The Executive Vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, has said until Nigeria goes back to the drawing board, countries like Madagascar will continue to catch up with the national teams.
Speaking while receiving the Director General of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Alhaji Yakubu Ibn Mohammed, Prof Danbatta recalled that Nigeria was the toast of global football in the 1990s with knack of shocking football giants like Brazil and Argentina.
“Everybody is now talking about Madagascar. People are looking at the map to locate where Madagascar is. But the impact they have made is an output of going back to the drawing board and preparing very well for the tournament. The Country is now basking in the euphoria of this victory.
“But remember we were doing this before on regular basis. All of a sudden other nations started taking steps in order to bridge the gaps. And they are catching up very fast. Something must be done in order to protect the enviable position we attained,” he noted.
Speaking further, Danbatta called on the other corporate entities in the country to support sporting activities in the country, noting that the NCC had been in the Vanguard of assisting the sector by sponsoring the biggest tennis tournament in the Country.
In the same vein, the NCC boss urged the corporate bodies to collaborate and ensure that the NTA is able to televise the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations’ matches live to Nigerians.
He, however, said that due to the convergence in technology, matches for the tournament can also be watched live on telecommunications networks, adding that the NCC has the sole responsibility of providing access to as well as monitoring the quality of service.
Speaking earlier, Mohammed who described sport as a unifying factor in the country, said he was at the Headquarters of the Commission to solicit support with a view to bringing the matches of the biggest footballing tournament in the continent live to Nigerians.
