FG to Prioritise Entertainment, Culture in Sports Development, Says Minister
Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh has said the federal government would place entertainment and culture at the forefront of sports development in Nigeria.
This was even as the Chairman/ CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri- Erewa, stressed that sports development in Nigeria would go a long way if those in the Diaspora are carried along through knowledge-sharing, expertise, skills and investment in the sector.
Speaking at a reception ceremony organised by NiDCOM for the National Basketball Association (NBA) legends, “Lisa Leslie and Chinenye Ogwumike” in Abuja on Tuesday, Enoh said: “It is not just about their talent but collaborating cultural exchange; sport sector will not have made significant improvement without combination of entertainment and culture of our people and I am here to promote that.”
The Minister said both legends were in Nigeria to provide invaluable guidance to reinforce cultural, social, political, and economic ties between the United States and Africa, and promote trade, investment, and educational exchanges between the United States and Africa.
He said, “Beyond football we have several sports: What I am trying to do is balance that beyond football, we have other sports, this is not about football therefore, this is about basketball.
“I am glad this is happening now that the U.S. President considered this as best time to send Leslie and Chiney to three African countries, it is good Nigeria is listed among the three.
“In terms of the NBA and the
Women’s NBA (WNBA), Nigeria performing talents have been incredible, notably in the increase of talents and their contribution.”
NBA, a professional basketball league in North-America is composed of 30-teams, as major sports league in the U.S. and Canada. It is considered the premier basketball league in the world.
Leslie and Chiney are members of the inaugural President Joe Biden’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement in the United States.
Also speaking at the reception, the Chairman/CEO, of NiDCOM, commended Leslie and Chiney for their passion to grow sport talents in Africa, describing the likes of Leslie and Ogwumike as strategic and important for the advancement in sports development in Nigeria since they were embedded with skills and resources to groom home-grown talents as a way of volunteerism and giving back to Nigeria.
She noted that there would be lots of engagement with the duo to promote growth of sports talent not just in Nigeria, but Africa at large.
She added: “We believe as Africans you are diasporas, if we cannot make Africa the way it should be as a continent, the world will continue to look down on us as black people.
“So, it doesn’t matter where you are, let us do all we can for the beauty and benefit of this continent.
“We will continue to engage with you and we hope that the NBA Vice-President Africa, Gbemisola Abudu will do a lot more while here in Nigeria.”
On her part, Abudu said since the establishment of the Council in Nigeria in 2022, there had been no opportunities to have the NBA legends in the country.
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