Mr Sule Unekwuojo is the Personal Assistant to Kogi state Governor, Captain Idris Wada.
A loving sport man and a Journalist per excellent spoke on the achievement of the Governor in the area of Sport.
Question: Tell us about your interest and that of the government on sports?
Sule Unekwuojo: People who know me, knows apart from being sports man
- I've reported and covered sports for over twenty years and was a
sports talker too - I had a regular programme running for on ten years
on NTA. I can come here and not be part of sports. I want to share
experience with those who are in charge - Luckily we have a governor
that likes sports and he is a sports man too - he plays squash, tennis
and table tennis - and in his younger days he was a footballer, he has
been a good lover of sports and is willing to grow the game
Question: What strategy is government considering to breed sports'
talents in the state?
Sule Unekwuojo: For Kogites, yes, there are lot of potential, but the
problem is that we came in at a time when the sports culture has
really dropped and we are trying to start everything afresh. Is like
there was no sports culture at the time we came, we are starting
everything all over in football, athletics, table tennis, tennis,
boxing and many others. Yes the potentials are there but we need to
start training and developing and getting them ready for tournament so
they will begin to make the state proud.
Question: How soon should we expect the state government's realize its
transformation in sports?
Sule Unekwuojo: Time frame, If there is anything you need to take your
time on - is sports with you have to really catch them young nurture
them from primary and secondary schools and they begin to become
prominent - it's not something you rush, the people we met at the top
are on their way out - people many not get to feel the impact now but
with time you begin to see how Kogites excel in all sports. Let look
at four to five years for the government to successfully transform
sports.
Question: What are the plans of the government to groom and keep our athletes?
Sule Unekwuojo: That is the problem with the bunching - again there is
very little you can do as we don't have a national policy at the
national level to stop that - that if you are not originally from that
state, you don't have the licence to adopt athletes -with states that
have the money to throw around like Delta, Rivers and all the oil rich
states, but we do not have the money - the advantage is for those we
are grooming, nobody can come to take them with time they will get use
to it and when they grow no one can be able to take them away from us.
To keep players is going to be difficult - We can't stop athletes
from running for other countries - you can see Nigerians running for
US, UK, Portugal, and others all because of the money. but there is
nothing you can do if you can't keep your talents - but all we still
have to do is don't give up continue to groom our local talents you
only need to continue to develop more talents
Question: What is the agenda of the governor for sports in the state?
Sule Unekwuojo: The culture must be grown from the length and breadth
of the state. From the local governments to the state government we
have to begin to develop the culture - if were the commissioner of
Education today - I will tell them that look if there is a school out
there with no sports facilities - I will say the school should be
close down - it's just that policy we would soon get to that point.
Question: What does the governor make of Confluence Queens' victory
over Taraba Queens?
Sule Unekwuojo: They are telling us they are sorry - it will not
happen again - it's like whatever happens last week is a mistake - the
result speaks volume, we are happy and very excited -we just hope they
can sustain the momentum - it's just four games and they have lost one
away,draw one and won two - but results so far is good.
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