By Andrew Abah
The Director General of the National Institute of Sports (NIS), Comrade Philip Shaibu, has described sports as a religion saying the Institute will make it work to benefit serving and retired athletes to have a smooth and comfortable life after their career journey.
Shaibu who stated this while playing host to the delegation of the Association of Retired Nigerian Sports Men and Women (RENISA) in his office led by its President, Honourable Sunday Adeleye, said the NIS is keen and deliberate on reviving Nigerian sports and return it to its place among comity of nations.
While commending Adeleye for bringing former athletes under one roof saying such will benefit members on the long term, the NIS boss said a sportsman should not be hungry after his active playing days as he urged the government to create a system where retired athletes can be absorbed.
Shaibu said, "For us in NIS, we're here to make sure that sports is back to life. Because for us, it is passion. We're sports men and like you said, sports is religion to us. We'll make it work. So, if others are coming to be traders and merchandise, we'll not be merchandise in the course of our job. We are here, we're real sports men. We didn't come to sports to make money, we came to make sure that we grow it and make others to benefit from it.
"The passion we're putting in NIS is that passion to grow sports and we're ready to work with you. Because even from Edo that I become a reference point, I started a programme whereby if you play in any of our teams whether swimming or any other, you just need five years to be in our teams, if you retire from any club in Edo, we are to send you to NIS for training so that after your active play, you go into a new career of coaching but NIS then was not working. I never knew, and I abused them seriously, that I would now become NIS DG. And when I became DG, I'm conscious of what I wanted to achieve with players in Edo which NIS would have helped me to boost.
"Now, I'm here I'm encouraging the states to do same because there is life after active playing. It would even put less pressure on your assistant to funding their healthcare because they would still be earning after play. There are a lot of things we're working on and my team will work with you to see the area of collaboration. I'm in and NIS is in to make sure that there's life after your active career in sports. As sports men and women, after active service, the next level is coaching and you can coach till you die.
"This association, I think, will be very useful to bringing all these issues together. And not only that, it's not just football, sports in general. Your association will help to standardise and create a retirement plan for all our athletes and I think this is the way to go. Some of them are making money now recklessly spending it. But with association like you, you'll be able to give them an investment plan and life after service."
He recalled how he settled the rift between hitherto factions Nigeria Players' Union under former international, Tijani Babangida and Harrison Jala saying an association can only achieve results when it's not factionalised and will attract funding from the International Players' Union.
"We have a lot of dollars and euros out there because nobody can access it till we're united to access it for the football players' union. I said we cannot be dying and having ailments that can be dealt with by the players' union and we're just quarrelling and fighting over leadership. And because of that leadership fight we're not able to be recognised and acces our funds," he added.
He reiterated call for the constitution of National Sports Commission (NSC) board describing it as the way to go and put Nigeria's sports on a full throttle.
"Sports Commission is the way forward but the players in the Sports Commission should let the law to work and the law must work. We must have the board of National Sports Commission.