Berates win at all cost syndrome of some states
Unperturbed by the fifth position of Lagos State at the recently concluded National Sports Festival, Tagged Edo 2020, Chairman of Lagos State Sports Commission, Mr. Sola Aiyepeku insists the aim of the festival was developmental and for him Lagos State would not depart from that objective.
“The main thing for us in Lagos State is developmental and for the young athletes to see that they have a platform where they can perform. We will not rest on our oars for us to continue to provide that platform for the athletes not just to represent themselves, but the state and the country so that they can make good progress in their careers,” Aiyepeku said.
The young Team Lagos male footballers at the festival were so impressive so much so that three of players were penciled down for recruitment by the Edo State government for Bendel Insurance, but it never came as a surprise to Aiyepeku, who felt he had expected more clubs in the country to recruit most of them.
“I am really surprised that it was only three players that were picked among our footballers because all of them have a bright future ahead of them to become great footballers. It is a normal thing that players are recognised in competition like this. We will put in everything at our disposal to keep on developing and improving on our athletes.
“We have already finalised our plans on how to treat our athletes better than what we are currently doing. We are planning a long term approach for their welfare. After the festival, we will begin to unveil these plans. We have long term plans which the athletes will see for themselves that it is more beneficial to stay in Lagos than running to other states.
“Stability is key in sports development and there is always a prize for loyalty. When you are loyal, you get the rewards that come with it and for the sacrifice that you have made. We will make benefit and reward system very attractive. We will do our best, but we are all human being, at the end of the day it is still up to the athletes to decide where he or she will stay. We’ll therefore not hold anybody back,” the former banker said.
In recent years Lagos has been the hub of boxing in Nigeria and the status quo did not change in Edo.
According to state sports commission chairman, “the results at the festival was a testimony of Lagos dominant in boxing. We exposed these boxers to rigorous training before coming to Edo festival. What we saw in boxing events was a testimony of what we really want to project. We were happy we have seen them throw punches and are happy we have seen them win medals for the state. We will continue to encourage them to do better in subsequent tournaments.”
On the plan of the Sports Commission on Adopt-A-Talent programme, where private individuals and companies could invest in Lagos State athletes for career development, Aiyepeku expressed thus: “Firstly, you have to make what you are doing attractive. Adopt-A-Talent scheme worked very well in the past. At a stage, there was sponsorship fatigue because there was no next step in the scheme. What is the next step for athletes who go for a tournament and win medals? The next step is where the private sector comes in.
“What we are doing to celebrate those who have won medals for them to get noticed by the world around us. Nobdoy is telling the stories of these champions. Why would the private sector come and invest when there is no noise around these athletes? Publicity is key to attract private investors for these athletes. “What we are planning to do now is to tell the success stories of these athletes. Already, we have begun to compile data of what had happened in the last few sports festivals and the just concluded Edo 2020. You can see what happened in the taekwondo event in Edo, one of our athletes, who is about eight months pregnant competed and won a gold medal.
“Nobody knew about her, but now she is a big story. The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu informed me about their plan to give her an award as a reward for her tenacity and determination.”
He is therefore appealing to the media to help tell the stories of these athletes.
“When these stories are being told, the private sector will see the need to invest in the athletes. Very soon, we are going to announce one or two sponsors with the Lagos State Sports Commission from the private sector. As we are getting results, we will be attracting investors so that the foundation will be laid for a better sports industry in Lagos State,” he said.
Aiyepeku is of the opinion that by the time the state spelt out the benefits of representing Lagos State and the fallouts, the athletes and their advisors will see reason in not looking elsewhere without forcing anybody to take decisions.
“We discover that many people use Lagos sports facilities for free. So after Edo 2020 sports festival, we will not allow that anymore. If you want to represent other states, you will have to go to that state to train. We want to get commercial values for our training facilities now. We will put hand in hand the incentives and the benefits of putting on the colours of Lagos State in national competitions for the athletes to see for them to take a proper decision on where they want to go and where to belong.”
The Chairman salutes the organisers of Edo 2020 the area of organisation, but said a bit more could be done, just as he admitted that the several postponements the festival suffered affected the planning for the tournament.
Aiyepeku berated the win at all costs syndrome displayed by some states. “When the target is on win at all costs, we can never have a robust and attractive festival because people will do all they can to just win. This is very bad for Nigerian sports. We all saw what happened throughout the Edo 2020 festival, it is so sad to see some of the scenario at play all over. We need to seat down to do a rethink about how best we must organise a befitting sports festival in the country,” he expressed.
