Mr. Sigha Porbeni, addressing pressmen in Warri City Stadium, Venue of the AYAC.

Frank Efe
The former Director of Sports, Delta State, Mr Siegha Porbeni has commended the Athletic Federation of Nigeria, AFN, for monitoring activities of Nigerian coaches and athletes during the camping period of the Youth Championship holding in Warri.

Speaking to Journalist at the Warri City Stadium, today, Mr Porbeni encouraged all other sports in the country to emulate AFN, saying sport is the only thing that can unit the people.

The former sport director said Nigeria should not expect too much from this championship as this is just the beginning for the young athletes to attain any height they want to attain in athletics.

He said; “We must go back to  plan, and from there we  grow and then we can harvest. We must plan with these youths. Don’t expect something tomorrow.

He said the boys and girls that are competing in this championship are the future Olympians, just as he pointed out the old athletes in the country “have been battered, beating and worn out. Today we have a new set, give them two to three years and these are going to be our Usen Bolt and other big names in athletics.”

On why Nigeria sport is not getting it right, Mr. Porbeni put the blamed on sport operators who he said are not running the affairs of Nigeria sports properly.

He said; “The zonal structure is in good feet but the operators are not operating it properly. And of course again, the Nigeria factor is behind it. What ought to go to those zones are not going there. If people in Abuja have not received salaries and some have not even gotten their housing allowances or traveling allowances, is it those that are in far away Jigawa that will get theirs?”

Mr. porbeni blamed the failure of spot in Nigeria to lack of facilities, a situation he said has “made our sportsmen and women ill prepaid for any championship”.

“How do you want to train a child how to huddle without a huddle stand? How do you manage to train a child how to throw a short-put without knowing the right weight of a short-put; either a 3Kg or a 3.2kg? Are you going to use orange? He queried.

He, however, stressed that for Nigeria to get it right, it has to put in the right people in the right places without injecting politics or sentiments into it.
END.