By Patrick Omorodion

BEFORE the days of self-styled military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida who went and still goes with the acronym IBB, the acronym of leaders I believe was made popular by the first civilian governor of Lagos state, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande who was popularly called Baba Kekere but better known with the acronym LKJ.

However, no acronym of any leader I can remember sounds like a real name until the arrival of the Cross River-born Sports Development minister recently appointed by President Bola Tinubu, Senator John Owan Enoh, JOE.

Ironically my cousin and a former sports journalist with the Champion newspapers is also JOE. His is, however, unique because the JOE is not only his acronym but is equally his name being Joseph. His full name is Joseph Okhinameye Ehizode, JOE.

I know Joe may take a liking for JOE, the sports minister because of the similarity of their acronyms but like I always advice, the encomium for JOE should wait until we start seeing whether he will bring any change to bear on the sector which appears the only one that gives Nigerians succour from the downturn of the country politically and economically.

I say so because only a few of those appointed to oversee the sports sector from 1999 when the country started to experience stable democracy with the birth of the fourth Republic till date could be said to have given the citizens a flicker of hope for the rejuvenation of sports in Nigeria.

Name them, from Damishi Tonson Sango, Ishaya Mark Aku, Stephen Ibn Akiga, Musa Mohammed, Samaila Sambawa, Bala Bawa Ka’oje, Abdulrahman Gimba, Sani Ndanusa, Ibrahim Isa Biu, Taoheed Adedoja, Yusuf Sulaiman, Bolaji Abdullahi, Tammy Danagogo, Solomon Dalung and then Sunday Akin Dare, the last before the coming of Enoh, only two made appreciable impact in my reckoning.

And they are, without any prejudice, Ishaya Mark Aku and Sunday Akin Dare. Between these two however, Aku’s tenure was short-lived because he died after only about a year in office, 2001-2002. It was the structure that he put on ground that helped Team Nigeria put up a respectable performance at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester even without our area of strength, weightlifting as the country was serving a ban over doping issues.

Akiga who succeeded him carried out the plan and motivated the athletes who won medals as planned by Aku. But why did Aku show sign of seriousness? He had at the head of the civil servants he met on ground, a workaholic, Dr. Patrick Ekeji who equally surrounded himself with quality subordinates.

Dare was also willing to work and infact did his best. His only undoing was allowing a cabal of civil servants to compromise him.

When former President Buhari appointed Dare, rather than settle down to study the situation on ground, the civil servants packaged a foreign trip for him to Morocco to “support” Team Nigeria at the All Africa Games. Once he fell for that bait, I knew he was not going to be able to control the excesses of the ministry’s sacred cows.

And this showed in the manner he handled the controversies in two of the most prominent federations after football, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN and the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF. Rather than look into their crises, he took sides and fostered on the stakeholders unpopular boards which alienated dedicated stakeholders. And the result was protest upon protest leading to embarrassment for the country outside the country.

Fortunately for Enoh, he didn’t fall for the bate of the ministry’s hawks who may have arranged for him to visit Budapest, as usual to “support” Team Nigeria at the World Athletics Championships where Nigeria returned without a single medal, even the lowest of them, a bronze.

Like others before him, Enoh started with inspection of facilities at the nation’s major Stadia, the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja and the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos. As usual he was said to have shed tears after seeing the rot in the Lagos stadium, once reputed to be the pride of the country in Africa.

Beyond the tears however, one voice Senator Enoh should listen to is that of a former national athlete of repute who has seen and felt it all, Chidi Imoh. And it is an advice he should hearken to if he truly wants to etch his name in the sands of time positively.

In a recent interview, Imoh said that the new sports minister should distance himself from past leadership and seek out individuals who are genuinely committed to the developing sports in the country.

“My advice to him (Enoh) will be to stay away from the old people that have run down our sports. Stay away from them. Find people who know what they are doing – those ones they rejected – and pick them up. There are people who are minded to do well and not just share money. Pick them, they will help and show you the way if you’re serious about developing sports”, Imoh admonished.

I add that he should also distance himself from some former athletes as well as sports journalists who come as trade unionists, claiming that they will help him publicise his activities. Senator Enoh should pick a team he believes in who will help him deliver.

Again, he should not try to be a football minister by concentrating on the Super Eagles and Super Falcons. Every sport, especially those ones where we have comparative advantage, should be supported.

Good enough he already has someone who is familiar with the terrain in Dr. Ken Egbas. After hearing Dr. Egbas speak on Dr. Segun Odegbami’s radio programme penultimate Saturday, I knew the minister will not fall into the hands of the many hawks always surrounding sports, be they among the ministry’s staff, former sports men and women and sports journalists.