By Jacob Ajom

A former Nigeria tennis star, Sadiq Abdullahi has been ruminating on the problems hindering the development of tennis and sports generally in the country and has put forward suggestions he believes if well implemented could move sports in the country forward.

In a ten-point write-up he titled ‘My thoughts on tennis and sports in Nigeria’, Abdullahi who is an adjunct professor of global education and curriculum development and improvement at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, USA, observed that the recently concluded Nigerian Olympian Association AGM in Abuja was an eye-opener as it had exposed to him some of the challenges militating against sports development in the country. He, however, insisted that the challenges were surmountable and “the time to act is now”.

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Said he, “It is time for sportswomen and men to come together to serve their various communities, I am optimistic that we can create new structures or improve existing ones to meet national, continental, and global exigencies and global best practices.”
Abdullahi also said, “if we are to succeed, our effort must make room for inclusion and diversity.”

He proposed that “the dismantling of defective structures and end corruption in our sports. If we cannot, we must at least control the effect.”

Most importantly, the former Olympian said, “We must shift emphasis from competitions to grassroots sports development.” He also called for a comprehensive 15 to 20 years tennis development plan.

Vanguard News Nigeria