The Minister of Art, Culture and Tourism, Barrister Hannatu Musawa, has come out with an emphatic prediction that Nigeria’s sports sector will witness a positive change and transformation within the next few years, through vibrant transformative ideas of current personalities in authority.
Sports247 reports that Musawa singled out National Institute for Sports (NIS) director-general and chief executive officer, Comrade Philip Shaibu as an example of someone who is taking Nigeria to greater heights in the sector and tagged him the right person to head the training centre.
Musawa made the remarks during an engagement involving NIS, her ministry and Bodyline Fitness private venture, ahead of a programme tagged ‘LIFEFIT,’ heading into which she also expressed confidence in Shaibu’s ability to create positive impacts in Nigeria’s sports and creative economies.
While highlighting the importance of the creative economy and sports to open fresh opportunities for young Nigerians, Musawa stressed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made the right decision in appointing the former deputy governor of Edo State to head the NIS.
The minister further noted that Shaibu’s understanding of the transformative power of sports has reflected in his approach to repositioning the NIS, thereby making him well suited for the responsibility, with credible leadership and a progressive sense of direction.
Musawa submitted by noting the importance of developing good teachers and coaches for training and mentoring purposes, then expressed optimism that Nigeria’s sports sector will witness significant transformation in the coming years through initiatives being implemented at the NIS.
“I don’t think the President made a mistake in (Shaibu’s) appointment. In the next few years, Nigeria’s sports is going to completely change,” Musawa posited, while affirming the ministry’s readiness to work closely with him in order to achieve a successful transformation.
