Ernest Osogbue.
Bukola Olopade is fondly called Ozogula, by friends and family, he is your quintessential sports administrator, who combines private sector experience with the understanding of bureaucratic procedures, to achieve results. As a young footballer, he was nicknamed Ozogula by admirers, because his heading skills were reminiscent of Samson ‘Zoom Zoom’ Ozogula, of the defunct New Nigeria Bank FC, and Super Eagles fame.
Olopade could not fulfill his footballing dreams, because his mother loved education so much. While his father, a petroleum engineer, wouldn’t have minded his son being a footballer, his businesswoman mother, would not have it. Her love for education, even prompted her to uproot Olopade from Warri, Delta State, where he was born and had his early upbringing and schooling, to their ancestral home in Abeokuta, where his mother believed the educational system was better at the time, and also to groom him properly as an Egba child.
Despite becoming a lawyer, Olopade’s love of sports never died, it was therefore not surprising when Otunba Gbenga Daniel, the governor of Ogun State, made him Special Adviser on Youth and Sports, in 2006, before appointing him as the youngest commissioner to the same portfolio, one year later. He was to be in office for the 8 years of Gbenga Daniel’s government.
Soon after leaving office in 2014, Olopade was to quickly dash abroad to obtain a post graduate degree in sports management, having observed that there were loopholes in that sector in Nigeria. ‘Ozogula’ had by now, abandoned his wig and gown, to became a full-time sports entrepreneur, delving into other areas of sports beyond football, his childhood passion. Long distance running, field events, and general athletics became his second love. He was to build an extensive clientele in sports consultancy, marketing, and management, with state governments, gilt-edged companies, and multinational corporations.
With this extensive background in sports marketing and consultancy, Olopade had a birds eye view of the vast sporting potential available in Nigeria, and how it was being poorly managed. He could see the gaps between talent and management, and as well, the lack of sustainable sports development policies. He equally observed the complete lack of understanding of sports as a business. These observations, made him determine in his heart, to one day be at the helm of sports administration in Nigeria, so as to oversee and properly harness these latent resources to the benefit of the nation.
As some people would say, speak your dreams out loud, and they’re likely to become reality. Olopade’s dream was to come to fruition, when on November 14th 2024, President Bola Tinubu named him the Director General of the National Sports Commission, NSC. It was indeed a proud moment, and a dream come true. But as the saying goes, the reward for hard work, is more work, and so, rather than sit on his laurels to celebrate, Bukola Olopade has been breaking his back from day one, in consonance with Shehu Dikko, the chairman of the NSC, to rejig and reposition Nigerian sports, for optimal performance.
For Olopade, the first and most significant item on the desk, on resuming office, was changing the long held perception of the average Nigerian, that sports was simply a recreational activity, to the understanding that sports is a money spinning venture. Having understood that sports is a multi billion dollar worldwide industry, Olopade wants Nigerians, including athletes, coaches, supporters, journalists, market women, traders, and every citizen, to benefit from the pool of resources that Nigerian sports could generate. He dreams of when sports would displace petroleum as Nigeria’s number one product, by contributing the highest quotient to the nation’s GDP. After this, the issues of winning laurels and bringing glory to the nation could follow. For now, he wants to see the amount of jobs created by sports and sports affiliated activities. He wants to see how the average Nigerian with any sporting ability could benefit from that ability, and help lift a struggling family from poverty to prosperity. With the abundance of talents in Nigeria, Olopade believes that in no distant time, these dreams could be realized.
He therefore, wants Nigerians to be patient with the ongoing reforms in Nigerian sports, as he believes that they would ultimately yield the desired results. At the time of our meeting, contracts for the development, and upgrade, of over 60 sports facilities around the country, including the two national stadiums in Abuja and Lagos, as well as mini sports arenas in select grassroots locations, had been awarded. According to him, contractors were already gearing to move to site. This also includes the development of new facilities in select universities, where the NSC, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, have created departments of sports studies, where courses on sports management; sports entrepreneurship; sports science; sports tech; and many others could be studied as degree programs. The University of Ibadan UI, the Ahmadu Bello University ABU, and three other universities, are a part of the pioneer institutions in this regard. Added to this, Olopade intends to create a business desk, within the NSC, whose duties amongst others, would be to generate business ideas, create financial streams, and ultimately achieve financial autonomy for the NSC in the not too distant future.
