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SPORTS MINISTER’S BOLD PERSPECTIVES ON SPORTS

Published

1 month ago

August 19, 2024

FELICIA OBY NWOKORIE

The Minister of Sports Development, Sen. John Owan Enoh, who completes one year in office this August, has given a glimpse of his thoughts for better sports outings in future. This is germane, considering the pains expressed by Nigerians who had hoped and yearned for medals at the just concluded Olympics.

Nigerians were quick to recall the previous epic achievements of Nigeria in international outings such as athletics, boxing, football, wrestling, weightlifting etc, climaxed with two gold medals in Atlanta 96. Sports has always proved a panacea to stress situations and has brought enormous joy to Nigerians who relish our youths standing on the podium of Honour, our flag fluttering in the wind and having our National Anthem rendered.

Admitting that Nigeria should have done better, he gave bold indication of going the whole hog to find the causes of the poor performance of the athletes and promised that he would take a critical look at the configuration of the professional and operational systems that produce the sportsmen and women for Nigeria.

In an outstanding act of courage and responsibility, the Hon Minister admitted and apologized that the performances of our athletes were below expectation. He pleaded with sports loving Nigerians to give him time to restructure sports and to dispassionately X-ray the immediate and long time actions that affected the performances of the athletes.

The Hon Minister though not being a “sports professional” as some people say, he fully understands that sporting activities are purely technical. He knows too that for any administrator to be credited as expected, he needs time to really understand the most challenging areas that require urgent concentration, as well as have due support from stakeholders to enable him succeed. He has put his heart and soul in this and he is evidently succeeding.

Happily the Hon Minister is an astute, result-oriented administrator, and has pronounced his commitment to a reinvigorated sports sector. In that regard, one of the areas the Minister and the management of the Sports Sector should draw advantage from is the cesspool of welcome ideas of the Sports Writers Association (SWAN) which should be distilled.

Stakeholders and sports veterans should embrace the eagerness of the Hon Minister, and make contributions and suggestions that will help to change the negative assertions following the outing in Paris 2024 to a positive assertion that will lead to better performance which can supersede that of the glorious event of 1996.

Only a coalescing of honest postulations by formidable team players and stakeholders at a time like this can affect positive changes in the development of sports as well as correct the shortcomings or irregularities that hinder progress, before the commencement of next championship. The Hon Minister as usual, is open to all well meaning contributions.

On the budget of N12 billion attributed to the Olympics, the reactions are basically reactionary and have not actually been holistic, not reckoning with all aspects of the expenditure cost lines. Under the strict watch of the Minister, Nigeria had a glorious outing that showcased 88 athletes who indeed represented the country. Desirous as medals are, people should not lose sight of the financial implications of this money.

Even though no medal was brought to the country, not a single athlete has complained of not being paid his/her allowances as deserved, which is way ahead of what used to happen in the past. Commendably, none of the athletes got stranded or became unable to depart safely to their various destinations, as used to obtain in the past.

The write ups and hard knocks from most Nigerians, especially the media, is commendable showing that they have their eyes daily on the update of sporting activities and that they mean well for Nigeria. Meanwhile the situation has exposed to the Hon. Minister, critical areas that require him and the SWAN to forge a closer relationship.

As the Minister approaches the critical bend of one year in office, and his Permanent Secretary barely five months, what they need now is activate seasoned sectoral inputs as nations of the world start earnestly to prepare their teams for the next Olympics. Four years is only a number and is already knocking at the doors. Please Let us not allow misdirection and possibly wrong advice from any quarters destabilize us.

As we look forward to preparing for the forthcoming event slated to hold in Los Angeles, all eyes should now be focused on the Federations and all the stakeholders to ensure that they do not dissipate their energies in distractive squabbles that could harm Nigeria’s overall sporting interest and fortunes.

Those criticizing the Hon Minister should take a look back, and give him plaudits for frugality and keen financial management. His tenure has not recorded what critics used to call sports jamborees. But Sen. Enoh since assumption of duty has occupied himself with paying off debts that were part of the causes of instability in the Federations.

Certainly under this present sports administration, Nigeria will overcome whatever militating circumstances that affected sports management in recent times. A trip around the Abiola National Stadium is an eye witness to ongoing projects that are part of the mandate of the Minister to get all the staff to be domiciled in the stadium for easy management of both the staff and infrastructure therein.

Finally, as the Honorable Minister braces to take tough ameliorative actions, let the voices of Nigerians be loudly raised on the Athletic Federation of Nigeria ( AFN), the Federation Presidents, NOC and all who are given mandates, to embrace synergy for better coordination for the nation’s sporting victory rather than exhibiting the present greater interest in qualification more than of the podium finish.

Please Nigerians, let us be more focused on the Paralympic athletes as their games become imminent and wish them good luck. Let us congratulate the Basketball Female team whose coach was honoured as the best Female Coach in Olympic Games. The Paralympic Games have always brought us Honours in the past and hopefully would do so again.

