Sports facing troubled times in Nigeria

To develop the sports sector to a world class level where it would provide continuous improvement of quality of life for the entire citizenry to the extent that Nigeria would be recognised as one of the leading sporting countries in the w2orld.” This is the mission of the National Sports Policy of Nigeria, 2009.

Despite the successes of yesteryears and those of recent times, Nigeria is at the verge of being nonexistent in the sporting world as some of the sports that saw the country emerge as a force to reckon with in the past are now threatened and on the verge of extinction.

While football has been the centre of attention for the country in recent times with other sports like boxing, basketball, table tennis, taekwondo, and some track events in athletics enjoying considerable attention but are yet to bring the much talked-about glory, some other sports have been partially or outrightly neglected.

These are the sports which our correspondent tagged the sports on the verge of extinction.

Sports on the verge of extinction

Cycling

Though many people could be seen around the country on different forms of bicycle and motor-bikes, cycling is another sport that if not paid attention to in the country, will become extinct. The Cycling Federation of Nigeria was said to be formed in the early 90’s but the sport has yet to earn the country a reputation on the African scene. The problem of the sport may be unknown to the media but it could be that of lack of needed support by the sport’s administrators. The disappearance of Nigerian cyclists from the recent rankings released by the International Cycling Union, speaks volume about the state of the sport in the country.

Several corporate bodies do organise cycling events for charity in the country. This means that the sport is not totally new and if given the right attention could earn Nigeria a spot on the global scene in countries including Australia, and Germany.

The General Secretary of the CFN, Samuel Aninu, said that the sport is really suffering from lack of funds.

Aninu said, “It’s not only cycling that is dying in Nigeria, there are many other sports too that are on the verge of dying if nothing is done about them.

“This is because it is only a few sports like football, basketball and athletics that are having a strong backbone which is why they are doing well. For the other sports, lack of funding is what is killing them and they are really dying fast and as such, Nigeria is not known for them.”

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