“We will endeavor to restore the glory of Imo State in national, continental and world sports competitions. Scholarships and other incentives shall be given to our contingents that excel exceptionally in sports activities, to inspire them and challenge the up-coming talents”, Rochas Okorocha wrote on his agenda for sports as stated in the Rochas Campaign Organization website page on his mission statement.

While an accomplishment cannot be measured by the volume of words expressing the intent and purpose, the potential impact can be gleaned in the content of the expression. In his activities which predate his election, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, the Imo State Governor has left no one in doubt about his resonance with the youths and youth development programs.

His flagship foundation, Rochas Foundation Colleges was and still remains a youth focused engagement. Given this track affiliation with youths, it was somewhat of a surprise that sports may not have counted much in Owelle’s plans for the emancipation of the Imo youth if one were to rate His Excellency on the strength of the above lifted mission statement.

This piece will not duel on what is going to go wrong but will be a contribution towards the making of a new and better Imo State under the leadership of Okorocha as the state helmsman.  Leadership is the ability to guide, direct and influence people. From the Christian religious point of view, Jesus Christ depicted a leader as one who is ready to lay his/her own life to protect the followers. Jesus was in this context speaking of the good shepherd and he said “I am the good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me”.

Christ will go on to talk about how the sheep recognize the voice of the Shepherd and in that teaching, Our Lord Jesus Christ laid out not just the imperatives of good leadership but also the qualities inherent in such a person. I believe that those qualities can be found in the Governor, especially, the ability to listen to the good people and act on their feelings.

Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha has within the limits of his human ability tried to present himself as a Shepherd to otherwise lost sheep. Through the Rochas Foundation, he has singularly touched the lives of over 3000 children who got enrolled in the free tuition Rochas Foundation Colleges. Indeed, those students are bound to know Owelle’s voice and whenever that voice speaks, they will heed.

Leadership requires deep thinking and planning. It requires recruiting and trusting men and women of character and are equipped intellectually to build and assist the leader. The campaign is over and the time for work is here. This is why at this time, it is incumbent on every well-meaning son and daughter of Imo State to reach out to the Governor through all possible medium with ideas and solutions that will make Imo State what we desire it to be. The greatest challenge of the state is youth unemployment.

According to figures of the 2006 National Census, of the estimated 3, 927, 563 persons in Imo State, 2, 937, 413 are literate. That pre-supposes that they have attained a certain level of formal education. The Owelle is therefore right to have pinned the success of his administration on reforming the educational system towards empowering the products of the education system.

Unfortunately, the plan to ‘restore Imo State to glory years in national, continental and global competitions’ does not represent a sports development initiative and neither will it empower the over 60% of the state population constituted by youths. According to the census data referenced above, an estimated 2, 286, 564 persons in Imo State fall within the age range of 6- 34 years.

These constitute the years of active sports tutelage and participation. The  government therefore needs to evolve a policy that will integrate sports in the education curricula to ensure a seamless acquisition and development of sporting skills that will not be disruptive to educational development of the youth.

It is instructive to note that sport is a self-sustaining industry that also has the power to channel the energy of youths towards positive and rewarding engagements. It therefore follows that the next logical step to a well-rounded education is providing the infrastructure for sports.

Sports as an industry is both business and life-style, hence it is all age and gender embracing. The tragedy of urban development in Nigeria is the thoughtless conversion of all available space into commercial enterprise at the expense of recreation.

The Owelle plans to set up vocational training centers in all the Senatorial zones in the state but it will be more beneficial if Sports and Recreational Centers are part of this plan such that the centers should be established if possible, in all the 27 Local Council Areas.

As President Barrack Obama of the United States said during his famous campaign, ‘we can’ achieve this through prudent budgeting and disciplined execution. A sports center will be a boost to commerce, provide employment for the young and old while also charting a path for success in national and continental sports for the state. It will also provide convergence points for promotion of good neighborliness, fitness for healthy living and a culture of recreation for the leaders of tomorrow.

A visit to the Dan Anyiam Stadium, the only functional and viable stadium in the state will throw up an army of retired sports men and women who idle away productive time inside the complex but can, through the proposed project, be trained to become coaches at the proposed Sports Centers. This in turn means that another group of unemployed Imo persons are made productive.

All these and more are contained in a blue print for sports that can be made available to the Governor on request. The beauty of the blue-print is that the state can secure international collaboration that will facilitate a cost-effective implementation.
*Mr. Harry Iwuala, the MD of YOUDEES Limited has experience in Sports Sponsorship and Media Management