New board, old promises for Nigerian handball

In 2013, elections were held into the various sports federations in the country and those elected were subsequently inaugurated by the then Minister of Sports, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi. However, the board of the handball federation was not inaugurated along with the rest because it was engulfed in crisis.It will be recalled that before the elections, […]

In 2013, elections were held into the various sports federations in the country and those elected were subsequently inaugurated by the then Minister of Sports, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi. However, the board of the handball federation was not inaugurated along with the rest because it was engulfed in crisis.
It will be recalled that before the elections, there was fierce battle for the position of the president of the federation between the incumbent president, Mr. Dauda Yusuf and a former president of the federation, Barrister Mark Jacob.
The two gladiators divided the handball stakeholders into their camps and it was impossible to avert what eventually happened after the elections. Soon after Yusuf was declared winner of the controversial handball federation election, Jacob with his Mega Handball Veterans condemned the elections, insisting that key stakeholders were disenfranchised.
Although after sometime, the National Sports Commission appeared ready to ignore the complaints of the Mega group and inaugurate the Yusuf board for another four years, the aggrieved party went to an Abuja High Court and stopped the planned inauguration.
There and then a legal tussle ensued and handball activities came to a near standstill. Although Yusuf continued to conduct the affairs of the federation, he did not enjoy the full support of the handball family. It was therefore certain that sooner than later, there would be need for the entire family to be brought under one roof for the good of the game.
Consequently, after several fence mending meetings between the National Sports Commission and the warring factions led by Yusuf and Jacob, a common ground was arrived at and the Mega Handball veterans accepted to withdraw their case from court.
It is said the Barrister Jacob group accepted to withdraw its case in court because the necessary concessions which included making some members of the Mega group part of the new board of the handball federation were made. It was when all the contentious issues were laid to rest that the National Sports Commission decided to inaugurate the new board on Tuesday, September 16.
SHOT! spoke exclusively to the two personalities whose political ambitions  brought the game to a standstill and they were unanimous that peace had returned to Nigerian handball and all hands would be on deck to move the game forward.
First to speak was Jacob of the Mega Handball Veterans, comprising of current and former elite players of the game in the country. He said all the differences have been resolved amicably and if everybody comes to the board with open mind and hearts, handball in Nigeria would witness unprecedented progress.
He said the new leadership of the federation must eschew bitterness and be willing to take everybody along because leading the game should not be seen as a personal thing.
“I am very comfortable with the new board of the handball federation. I personally see a bright future for the game. It was not a personal fight that I led. Everything that we fought for was for the good of the game.
“It is therefore important I advise that everybody should come to the board with open hands and hearts. Everything we do henceforth should be for the good of handball. More attention should be paid to development of the game and the welfare of the players.
“It will interest you to know that as a mark of our commitment, we have prepared programmes which we are going to hand over to the federation. We are not going to stop at that. We would ensure that we collaborate with the federation to sponsor the programmes,” he said.
On his part, the president of the federation, Dauda Yusuf said the handball federation has come out of the crisis stronger and better and would ensure that the game is taken to the next level in Nigeria.
The president said he is going to work harmoniously with the board members and handball stakeholders so that in the shortest possible time, Nigerian handball is lifted to the level that every Nigerian will be happy.
“As you must be aware, the crisis in Nigerian handball is completely over. In the spirit of give and take, we have all agreed to work as one indivisible family.
“Without further waste of time, we have mapped out programmes that we would pursue vigorously for accelerated development of the game. We would start all over by going back to the grassroots to hunt for budding talents.
“All we ask for is patience from Nigerians. They should be patient with the board because we have to put certain things in place for actualization of the much needed results. We would need to fill the vacuum that existed in the past.
Yusuf also said he has no problem with the decision by the National Sports Commission to add the one year consumed by the crisis to the tenure of his board. The implication of that decision is that the tenure of the board will expire in 2017 along with the other federations that were inaugurated in 2013.
“I have no single problem with the decision of the NSC. It is not how long but how well we make use of the remaining years that matters. It is our fervent hope that at the end, we would achieve more than the other federations that started before us.
“As I speak to you, I am in Ilorin for the Kwara State Sports Summit. We want to help bring handball back to Kwara State and the governor of the state is giving us all the necessary support. He has granted me audience and I can tell you that it was a fruitful discussion.
“We are not going to rest on our oars. It is going to be collective effort. So all I can tell you is that very soon Nigerian handball will take its rightful place in the continent and the world,” he assured.
These were the renewed promises from the key stakeholders in the game. However, it is on record that since it was formed in 1972 as Handball Association of Nigeria, Nigerian handball is yet to win any continental championship. And when it took part in the World Men’s handball championship in 1999 in Egypt, the Nigerian handball team finished in 23rd position.