THE WAIT IS NOW OVER
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on August 16th, 2023, finally assigned portfolios to the screened ministerial nominees, commencing the process for the implementation of the development agenda of the new government.
Overall, there seems to be a widespread feeling that the list is unreservedly marvelous in all its incarnations that it would take a fool, madman, or uniformed to raise any objections to it.
Yet, one area that has elicited negative opinions and comments is the sports ministerial nominee, Sen. John Owan Enoh. Sports experts and enthusiasts seem to find the choice of the sports minister unsettling. They are simply dazed or confused by the President’s choice. They argue, in part, that he is bereft of the requisite knowledge to administer over sports in the country, given his core area of expertise, agriculture. Yet, the president has made his choice. He has the prerogative, as per Section 147 of the Constitution, to appoint ministers and has exercised same, rightly or wrongly.
There is now the need for the new minister to set out a clear roadmap as to how he plans to run the ministry, with a view to assuage the concerns that have greeted his appointment. First, the minister would need to be inclined and open to learning the rudiments of sports administration.
Secondly, he would need to understand that nobody is an island of knowledge. Such a move would involve him recruiting a robust team of competent advisers, with proven track records of sports administration who will assist him in running the ministry. Finally, the minister would need to ensure proper corporation with all the different salient sports stakeholders, as a candle loses nothing by lighting another candle. Such a move would involve giving all sports stakeholders a seat on the table, as partners in the overall sports development process, and as knights in armour linking arms in cooperation to wrench the wheel of sports in Nigeria to a more favorable territory.
Kesiena Igho Oghoghorie is an Abuja -based Lawyer, Sports Policy & Development Expert
