NSC’s vision is to change Nigeria’s sports ecosystem – Dikko

The Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Shehu Dikko, has outlined his vision to transform the Nigerian sports ecosystem.

Speaking on Trust TV’s 360 Sports programme yesterday, Dikko revealed that President Bola Tinubu has mandated him to shift the country’s sports sector from a consumption-driven model to a production-focused one.

‘We have clear mandate from the President. The vision is to change the ecosystem of our sports by moving from consumption to production. We want to create a proper sporting economy. We have reset our thinking and focus on development, refocus our strategy, decision to jumpstart our sports and we have to relaunch by doing things the right way.

“We need to reset our thinking from this obsession for competitions and medals to development. We have to note that sports development comes before competitions which breed the medals. It is from that concerted grassroots development of a sport that you discover talents that will be showcased in those competitions. When a sport is well-developed from the grassroots, to elite Levels, podium performance comes naturally.

“We have to be deliberate in what we have to do. From the private to the public sector, everyone has to agree that sports is our national asset. There has to be that singularity in purpose. We have to set lofty goals and follow them through, but we have to work on the legislation and other enabling framework to actualize our plans.

“When we have reset our minds and stayed focused on our goal, it is much easier to launch action. When we know what we want to do and identify how we will go about it, the result is guaranteed. We want to do things differently because we want to get a different result from what we used to get in the past. If we continue doing it the same way, we will continue this cycle of pyrrhic victories and unsustained strides. We are relaunching in that direction where the future will be assured for our sports,” he said.

He further said the commission won’t work in isolation as they will partner with relevant ministries such as youths development, education, budget, and creative.

“Sports should be seen as a key driver of the economy. We cant work in isolation as we have to work with the ministries of youths, education and creative ministry and even the budget ministry,” he said.