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National lottery and sports development
By Temitope Oguntokun
SOMETIME in 1996, the Federal Military Government set up the VISION 2010 Committee, headed by former Head of the Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan. The Committee was inaugurated to examine all aspects of the national life and help draw up a blueprint for the development of the Nigerian nation. At the end of its assignment, the Committee made several recommendations regarding the direction the country's political, socio-cultural and economic life should be headed. The field of sports was one major area that received considerable attention from the Shonekan-led Committee.
A chapter of the Committee's report, titled, "Sports, Going for Gold" observed that, "generally, sporting activities in Nigeria are still largely dominated by government, in terms of the provision of facilities and funding. The provision of facilities is often inadequate, and this affects training, resulting in less than satisfactory performances in international sporting competitions. Even where the facilities are available, they are poorly maintained. Training of coaches, and sportsmen and women is not given serious attention. Many sportsmen and women are thus denied the opportunity to fully actualise their potential"
The report beamed its searchlight on a number of important areas of sports administration in Nigeria. On the issue of funding, for instance, it noted that both the Federal and State governments continually make substantial investment in the provision of sports infrastructure, particularly in the building and maintenance of stadia, stressing: "Almost 90 per cent of the sports facilities in the country are provided by government. In 1995, the Federal Government took over seven stadia in the country and upgraded them."
The Committee was totally unhappy with the excessive reliance of critical organs of sports administration on government for survival. Both the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) and the Nigeria Institute of Sports (NIS), the Committee noted, "Depend entirely on the Ministry (of Sports) for funds (and) because they depend almost entirely on the Ministry for funding, their autonomy is weakened. Consequently, friction and conflict are incessant to the detriment of sports development in the country."
In spite of government efforts at developing sports infrastructure and facilities, there have been glaring inadequacies in the management of sports in Nigeria. As the Committee rightly observed existing facilities are not even properly maintained. Sports facilities in schools are inadequate and, in some cases, are non-existent. The situation has worsened progressively since the 1980s. According to the Committee, "Simple sports supplies are no longer available, as many secondary schools do not have basic sporting equipment, such as footballs, javelins, high jump stands and basketball courts." The committee observed that successive governments have failed to develop comprehensive and long term plans for sports, with the result that sport management has been on ad-hoc and short-term basis.
To reverse this trend, the Vision 2010 Committee identified key areas of endeavour that should receive priority attention in the march to place Nigeria on the global sporting map. These include facilities, training, administration, funding, external image, promotion of national unity, sporting goods industry and tourism. In terms of funding, the Committee duly acknowledged that "Sports Lottery is useful in raising funds for sports development," stressing, "Appropriate legal framework would, however, need to be provided for it to be successful."
All over the world, lotteries have become a veritable source of providing funding for sports. This stems from the fact that many nations have come to recognise that sports plays a significant role in the promotion of social harmony and national unity; enhancement of international respect; inculcation of discipline and team spirit in the youth and entertainment for the public, among other considerations. The UK National Lottery, for example, is known to be a major contributor to sports in the United Kingdom. Sports England, a government-recognized organisation committed to creating opportunities for people to start, stay and succeed in sports has what is known as the Sports England Lottery Fund which aims at encouraging everyone to take part in sports, regardless of age, gender, disability, ethnicity, income level or ability.
The Fund, working on the platform of its Community Projects Capital Fund, offers substantial amount of grants to support projects that actively promote participation in sport. Early this month, Sport England and Big Lottery Fund announced that over 150 communities in England would benefit from new lottery funding of sports that is in excess of �46 million. The Sports Minister, Richard Caborn said: "The Active England investment programme is key to providing more innovative opportunities for people to be active and increase participation in sport. This grant announcement is fantastic news for many communities, and means that they're well on their way to leading healthier, more active lives."
Also speaking on the contribution of lottery to sports in that environment, Sir Clive Booth, Chair of the Big Lottery Fund said: "Community participation is at the heart of this programme, which offers extended access to new and improved facilities and equipment to a greater number of people across England. Thanks to lottery funding, more people will enjoy the long-term benefits of sports and physical activities for their health and well-being. National Lottery players can take pride in the fact that they are contributing to the creation of more active communities."
South Africa is another good example of a country that uses proceeds from lottery to fund sports. By 2002, the National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) of South Africa had received approximately R1.6 billion (about N39 billion) from lottery proceeds since the inception of the South African National Lottery in 1999. These funds have been disbursed to a variety of recipients (chief of which is sports) as determined by the Government-appointed distribution bodies. In 2003 alone, R72 million of lottery proceeds was spent on sports and recreation. South Africa recently went into history as the first African country to host the World Lotteries Association (WLA) convention, which ended in Durban on 19 November.
Although Nigeria has not been a direct beneficiary of this trend, the situation is set to change as the National Assembly currently debates the National Lotteries Bill pending before it. The promise of the national lottery is that "All Nigerians will be winners" which in essence means that the game would contribute to both individual and community lives, particularly because, apart from the prizes to be won by individuals, a substantial percentage of the monies to be realized from a successful operation of the National Lottery will be allocated to Nigerian sports development and other good causes throughout the community. This aspiration, of course, is in tandem with global best practice lottery operation.
Veteran footballer and sports commentator, Segun Odegbami, perhaps, best captured the mood of Nigeria's renewed attempt at the National Lottery when he said: "The sports lottery is coming to Nigeria with a new vigour, attitude and professionalism that are likely to ensure that this comes to stay. Embraced by Nigerians, this could mark the biggest evolution in sports development in Nigeria." True.
- Mrs Oguntokun lives in Lagos.
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