9th November, 2012
Team Nigeria’s 200m athlete to the last London 2012 Olympic Games, Noah Akwu has advised the Federal Government to work out a curriculum, where pupils, students and undergraduates would participate in athletics while schooling.
The Middle Tennessee State University of the United States of America, USA undergraduate opined that the practice over the world is that students are made to take part in a particular sport even as they go about their studies.
He noted that some countries would continue to dominate other countries in sports because they have identified the secret behind ruling the world of sports, especially athletics.
Akwu, a quarter miller insisted that concerned authorities should take a cue from countries that are making waves in the athletics world saying “Athletics is not an expensive sport to develop but it needs serious planning if the country must succeed, there is need for the National Sports Commission, NSC to work hand-in-hand with the Ministry of Education to see how sports can be absorbed into the curriculum of schools and higher institutions”.
The 22 year-old athlete stated further that if the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN can go back to the grassroots, he is upbeat that Nigeria would become a force to reckon with in the track and field events. “I believe Nigeria can rise again in the track and field events of any international competition, only if we look inwards to unearth budding talents and nurture them to greater heights”.
The unavailability of tracks in primary, secondary and some higher institutions is a huge factor militating against the development of athletics in the country, and Akwu believes that the concerned authorities could channel some of the budgets allocated to them to construct tracks in zones, where six or more schools can use at different periods to train their students.