30th September, 2010
As Nigeria marks her 50th anniversary as an independent nation tomorrow, officials in the sports sector are also rolling out the drums to celebrate what they described as five decades of average sporting excellence.
The Sports Minister, Ibrahim Bio says there is reason to celebrate Nigerian sports, especially now that the country’s athletes are featuring at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
In Bio’s assessment of the country’s sports in the past 50 years, football, athletics, boxing and other events have brought honours to Nigeria and the minister believes the sector can be better.
Also speaking about the anniversary, the former Sports Minister, Samaila Sambawa pointed at the recent flop of Nigerian athletes at international championships as an anomaly.
He blamed the neglect of grassroots development for the lull in Nigerian sports, warning that something drastic must be done to guarantee the future of sports in the country.
Coach Samson Siasia, who led the country’s Flying Eagles and U-23 team to win silver medals at both The Netherlands 2005 FIFA U-20 World Youth Championship, WYC and Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, however applauded the feat achieved by football teams during the last five decades.