The Dikko challenge, by Patrick Omorodion

A fashionable African proverb says that erstwhile the Agama lizard falls from a height, it nods to praise itself for the achievement.

It doesn’t hold for applause from those who whitethorn beryllium watching from adjacent quarters similar it was done precocious astatine the World Championships successful Tokyo erstwhile Swedish rod vaulter, Arnmand Duplantis erstwhile again broke his ain satellite grounds aft scaling a caller tallness of 6.30 meters (20 feet, 8 inches).

The applause from the spectators astatine the arena was deafening arsenic it was his 14th satellite grounds successful the sport.

Bringing this person home, the president of the Cycling Federation of Nigeria, CFN, Engr. Giadomenico Masari and his colleagues connected the Board did not person to behave similar the Agama lizard successful aforesaid praise.

This is due to the fact that the enactment they person enactment successful making cycling 1 of the astir talked astir sports successful the state person not gone unnoticed by Nigerians and those saddled with the work of overseeing each the sports federations especially.

While inaugurating the caller committee of the CFN elected past Sunday successful the league country of the National Sports Commission, NSC, the chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko connected Monday praised Engr. Masari and his squad for a seamless predetermination wherever determination was nary throwing of chairs with protests and pending appeals.

He said those who suffer elections should not bring the federation down arsenic they could inactive lend to the improvement of the athletics without being connected the board.

What the NSC president didn’t cognize oregon didn’t privation to speech astir is the relation those enactment successful complaint to oversee sports play successful the situation that greets federation elections successful the past.

Unlike helium and the Director-General, Hon. Bukola Olopade, who are not imposing candidates connected the Congresses of sports federations, the contiguous past men astatine the helm, Solomon Dalung and Sunday Dare who are politicians, ne'er allowed federations, particularly those which person their ain constitution, to signifier their ain elections.

That was wherefore Basketball and Athletics had turbulent elections successful 2017 and 2021 which affected the athletics negatively arsenic it caused immoderate unpleasant scenes astatine the past 2 Olympics the state attended successful Tokyo and Paris.

Apart from providing an enabling situation for the elections to clasp without rancour, which helium praised the Cycling Federation for, Mallam Dikko reminded Masari and his squad of the request to absorption much connected grassroot improvement than information astatine planetary competitions.

He emphasized that the absorption shouldn’t beryllium connected winning medals due to the fact that “we are nary longer competition-driven but development-driven. Don’t absorption connected planetary tournaments, spot much accent connected home tournaments that volition nutrient athletes from the grassroots that would present warrant that our information successful planetary competitions is sustainable and competitory astatine each times”.

The NSC brag passed a connection to sports federations that are presently going done elections for a four-year mandate adjacent though helium was addressing the cycling radical that helium had already fixed a walk mark.

And the connection was this: “Yes, we similar the medals but I volition beryllium happier if you triumph these medals with the athletes discovered successful these section tournaments and we besides supply athletes that volition proceed to predominate abroad.

The CFN Board which has ne'er wholly ignored nationalist competitions took Dikko’s situation earnestly and deed the crushed moving a fewer hours aft their inauguration to make 11 Commissions with which it hopes to recognize the mandate acceptable for sports successful the existent dispensation of President Bola Tinubu.

One of the Commissions is the Grassroot Development Commission which is aimed astatine taking cycling to schools, superior and secondary, wherever budding talents abound.

The Dikko situation decidedly volition deed the shot and hoops federations hardest due to the fact that these 2 bodies judge much successful utilizing finished products based extracurricular the state than the ones they are expected to observe astatine location and groom to stardom.

The worst is the hoops federation which hasn’t had a moving section league for the elite men’s clubs for rather immoderate clip now. They tally an abridged league for the women, due to the fact that of a dedicated sponsor which has stayed enactment due to the fact that of their emotion for the athletics and not due to the fact that of the organisational quality of the existent acceptable of administrators.

Recently the elder women’s hoops team, the D’Tigresses won a 5th consecutive Afrobasket rubric which the authorities celebrated. Unfortunately those who person failed to harness the imaginable of the crippled astatine the section level are beating their chest, claiming the glory erstwhile they didn’t lend ...