Nigeria’s Absentee Sports Minister

The year 2024 started as a harsh year for Nigeria. The biting marks of the fuel price subsidy removal appeared to grow deeper and every commodity seemed to be sold at twice its estimate in December. One bright patch for Nigerians was the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) hosted by Côte d’Ivoire. The Super Eagles performed really well, bringing pride to Nigerians everywhere. Except that the Sports Minister was nowhere to be found.

Netizens are still huffing and puffing over what they consider to be an unfair match during the 2023 AFCON finals. Losing to Cote d’Ivoire by a single goal (the match ended 2 – 1), the Super Eagles were the centre of attention, pity, and celebration. After the waves settled, people began to ask questions.

One repeated question revolved around the whereabouts of Nigeria’s Sports Minister, Senator John Enoh. It was during the heat of the arguments about how his absence might have demotivated the Super Eagles that observers found out that few Nigerians even know the minister’s name.

Enoh’s absence is quite sad because many dignitaries took the time to watch the games and celebrate the players. Even Enoh’s predecessor, Sunday Dare, was always in the stands, cheering the Super Eagles. Enoh, missing in action, cut a different figure compared to even busier government officials, raising the question about his qualifications to be sports minister in the first place.

Currently, netizens are questioning his appointment. The Cross River State-born politician is more of an academic than a sportsman, especially with his academic history at the University of Calabar. It was from this career that he sprung into politics and has held different positions in the Cross River State House of Assembly and Senate, none of which had anything to do with sports.

Maybe he is a closet sportsman or is still getting used to his position as the Minister of Sports Development. In any case, he needs to make necessary adjustments or lose his relevance.