MADE FOR ME……TO MAKE IMPACT DR TUNDE ADELAKUN

On Friday 9 January, I woke up to a plethora of messages from many people, congratulatory messages, messages of goodwill, accolades and tributes. It was great….to start a new year in such manner, and I was…..and still am grateful.

The leadership of sports governance in Nigeria, the National Sports Commission, steered by Chairman Shehu Dikko, and Director General Olopade Bukola Olopade…..was the source and cause of these messages. Yes, talks have taken place, but the reality was still pleasant. These gentlemen actually put heads together to formally and officially place on me, a position that resonates with me, that represents a wider angle of what I have been doing for years, and what I stand for, committed to continue to do….and they created a committee for me to work with, to lead in our surge to realign sports talent of Nigerian descent living, based, raised in diaspora, with Nigeria the country – to identify those sporting talent in diaspora that can add value to our sporting fortunes and give them a sense of contentment and desire to want to fly our nation’s flag in sports meets.

And so, the National Diaspora Athletes Discovery Committee was formed, with yours truly as Chairman. It is particularly pleasing because, as I stated earlier, it’s a rubber stamp of what I have been doing prior to this day. My football sojourn in Nigeria is littered with stories of my role in bringing a fair few football players of Nigerian origin to feature for the Nigerian football team. This is a success sojourn as a good number of them remain in the national team today, on the cusp of making history in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco as I type this.

And the thinking is – if I could have, with the support I received in those days, made as much success as I did with football – I certainly will do a much better job of it across all other sports, with the support of my most learned and experienced Committee colleagues, and the backing of the NSC leadership.

This is right up my street. I was/am a diaspora sportsperson….having been born and raised in diaspora by Nigerian parents. My children are Nigerian diaspora people, having been born and raised in diaspora by us, Nigerian parents. I have worked with many diaspora parents and children, and I know what my country needs. We need to use sport to make impact. We need to harness all that we have, from grassroots Nigeria but also from diaspora Nigeria to rewrite stories and create historical moments of inspiration for our country, through sports.

That is the underlying message of Nigeria’s Renewed Hope Initiative for the Nigerian Sport Economy, spearheaded by the President of Nigeria, and which has been placed in the hands of NSC Chairman Shehu Dikko and DG Bukola Olopade. And to be brought in to be a part of it……is a huge honour.

As DG Bukola told me as he was rounding up our conversation where he informed me of their decision last week, ‘work starts immediately, the Commonwealth Games is around the corner’.

I have taken the bait, accepted the challenge, and because it was a job that I had advocated for, borne out of my belief in what we can do, I have to say….I’m up for it.

Diaspora Nigerians in sport, this is our chance to make impact. I won’t do it alone. I can’t. I need sports people in diaspora. I need my colleagues in NDSC to let’s do this together. If we get one extra medal than we would have got, from the discovery of one extra talent from diaspora, it’s one achievement that we can build on. We can do this…..and I’m proud to say that the environment to achieve it has just gotten better with the establishment of this body.