Sports is like a religion – Shaibu, DG, NIS

The Director General of the National Institute of Sports (NIS), Comrade Philip Shaibu, has described sports as a kind of religion, saying the institute will make it work to benefit serving and retired athletes (and enable them) to have a smooth and comfortable life after their careers journey.

Shaibu, who stated this while playing host to a delegation of the Association of Retired Nigerian Sports Men and Women (RENISA) in his office, led by its President, Hon. Sunday Adeleye, said the NIS is keen and deliberate on reviving Nigerian sports and (returning) it to its place among (the) comity of nations.

While commending Adeleye for bringing former athletes under one roof, saying such (an initiative) will benefit members (in) the long term, the NIS boss said a sportsman should not be hungry after his active playing days as he urged the government to create a system where retired athletes can be absorbed.

Shaibu said, “For us in NIS, we’re here to make sure that sports (comes) back to life. Because for us, it is passion. We’re sportsmen and, like you said, sports is (a) religion to us. We’ll make it work. So, if others are coming to be traders and (merchants), we’ll not be (merchants) in the course of our job. We are here, we’re real sportsmen. We didn’t come to sports to make money; we came to make sure that we grow it and help others to benefit from it.

“The passion we’re putting (into) NIS is that passion to grow sports and we’re ready to work with you. Because even from Edo, where I became a reference point, I started a (programme) whereby if you (played) in any of our teams, whether swimming or any other, you just needed five years of service in our teams. If you (retired) from any club in Edo, we send you to NIS for training so that after your active (playing career), you could go into a new career as a coach, but NIS then was not working.

“I never knew, and I abused them seriously, that I would now become the NIS DG. And when I became DG, I became conscious of what I wanted to achieve with players in Edo, which NIS would have helped me to advance.

“Now, I’m here, and I’m encouraging the states to do the same because there is life after active playing. It would even put less pressure on your association in funding the athletes’ healthcare because they would still be earning after retirement. There are a lot of things we’re working on and my team will work with you to see the areas of collaboration. I’m in and NIS is in, to make sure that there’s life after your active career in sports. As (sportsmen) and women, after active service, the next level is coaching and you can coach till you die.

“This association, I think, will be very useful in bringing all these issues together. And not only that, it’s not just football, but sports in general. Your association will help to standardise and create a retirement plan for all our athletes and I think this is the way to go. Some of them are making money now, but are recklessly spending it. But with an association like this, you’ll be able to give them an investment plan and prepare them for life after service.”

He recalled how he settled the rift between the hitherto factions of the Nigeria Players’ Union under former international, Tijani Babangida and Harrison Jala, saying an association can only achieve results when it’s not factionalised and will attract funding from the International Players’ Union.

“We have a lot of dollars and euros out there because nobody can access them till we’re united to access them for the football players’ union. I said we cannot be dying and having ailments that can be dealt with by the players’ union and we’re just quarrelling and fighting over leadership. And because of that leadership fight, we’re not able to be recognised and access our funds,” he added.

Speaking earlier, Adeleye said the association believes that retired athletes deserve a good life after their careers, saying most athletes suffer and die in penury after their playing days because of a lack of foresight, which he said is the gap RENISA has come to fill.

He praised Shaibu for the transformation at the NIS, saying RENISA is ready to work with the Institute to move Nigerian sports forward. He added that the training and capacity building department of RENISA is ready to enrol its members at NIS in order to equip them with basic knowledge of sports and its benefits as a whole.