redeem its promise of paying the entire team and that was how they played their matches up to the mid of the event empty handed with empty stomachs in the case of the players.
And that was how other officials like coaches, organizing secretaries, doctors, press, drivers, security etc suffered as they had nothing to feed, accommodate and even transport themselves to various centers.
Some of the family men who were supposed to leave something at home for the family’s upkeep didn’t send anything back home, an action which inflicted serious pains to them because there was nothing from the breadwinner.
That inhuman action put the entire Kano team into an indescribable hardship as some of them, especially those that do not or have anybody in Abuja, had to beg to eat and find where to sleep.
AAs I said before, instead of the commission to source for funds and do the needful to reduce the suffering of those people, they only told them that they were expecting funds from the government.
Regrettably, it was when the entire team disclosed the sad and inhuman situation they were in, the acting chairman of the sports commission spoke about the receipt of N9 million from the government before their departure to Abuja which he did not disclose.
It was also then that the acting chairman unfolded the total amount of money he requested which was 30 Million and the amount released.
Most of us thought that the commission would swing into action and source for the money and pay on their return from Abuja but sadly they failed.
As expected my brethren in the pen profession that accompanied the team to Abuja that also suffered started complaining in their various sports programs which made the acting chairman to quickly sourced for the money and paid only them together with players.
The acting chairman did not see any reason to pay all but selected the two mentioned above and paid thereby exempting organizing secretaries, coaches, doctors, drivers etc. from payment. What type of leadership was that?
Most of us see the selective payment of the athletes and the press crew as an act of bribery to shut the mouth of the press.
The acting chairman needs to know or be educated that if not of the presence and contributions, of those he sees as nothing, the journey to Abuja would not be possible.
As I stated in my previous write ups, it was the organizing secretary which the commission saw as not worthy to get their pay that discovered the coaches.
And the coaches that discovered or recruited the players or the athletes the commission is pampering and prioritizing over every other member. So if they didn’t do their work, the commission will not get the athletes to be prioritized.
The doctors that were part of the team have their usefulness too, which the commission did not see or recognized. We know how important the medical team is to any society or environment.
The drivers, security and other members of the team too had their various contributions which the acting chairman must recognized.
We all know that the acting chairman has many alternatives to source for funds and pay all those that contributed to the success of the Abuja trip.
The acting chairman can borrow and pay since the approval for the trip was given by the governor, His Excellency Engr Abba Kabir Yusuf.
The acting chairman should have used all the money the commission is getting from Indoor Hall, Ado Bayero Square, Kano Pillars Stadium, Sani Abacha Stadium etc and be paying gradually.
I don’t think keeping silent and doing nothing will help.