The National Assembly has been urged to immediately pass the Nigeria Sports bill.
This challenge came from a cross section of development experts and sports practitioners at a recent event organised to mark the United Nations International Day of Sports for Development and Peace, facilitated by the United Nations Information Centre, Lagos, in partnership with the Regional Representatives of the Commonwealth Youth Sports for Development and Peace Network, Adeola Diya and John Oluwadero.
Held at the United Nations Information Centre in Lagos, the forum drew attention to how sports can be deployed for national growth and development. The forum is part of the ongoing #Sport4DevelopmentNG campaign by CYSDP. The campaign seeks to promote sports for development and peace practice in Nigeria and support the Nigeria Sports bill.
The event, themed ‘Harnessing Sports as Tool for Peace and Development’, had paper presentations by notable speakers such as Mr Ronald Kayanja, Director, UNIC; Mr Damilola Oluwatoyinbo, motivation speaker and author; Honourable Adedamola Kasumu, chairman, House Committee on Sports, Lagos state House of Assembly and Mrs Oluwatomisin Adeoye, Programme Officer, Youth Empowerment and Development Initiative (YEDI).
In his address, Kayanja underscored the centrality of sports to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and as a means for meaningful engagement of the youth. He noted that sports are one of the tools for social inclusion, which is helpful in reaching the farthest and impoverished community. It is useful in fighting poverty, racism and other forms of discrimination.
“UN takes the issue of sports seriously, and therefore established a special envoy for sports, development and peace. In Agenda 2030, sport is important to promote peace, good health and wellbeing. Women are encouraged to participate equally in sports, thereby, promoting SDG 3 and SDG 5,” Kayanja noted.
He further counselled that policy formulators in the country need to deploy sports as a tool for engaging the energy of young people who constitute an overwhelming majority of the global population. Additionally, he noted that sports have proved to be highly effective in promoting inclusion, peace and sound health.
Kasumu, under whose watch the Lagos Assembly passed the Sport Trust Fund, emphasised the need for legislative instrument to be deployed in promoting sports for development.
Deploying football as a metaphor, Oluwatoyinbo took the participants through the values that are obtainable through sports. He noted that sports reinforce important values and skills, such as goal-setting, vision, self-control, multi-tasking, teamwork and excellence.
Adeoye shared the YEDI success story on how grass-root soccer in communities around Nigeria has helped to promote and achieve the SDGs for Peace and Development.
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