19 March 2008
Lagos — Legal luminary, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) has called Nigeria University Commission (NUC) to upgrade sports as serious certificate award course in tertiary institutions, stressing that its importance in primary and secondary schools curriculum is unequalled.
Speaking in Ibadan during a media visit to his office as Grand Patron and Custodian of the forthcoming 15th Nigeria Polytechnic Games at Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Babalola said enhancing the role of sports in education is vital to resurrecting the dwindling value of the system.
"In Nigeria, Sports is not taught as a subject among the school's curriculum . In the United States, there is a form of sports training in the first and second year of secondary and tertiary programmes. It is the reason why inter-collegiate sport is common among them. We can borrow a leaf from this and even go a step further by making sports a course that will end up with an award of certificate. It will help a lot in adding more value to the profession. Sport plays a unifying role in Nigeria and its importance surpasses that of politics. Sports and education should complement each other, so we should strive harder to achieve a marriage of the two.
This will bring back the lost value and help the national growth," said the legal icon, who charged politicians to learn from sportsmanship behaviour of athletes who embrace each other after a fierce competition.Speaking on the games and his role, he said his status as a founding father of Federal Polytechnic Ado Ekiti and his involvement in sports from childhood compelled him to accept being the grand patron and custodian of NIPOGA.
"I grew up as a sportsman. I participated in sports in my youth days and now, I am a sports philanthropist. NIPOGA is educational and sports oriented programme, where my interest lies. The next edition comes up in an institution which I moved for its establishment in 1981, why will I not lend a hand? The people of Ado-Ekiti and Ekiti state in general will feel the impact of the games coming to their community." While thanking the federal government for itsfinancial assistance to the nation's polytechnics, he also called on the institutions to take proper care of the facilities built with the fund, calling on the organisers and athletes to make maximum use of the event as a tool for development.
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