Established by an act of Parliament in the year 2000, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has been known more, for interventions in infrastructure development in the areas of roads, electricity, schools, health care, and skills acquisition.
Its establishment was another federal government’s response to the outcry of the people who point to the deprivation suffered by the area that provides the economic mainstay of the entire nation. This explains why successive leadership of the intervention agency were focused more on uplifting the physical wellbeing of the area through road, education, health care and electricity projects which are the yardstick for measuring development in third world nations.
In a change of trajectory, the NDDC has added sports to its portfolio of improving life in the region it was created to enhance the conditions of the people.
Thus, from April 1-8 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the first ever regional sports festival will take place, bringing together athletes, coaches and technical officials from the nine mandate states that make up the NDDC.
Ahead the games, the NDDC has renovated the Olympics sized swimming pool at the Uyo Township Stadium, the tartan tracks at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, basketball and volleyball courts as well as hostels at the Dakkada Skills Acquisition Centre, Itam West Secondary school and Cornelia Colly Girls school. This will ensure that the state is bequeathed sports facilities. Hotels are also enjoying patronage
The event, sponsored by the NDDC, aims to discover and nurture talents from the region to global stardom.
A collateral benefit of the festival is the upgrading of facilities in Uyo, the host city.
This will ensure that the state is bequeathed sports facilities train those discovered.
Some have referred to the region as “the land flowing with milk and honey.” Others say it’s the economic livewire of the nation.
Truly, the oil-rich Niger Delta, located in the southern part of Nigeria and home to a significant portion of Nigeria’s oil and gas reserves, contributes significantly to the country’s economy and foreign exchange earnings.
Known as the heart of Nigeria’s oil industry, the Niger Delta contributes over 90 per cent of the country’s oil revenues.
Sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean, the Niger-Delta is located within nine coastal southern states, which include: all six states (Edo, Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross River and Akwa Ibom) from the South South geopolitical zone, one state (Ondo) from the South West and two states (Abia and Imo) from the South East.
Historically, the densely populated Niger Delta has been a region of rich cultural diversity, with many ethnic groups, including the Edo, Ijaw, Urhobo, Itsekiri, Ibibio, and Efik, among others.
These groups have often had distinct traditions, languages, and ways of life, but the shared challenges stemming from the oil industry created a unifying force in their quest for better living conditions and social justice.
And while it continues to produce millions of barrels of oil on a daily basis, accounting for a large percentage of the country’s export earnings, and significantly contributing to the country’s gross domestic product and government revenue, it also used to, in time past, churn out some of the world’s most accomplished sportsmen and women.
Some of them include former boxing world champions Dick Tiger, Hogan Bassey and Samuel Peter, Olympic gold medallists Chioma Ajunwa, Enefiok Udo-Obong, Austin Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Victor Ikpeba, Taribo West, as well as Blessing Okagbare, Ese Brume, Endurance Ojokolo, Deji Aliu, amongst others.
The region ruled the domestic sports scene, with its states, particularly Delta, dominating the biennial National Sports Festival, while also exporting top-class talents to the world.
However, its sporting fortunes took a nosedive in recent years, prompting the Niger Delta Development Commission, which expressed concern over the sports dwindling fortunes, to wade in and try to restore its glory days.
The NDDC, established during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo with the sole mandate of developing the oil-rich region which had suffered environmental challenges and social conflicts due to oil exploration and extraction.
Ironically, oil extraction in the area has had a double-edged impact: while it has generated immense wealth, it has also led to environmental degradation, conflict, and socio-economic disparities among the local population.
The NDDC’s mandate to facilitate the sustainable development of the Niger Delta region includes using a variety of initiatives, including sports, to promote unity and peace.
Close observers of development strides of the NDDC can easily attest that its intervention projects have focused exclusively on road, electricity, education and health care infrastructure.
This time, the Commission is for the first time, delving into sports through the sports festival, an initiative of Dunamis Icon, the project consultants led by Itiako Ikpokpo KSM.
