NSC Raises Red Flag on Nigeria’s Paralympics
The National Sports Commission (NSC) has formally admitted that Nigeria’s acclaimed recognition as a global force in para sports was heading for the rocks.
Nigeria has risen on the back of the gallantry of its physically challenged athletes to improve her medal haul in major sporting fiestas like the All Africa Games, Commonwealth Games and Paralympics Games.
But NSC Director General, Alhassan Yakmut, conceded yesterday that the recent declaration of Nigeria by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a polio free nation would hamper the country’s recruitment policy for major sporting events.
His alarm was contained in a seminar paper he presented on Nigeria’s preparation for Rio 2016 Olympic Games as part of activities to mark the Sports Writers Association (SWAN) FCT Chapter Week.
Yakmut said since 90 percent of Nigeria’s para athletes are victims of polio disease, there is no guarantee that Nigeria would continue to hold on to its advantage with the eradication of the scourge from the country.
Comparatively, he noted that in other countries, it is only people who are victims of automobile and industrial accidents or other related traumas that are into para sports.
“With the eradication of polio in Nigeria, our para sport recruitment policy will be affected as 90 per cent of our para athletes are polio victims. We can’t cut corners on this. We have to invest in people,” observed Yakmut while painting a grim picture of Nigeria’s lack of preparedness to sustain the present advantage.
He similarly warned the public from expecting wonders at next year’s Olympic Games in Brazil. The NSC DG propounded that urgent interventions are required in several areas associated with the Games, where Nigeria is unfortunately not measuring up to task.
Some of the areas, according to him, include coaching, sports science and medicine and high performance.
“The NSC should be predicated on professionalism. Sport has gone beyond general curriculum. We can’t compete in sports science and medicine. Our research is not focused on the technique that helps in sports performance. We have a very deficient coaching development programme. Our coaches and officials are not exposed to contemporary training. We are also inadequately represented in international sports’’ he disclosed.
He said Nigeria should hire a set of good coaches before the Olympics to actualise her high performance objectives as the present High Performance Centre in the country is poorly equipped and not manned by a high performance director.