IVY League: Duke Decries Neglect Of Schools Sports

Former governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke, has said that school sports is the best option to tackle the decline of sports in the country.

Speaking at the final of the IVY League Junior Basketball Tournament held at the American International School, AISL, Lagos. Duke, who was at the event to cheer his 14-year-old daughter, Donna Duke, a member of AISL basketball team, noted that Nigeria can only regain the top spot in international sports if attention is shifted to school sports.

He said: “Don’t forget that the likes of Mary Onyali, Segun Odegbami, Atanda Musa among others were discovered from school competitions before becoming icons. But over the years, we have shifted away from concentrating on schools sports, which to me is responsible for our poor performance in major competitions lately. Talents abound in our schools but we lack the capacity to groom and nurture them to stardom.”

The soft-spoken Duke, who served as governor of Cross River State between 1999-2007 said there must be a link between the Ministry of Education and the Sports Ministry towards discovering hidden talents scattered across the country.