Standtall Husband attended the just concluded National Sport Festival in Kaduna for the last time. He was offered a Coach position and he turned it down because he believed he is not ready to be forced to favour a team over the other whether they did well or not or to syphon players money with his colleagues to be.
He and other players have witnessed in the recent as well as in the past of how the Sport Managment Team or Board would decide to share the money meant for the player in ratio 6:4 while the 4 will be for the players that the entire money was earmarked for in the first place. This is corruption in the highest order to me. How can this be allowed to continue?
Standtall Husband also said that when Gov. Fashola got to the camp in Kaduna, their own representative lamented about the peanut being paid to the sport people for their upkeep. Right there in front of everyone, Fashola was agitated as he conversed with the Lagos State Minister of Sports (though they couldn't hear him). They ended the program in a hurry. I do believe this is done just to save their faces and for Fashola not to get angry beyond normal infront of all. Corruption! I am sure Fashola could not believe what he heard.
But the height of this all is the manner in which some sport persons died. They have now introduced Kick Boxing into the festival. There was a player from Edo State that had his fighting opponent die, he gave his opponent a slightly kick on his arm and the guy fell and died. The Edo guy got to the final stage and he too was kicked lightly by a Kaduna Kick-Boxer and died. What?! A lot of people according to Standtall Husband believed this to be "fetish power". It's like the players were promised a lot of dough and winning to them, is the only acceptable grammar. What is this world turning into?
Hmmm, to end this story, Kaduna happened not to be a good place for so many sport people as they had to confront thugery attitude from a lot of Kaduna players who came with knifes, swords and daggers to claim a winning position. They tore up the drums and ready to fight with anyone if they should lose a game especially the Basket Ball Game. Are we breeding thugs in our sports? How can this people make it to the International Sports with this attitude? Will they go and fight to win?
And to think that no one checkmated these people or try to stop this act was beyond me. Where are we going Nigeria? When are going to end corruptions, hooliganism, Bribery, Fetish Belief, Cheating, Killings and lack of love for our neighbours?
When?
