Let’s move National Youth Games around

This evening, the curtains will fall on the 9th National Youth Games (NYG) in Asaba, the Delta State capital, bringing to a thrilling close a week of exhilarating sporting contests by Nigeria’s future stars. The Youth Games, which debuted in 2013 in Abuja, aims to harness budding talents and also ensure unity among the States. […]

This evening, the curtains will fall on the 9th National Youth Games (NYG) in Asaba, the Delta State capital, bringing to a thrilling close a week of exhilarating sporting contests by Nigeria’s future stars. The Youth Games, which debuted in 2013 in Abuja, aims to harness budding talents and also ensure unity among the States.

This laudable initiative was conceived and delivered during the reign of President Olusegun Obasanjo when Malam Bolaji Abdullahi was the chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC). Cross River state won the inaugural edition, followed by neighbours Akwa Ibom in second position and Delta in third place. That set the tone for the annual sporting fiesta that has become a fertile ground for talent discovery and development in Nigeria.

Therefore, it is important to reiterate that the Youth Games has not failed to deliver on the set objectives as yearly, highly talented teenage athletes are discovered, which points to the fact that if the NYG initiative is carefully managed, replacing aging athletes will not be a herculean task in the future.

For instance, the immeasurable gains of this programme were evident at the last edition of the National Sports Festival (NSF) in Abeokuta, Ogun State, where some exceptional U-17 athletes, registered as the 38th state and called IJA (Invited Junior Athletes) produced stunning results against far older and more experienced opponents. At the end of the festival, the teen athletes finished in 18th position with two gold, nine silver, and eleven bronze medals. In fact, they performed better than 19 states that took older athletes to the “Gateway Games.”

However, as we celebrate the success story of the NYG, something is wrong somewhere, and if addressed immediately, it would make the national event even more glamorous and impactful. It is on record that since the start of the Youth Games in 2013, only the FCT and two states have hosted the event. After Abuja staged the Games, Kwara State hosted five editions in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021, with Delta hosting the remaining editions.

 Interestingly, Delta State has continued to dominate the event, winning seven of the eight editions held so far. The only time Delta didn’t win was in 2013 when the state finished third behind Akwa Ibom and Cross River state as earlier stated. Since then, the “Big Heart” has won seven titles consecutively and is presently poised to clinch the eighth at home.

The reason Delta state has continued to host recent editions of the NYG is not far-fetched. There is no state in Nigeria that can compete with the south-south state in sports infrastructure. While other states continue to pay lip service to sports facilities development, the “Big Heart” has been intentional about putting in place world-class facilities for use by its athletes.

 Consequently, Delta boasts of facilities like the ultra-modern Stephen Keshi Stadium which serves as the main venue for the NYG; Warri Township Stadium; Jay-Jay Okocha Stadium Ogwashi-Uku; as well as sports facilities at the Delta State University Abraka and Western Delta University Oghara.

Another significant thing is that these stadia are not built to host only football matches- they accommodate other games like athletics and indoor sporting events. This has made talent discovery and harnessing possible and easy, highlighting why Delta is presently the hub of sports in Nigeria. Only a few states like Lagos and Rivers are close to Delta State in the area of sports facilities.

Therefore, it is commendable that the next edition of the NYG will be hosted by Lagos State, which prides itself as the “Centre of Excellence.” Having successfully hosted both local and international events, there is no doubt that the state would host a memorable event. This is because the available facilities in the state can conveniently host the Games even at a very short notice.

However, after Lagos, the Games shouldn’t return immediately to Delta or any other state in the South-South. It is high time we moved the developmental programme to other regions to engender sports progress. As stated earlier, since the Games began, it has not been hosted outside the North-Central (FCT and Kwara State) and South-South represented by Delta State. The other regions North-West, North-East, South-East, and South-West have not had a taste of the Games.

Against this background, it is necessary to remind sports authorities in the country to be deliberate about moving the Games to other regions as a subtle way of forcing the docile states to cultivate the good habit of providing sporting facilities for the talents that abound in the nooks and crannies of the nation.

Anytime a state is awarded the hosting right for any sports festival or tournament, such a state is compelled to provide or upgrade existing facilities to the required standard. It is, indeed, a shame that since the inception of the NSF in 1973, most states have not hosted the prestigious event. Unfortunately, some are not even dreaming of hosting it because they lack the required facilities.

I stand to be corrected, but asides Bauchi and Kaduna, almost all other states in the north are yet to host the NSF. Imagine a big state like Kano with its human and material resources being among states that have not hosted the NSF. Truth be told, most states in the north have not attached any importance to sports, and this is evident in the region’s poor attendance and performance at national sporting events. A number of states in the north can not boast of even a mini-stadium.

However, all hope is not lost if the sleeping giants can be awakened with a call to host the NYG. Unlike the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme which has since been bastardised, the Youth Games, if moved around the states, would be pivotal in fostering and enhancing peace and unity in the country, especially among the youths. So, this patriotic call for the movement of the NYG around the country is for the benefit of the northern states that have continued to slumber while their counterparts in the south use the same platform to positively engage their teeming youth population. 

Beyond the solemn appeal for the NYG to be moved around, the NSC which is saddled with the responsibility of organising the Games should ensure that it is not only an avenue to compete for laurels, it should be used judiciously to develop future leaders of the nation. If the young athletes are encouraged to compete fairly under a convivial atmosphere as brothers and sisters, it would be an ample opportunity for long-lasting relationships to be built.

Therefore, tribalism, ethnicity, and religion, which have continued to have continued to threaten our harmonious existence, shouldn’t be allowed close to the Games. Once these innocent minds are corrupted by the divisive vices, one of the cardinal reasons for establishing the Youth Games would have been defeated.

More importantly, age-falsification is usually triggered by the desperation to win. Therefore, states taking part in the Games should be told to lay less emphasis on winning because this is a developmental programme. If over-aged or elite athletes are smuggled in by desperate sports administrators who want to justify their appointments, the NYG would become another beautiful nonsense in sports.