To reform Nigerian sports appropriately, Olopade believes that one must first reform Nigerian football; football being Nigeria’s number one sport. To his understanding, if the commission could get it right with football, then all other sports would fall in line. He therefore, wants the football coaching structure streamlined; with better club licensing for the league; where corporate governance is number one; with youth and academy development as a mandate; improvements in officiating, with possibly, having foreign assessors to monitor refereeing; elimination of violence and hooliganism; and most importantly, having 40 million eyes watch the Nigerian league on a weekly basis. If these targets are met, with footballers earning reasonable wages, Olopade believes that Nigeria would be on the fast track to achieving not only football excellence, but general sporting excellence.
These ideas, are the drivers of the current reforms in the local league, and as well the streamlining of the coaching structure and philosophy across the national teams, from the U-15, to the Super Eagles. The target is no longer just about winning the U-17 world cup, and seeing it as an end in itself, but in having a constant pool of U-15, U-17, and U-23 players, who would seamlessly graduate through the ranks, up to the Super Eagles and Super Falcons. In this manner, sustainability would be achieved, and Nigeria could make a better impact at the international level. This is why there was the strategic assignment of the Super Eagles manager, Eric Chelle, to the U-23 national team. The target, is to have ‘the gaffer’ be in charge of grooming the next generation of Super Eagles, and also, to identitify football talents of the Nigerian diaspora, and blood them early in their careers, so they could imbibe the Nigerian culture and footballing philosophy early enough.
Currently, the reward system across sports has improved, with elite athletes, now receiving regular grants, to enable them train and stay focused, rather than engage in distracting activities that keep them from training. As well, the instant reward system, as witnessed at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where athletes were rewarded on the spot, after winning medals, was here to stay. This is without prejudice to whatever rewards the government has in mind at the end of an international competition. All these innovations will remain in place for all foreseeable competitions, but are ultimately targeted at improving Nigeria’s outing at the 2028 Olympic Games.
That Olopade has a smooth working relationship with Shehu Dikko, is not in doubt, at least, from our observations. This is contrary to some media reports of a friction and power struggle between both men. Throughout our interaction, Olopade punctuated every statement with the mention of Mallam Shehu Dikko, an indication of the respect and high esteem with which he holds the NSC chairman. As for the constitution of a board for the NSC, Olopade believes that it was President Tinubu’s prerogative to appoint a board, but until the president does so, most of the statutory institutions that should constitute the board, were already functional in line with extant laws. Nigerians should therefore, rest assured that all is well until the president constitutes a board.
For Olopade, no past Nigerian president ranks anywhere near President Tinubu, as far as the reformation and development of Nigerian sports is concerned. The NSC DG, remains motivated by the president’s desire for reforms and the holistic improvement of Nigerian sports. The ideas currently being implemented by the NSC, are primarily driven by the president’s vision, support, and encouragement, which have been invaluable in the achievement of both the already visible results, and the ones soon to unfold.
As I shuffled out of our meeting, following a call to Olopade from Shehu Dikko for an urgent official engagement, my enthusiasm regarding the future of Nigerian sports was rekindled, our criticisms and constant demands for improvements, may yield results after all, I thought to myself. While there remains the usual Nigerian skepticism, and doubts about changes, indications from current happenings, show that there’s actually a genuine effort at making beneficial and sustainable changes.
While hoping for the best therefore, there’s the niggling feeling at the back of my mind, that if these ambitious plans by Olopade and the NSC, were to succeed, then Nigerian sports would be on line for global dominance in the not too distant future. It becomes necessary therefore, to urge the support of stakeholders, while remaining vigilant and watchful to ensure that everything goes according to plan. Until then, we keep our fingers crossed, and wish ‘Ozogula’ and his team godspeed.