The event is designed to bring together athletes from across the region, encouraging healthy competition and creating opportunities for local talent to be discovered by scouts from national and international sporting organisations.
During an inspection tour of hostel facilities and competition venues, Chairman of the festival’s Main Organising Committee, Alabo Boma Iyaye, saw the level of preparations ahead of the Niger Delta Sports Festival and was impressed.
He was quoted to have said, “We know that the Niger Delta Development Commission mandate states produce about 70 to 80 per cent of Nigeria’s best athletes, but we have also observed the decline in our nation’s sporting fortunes, and as an intervention agency which has been delivering on various infrastructural needs across the region, we find it necessary to intervene in sports, to provide opportunities for our youths to excel and to show the world that the Niger Delta is not only about oil. This is why the theme of the festival is ‘Beyond Oil: Harnessing Talents.’
“But the festival is not only about talent discovery. It also leads us into intervention in sporting facilities, like we are doing now in Akwa Ibom.”
Last month, at the unveiling of the event, the Games consultant, Ikpokpo also highlighted the essence of breeding a new generation of sporting talents for the region..
In his words, “Niger Delta used to produce most of Nigeria’s top athletes but today there’s a dearth of talents. The NDDC, after their huge strides in infrastructural development, agreed that it was time to give sports the focus it desired in the region to produce the desired talents in that area of our national life.
“Just like the NDDC is famed for their development of infrastructure in the region, we also want the world to know that the NDDC is ready to produce sports talents for the country.”
The festival is open to only athletes aged between 16 and 25 and of Niger Delta heritage.
The intent is to achieve the purpose of starting the Games which is the reason an age limit has been fixed with modalities to check age cheats as those caught will be disqualified and their states fined.
Those who do well at the event should be able to attend competitions in Nigeria, Africa and globally.
Chairman of the Scouting and Mentorship Sub-Committee of the festival, Godwin Enakhena, reiterated the committee’s resolve to harness the best of talents discovered during the Festival.
No room has been left for compromise of standards in getting the next generation of athletes during the NDSF and It’s not all about football, but all sports with the potential to put Nigeria at the top by winning medals.
There is a commitment to regain the pride of place in sports which the Niger Delta Sports Festival has been designed to be the perfect platform to achieve this goal. At the end, Nigeria will be the greatest beneficiary.
The festival organisers have assembled a team of renowned coaches and scouts to oversee the scouting and mentorship process during the event.
Olympian Gabriel Okon, a highly experienced athletics coach, will be in charge of the athletics team. Okon, who has coached the national team to several international competitions, brings a wealth of experience to the table. Joining him is Anthony Konyegwachie, another Olympian and national team coach who will lead the boxing team.
Rakiya Mohammed, a national women’s volleyball coach, alongside Anthony Oghuma and Imoudu Francis, will spot talents in the volleyball event. Owhe John leads the scouting team for basketball, while Emmanuel Emefuna, the national team coach, will oversee the swimming events. Odey Anthony will be in charge of tennis, and Paul Omonoma, an international football scout, leads the football team.
Qualifiers emerged after Local Government Area and state trials in the nine states ahead of the trip to Uyo.
The festival is indeed primed to be a celebration of the region’s talent and cultural diversity.
Nigeria Football Federation executive board member, Aisha Falode, the media consultant for the Nigeria Delta Sports Festival, spoke of the region’s long-standing reputation as a powerhouse of Nigeria’s sports talents.
“The majority of Nigeria’s top athletes come from the Niger Delta. Perhaps, in the past, we didn’t fully acknowledge sports as a tool for integration and unity.
“The Niger Delta is one, and this is the perfect time for this competition,” she stated.
For the Niger Delta, this festival represents more than just winning medals–it serves as a platform for unity, dialogue, and progress, Falode noted.·Iwuala is Chairman, Media Sub-committee of the Niger Delta Sports Festival