FELICIA OBY NWOKORIE
PRESS OFFICER, SPORTS DEVELOPMENT.

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RMRDC: Making Giant Strides Under Prof. Nnanyelugo Martins Ike-Muonso

Published

11 hours ago

September 19, 2024

The Gleamer

By Joel Ajayi

As we embark on a journey, we always pray for an able, experienced, and courageous driver, pilot, or sailor depending on the means of transportation.

This is because the captain will have enough experience and boldness to navigate out of turbulence and to bring all the passengers and crew to the intended destination.

Interestingly, these fine qualities of ability, experience, boldness, and many more, abound in the man, Prof. Nnanyelugo Martins Ike-Muonso, who we all are pleased was appointed the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, RMRDC, the Director General/CEO by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu a few months ago. This is because he has brought his knowledge, ability, experience, and doggedness to bear in carrying out his assignment in charge of the Council.

The RMRDC, operating under the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology, is pivotal in driving Nigeria’s industrial growth by optimizing local raw materials exploitation, development, and utilization. RMRDC, ab initio, was conceived as a child of necessity when Nigeria was reeling from the throes of global recession and plummeting crude oil prices.

Without an iota of doubt, today, the council is experiencing a transformation with massive innovation in raw material exploitation, development, and utilization, supporting business and industrial growth, and contributing to Nigeria’s economic prosperity.

Speaking during a press briefing on Tuesday, in Abuja to commemorate his 100 days in office, he said the council is laying a solid foundation through numerous innovations that will further enhance growth in the country.

According to him, “In the past 100 days, my strategic pursuits have been to lay solid foundations for enduring success in these goals.

“Upon assuming this position, I set five crucial deliverables which include, refocusing the Council as a premier research institution; Strengthening the Council’s productivity and operational efficiency; and Significantly improving the staff welfare to be the best in the class of similar organizations.

“Others include, Boosting the Council’s visibility and instituting remarkable culture change that encourages ownership and productivity as well as Strengthening and deepening the Council’s place in the international arena.”While speaking on his Achievements so far, the DG revealed further: “My first task, therefore, was to implement a strategic goal-setting for the Council’s staff to define and set out clear objectives and targets to be achieved by the Council within a specified period towards refocusing on this historical mandate. We unleashed five significant initiatives in that regard.

“The nationwide raw material data collection exercise that focused on technical and investment information to drive our mission forward.

“The restructuring and renaming of the former Technology Innovation Complex (TIC), at the Obasanjo Space Center at Airport Road, Abuja, to a Research and Demonstration Plants Complex (RDPC). This complex will be Africa’s first center of excellence in raw material research, featuring state-of-the-art laboratories, technology development workshops, and proof of concept demonstrations.

“We have reactivated the Council’s Journal and repositioned it internationally. The repositioned Journal of Raw Material Research (JORMAR) will host RMRDC’s researchers’ publications, which are crucial in promoting awareness, facilitating knowledge sharing, and informing stakeholders about the opportunities and challenges in Nigeria’s raw materials sector. “The collaboration with universities and academies will strengthen our capacity for conducting market-guided research, ensuring sustained workforce training while deepening our orientation in science.

“The council has reformulated a new template for all our research proposals to ensure and sustain a clear departure from the old culture of blue-sky and deliberately endless research.”Speaking further, Prof Nwanyelugo Martins Ike-Muonso stated that Staff welfare remains a top priority as an issue of unpaid salaries is settled as well as set up a comprehensive welfare program. “Similarly, we established the RMRDC Training School to sustainably build our staff and stakeholders’ capacity to further the staff welfare improvement goal.

“We are committed to openness, inclusiveness, and performance management and have initiated steps to continuously improve staff ownership, orchestrate transformative culture change, boost our corporate visibility, and enhance.

“To further strengthen our visibility and communication strategies, we are upgrading our media infrastructure, which includes the launch of the RMRDC online media platform, The RMRDC TV Online.

“Additionally, we are working hard to effectively enhance the intellectual property and patent portfolio of RMRDC from its current 40 to approximately 200 new patents within the next 24 months. This proactive approach secures valuable IP assets and positions the Council as a leader in innovation within the raw materials sector, contributing to Nigeria’s overall economic growth.“As well as launching an e-registration and certification portal to enhance transparency in the raw materials sector,” DG revealed.

He however reaffirmed his commitment to reshape the future of research, technology, and innovation, driving Nigeria towards an industrially vibrant and technologically resilient economy.

“As I mark 100 days in office, I boldly say that the Council is on the verge of rewriting its history.

“I believe that in no distant future, RMRDC will play a leading role in enhancing raw materials’ development to boost raw materials’ industrial trial processing and attain sustainable industrial growth in Nigeria.

The DG, however, applauded the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, for his unwavering support and mentorship, saying the Minister’s leadership has been instrumental in the progress made so far.

In his opening remarks, the Directorate of Corporate Affairs, Mr Chucks Ngaha commended the hard-working DG who has weathered the storm further to put the Council on the ladder of more prosperity.

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