The appointment of Shehu Dikko as Chairman of the National Sports Commission has been hailed by Pamodzi Sports Marketing, the organizers of the storied Gold Label Okpekpe international 10km road race, as the best in Nigerian sports administration history since the late Dr. Isaac Akioye’s time in the mid-1970s to early-1980s.
Before the current decline, Dr. Akioye initiated the revolution that changed Nigerian sports. From 1975 to 1981, he served as the National Sports Commission’s Director General.
In addition to receiving high marks for bringing back the National Sports Commission, Mike Itemuagbor, the chief executive officer of Pamodzi Sports Marketing, thinks President Bola Tinubu has done a great job appointing Dikko as its chairman.
“President Tinubu may have taken the most audacious step in recent memory to revitalize the sports industry and enable it to fulfill its potential as a tool for development. According to Itemuagbor, sports have the power to revolutionize social and economic development.
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“Sports create jobs, encourage healthy lifestyles, and strengthen community ties.” Through the construction of infrastructure and the creation of commercial opportunities through events and sponsorships, sports also boost local economies. Itemuagbor, who initiated the revolution in road running events in Nigeria by making the Okpekpe international 10km road race the country’s first really world-class road race, adding, “It can be a powerful tool for social change.”
A qualified person should lead the National Sports Commission, the highest authority in charge of overseeing sports in Nigeria, in order to accomplish all of these goals. Itemuagbor thinks Dikko has all the requirements to be the “ideal sports administrator.”
