Olympic committee and the face of state power

No side in the month-old controversy over whether or not the sports minister, Sani David Ndanusa, is qualified to contest the presidency of the Nigeria Olympics Committee comes out looking pretty.

Indeed, Nigeria will continue its drive to obscurity in sports whether Habu Gumel, the incumbent or the ambitious Ndanusa takes over the job. It could, perhaps, get worse under Ndanusa who seems to have no ideas on how to develop sports in Nigeria. He can acquire all the titles and positions in sports, but the taste of the pudding is in the eating. What is the fate of table tennis where he has held forte for years? What has he done or achieved as chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC) that deludes him into considering acquiring more powers?

According to the sports minister, “if in eight years there is no progress in a section of sports in this country, there is need to make progress and that is the covenant I have signed with Nigerians to change the face of sports. In over eight years we have not won even a single medal and I think we need to make a change.” My ribs nearly cracked in derisive laughter on reading this statement from Ndanusa.

Gumel is not better

But Gumel comes out badly too. What has he done with two terms on the job that he wants a third? His loyalists argue that being a civil servant until a few months ago hindered his accomplishments. Was he not aware that he was still in service when he contested? Apart from being an outsider now, what else has changed?

Why did Gumel engage in a fight that he knew he would chicken out of at the first sight of state power? Did he not know that he would be undermined through his colleagues and subordinates?

When the National Sports Commission suspended Gumel as president of the Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF) for claiming that Ndanusa’s credentials are skewed, ten members of Volleyball Federation found their voices in the wake of Gumel’s suspension to endorse the commission’s decision.

Pray, which document is going to be tampered with at the Federation that has bearing on Ndanusa’s eligibility to contest National Olympic Committee election to prompt Gumel’s suspension?

Is it not laughable that the Commission set up a panel to investigate the allegation of forgery made by the Olympic Committee against Ndanusa? A party being a judge in its case? What are the security agencies for?

Assuming that committee is wrong, is that why National Sports Commission should waste tax payers’ money on an unnecessary panel? Why did Ndanusa not cause the Confederation of African Tennis (CAT) to write to NOC and copy the minister stating the true position on when he was first elected Vice President of the confederation? Consequently, the minister could make the information public.

Ndanusa’s next move

The way Ndanusa is going, do not be surprised if the next move is a probe of the tenure of Gumel as director of facilities at the sports commission either by another investigating panel or by the security agencies.

Are the members of the investigating panel sitting for free? Perhaps, no. Funds would be expended on this frivolous exercise, yet they often claim to be short of funds to address challenges in sports. It is the same Commission that gives Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) a quarterly allocation of N250, 000 (that is, one million naira for a year.) Indeed, other federations get between N50, 000 and N150, 000 per quarter.

It is heartening that Nigerians know that this farce is driven by the personal interests of the combatants; and not in pursuit of sporting excellence. For those who think Ndanusa is a new broom, let it be known that Gumel and Ndanusa are complicit in our descent to sporting mediocrity as the sports minister has been Gumel’s deputy at the Nigeria Olympic Committee for the past eight years.

One solution, which I endorse, was offered by Daily Trust’s Orluka Shagee who argued that “a situation where the NOC which is supposed to be independent of government control and financially self-reliant depends on government allocation to carry out its functions is unacceptable. To this end, the private sector should be given greater percentage of the seats on the NOC board for them to come with their resources to help develop the sector. This would also allow them monitor spending in the board, unlike the current situation where allocations to the body are never monitored and questioned.”