Sports
NSC Takes Steps To Check Doping
The National Sports Commission (NSC) has said that it would, henceforth, conduct regular doping tests on Nigerian athletes, as the country prepares for the Commonwealth Games and the 2016 Olympics.
Sports Minister, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, said this in Abuja at the opening ceremony of a two-day anti-doping workshop for national coaches and technical directors of the various sports in the country.
The workshop was jointly organised by the NSC and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
The minister, who was represented by Alhassan Yakmut, the Director of Grassroots Sports Development in the NSC, said workshops on anti-doping would regularly be organised, to serve as pivots to checking the menace of doping.
Abdullahi, who doubles as Chairman of the NSC, said this would also nip the criminal and anti-social habit in the bud.
He said time had gone when athletes were made to suffer the punishment for doping violations alone.
The NSC boss said that coaches, technical directors, medical crew, other officials and organisations would now share in the punishments outlined for doping violations.
“The NSC as a responsible sports regulation institution in Nigeria has consolidated on its endorsement of the International Anti-Doping Code by constituting the National Anti-Doping Committee.
“The committee is to conduct regular doping test and to provide a broad latitude of advocacy and education on the dangers of consuming performance enhancing drugs.
“It is of paramount importance to reiterate that the beauty of success in sports can only be holistically appreciated when the performance is natural and the preparation is orthodox and consistent with moral principles,’’ Abdullahi said.
The Secretary-General, Nigerian National Commission for UNESCO, Mrs Anene Maidoh, said the collaboration was to provide a legal framework for collective action by Governments to address unethical behavior in sports.
She said the fight against doping should be strengthened through legislation, regulations and administrative practices.
Brig-Gen. Johnny Hamakin, Chairman of the National Anti-Doping Committee (NADC), said the committee was working hard to ensure that the message of anti-doping got to the grassroots.
This, he said, would be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code, which Nigeria is signatory to, since 2003.
Hamakin pointed out that NADC, with the core mandate to midwife the establishment of a statutory and independent anti-doping agency, would drive a virile national anti-doping programme for the country.
He, however, called for the collective responsibility of all stakeholders in sports, to ensure a “clean sports’’ for the country.
Mr Sani Ndanusa, President , the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), noted that the fight against doping was a fight for all.
“The science, investigation and level of doping is increasing every day and I must say, so far, Nigeria is doing quite well, apart from what happened to our athletes at the last Commonwealth Games.
“Most of the developing areas include weightlifting and since then, we have been having clean lifters and clean weightlifting projects.
“That is why we are stepping up our campaign up to the grassroots.
“We are now trying to enlighten the athletes, the coaches, the administrators and all the corporate bodies that support sports.
“Henceforth, provision must be made for anti-doping desks in sports competitions, be it at the local, state or national levels,’’ Ndanusa said.
The two-day workshop, was attended by about 70 participants last week.
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor