The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, has called on more collaborative engagements as it partners with the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) to achieve unity and growth in Africa, as well as enhance sports and diplomacy in Nigeria.
Speaking at the first Sports Diplomacy Colloquium organised by the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development in collaboration with NIIA in Lagos, Dare highlighted the positives in working with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and other collaborators.
“Sports defines a nation’s story, and the last three years have been amazing,” Dare said. “Working with the NFF and other collaborators, we see a new positive trend in our sports.”
The Minister reiterated that since the government of President Muhammadu Buhari reclassified sports as a business, it has anchored on three principles; sports as as infrastructure, investment and initiatives to compete favourably with other sectors of the economy.
Dare also said that sports should be introduced to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and areas of conflict for the overall development of the country.
“I have read several accounts and seen several videos coming from our IDPs even from the efforts made by Governor Zulum where in the IDPs and the camps, someone just simply went with ten balls and before you knew it they have formed five different teams,” Dare added.
“They were playing five-aside football and some were playing badminton. We have seen that some of these activities draw these young men away from the battlefield to come and play football.”
Director-General of the NIIA, Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, President, Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick; and former international, Ambassador Segun Odegbami have called for Sports Diplomacy for the overall socio-economic development of the country.
In his heartwarming welcome remarks, Prof. Osaghae, said sports diplomacy enhances peace and togetherness. He also highlighted that Nigeria is one of the leading sporting powers on the continent and the world.
“In all parts of the world and in all sporting events, there are Nigerians who are making their marks,” Osaghae said.
“Even without us saying, they are already ambassadors of Nigeria. So, what we are saying first is to see how we can harness this tool and strengthen the capacities.”
Ambassador Odegbami, expressed how new developments in sports and diplomacy can reunite Nigeria and Africa. He called for a policy redirection and charting a new thinking through sports and diplomacy.
- Read more: NIIA Launches Sports Diplomacy Project
Other guests included Prof. Ikaweba Bunting, Director, Department of Unity for the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation in Tanzania; Ron Davis, international sports facilitator and administrator; and Ron Freeman, 1968 Olympic double medalist and diplomat.
They have all extensively dwelled on examining and illustrating the advantages of Sports Diplomacy and Sport for Development approaches in Nigeria.
Prof. Bunting advised the NIIA to champion the quest for African unity using the continent’s athletes in the Diaspora, who can be used as global diplomats.
“A couple of weeks ago, two Nigerian mixed martial arts champions, Israel Adesanya and Kamoru Usman made the continent proud by their refusal to go against each other,” Bunting said.
“It is better to have two Nigerians with one championship each than one Nigerian with two championships because we are brothers, we are united.”
Bunting also highlighted the effect of Senegal’s victory at the last Africa Cup of Nations to further stress his point.
“Just imagine after Senegal’s victory, they come together to tell Africa to unite for peace and prosperity and drop the guns,” Bunting added. “If every single one of them do that, the message will go out all over the world.”
According to Bunting, Africa would be the most prosperous continent in the world if it unites, adding that unity will usher in peace and political stability to the people.
