If you have found it hard to understand why Nigeria sports is dying despite the huge funding from government and the large market of over 80 million fans. Believe you me, the reason is that the current operational law governing sports in the country (Decree101) which gives government the right to fund and control the sport, is a killer law. It has killed all form of entrepreneurship spirit that should bring about growth and development of the sport.

Hold Up ! Decree ? We Are No Longer Under Military Rule
Unfortunately over the years successive Nigerian civilian governments have never deemed it necessary to expunge the Decree 101 operating since military era. This has been the case despite knowing that government funding is like a poisonous drug administered to our sports day after day.
SPORTS WORLD OVER FLOURISHES AS A BUSINESS NOT A GOVERNMENT TOOL
In the immediate past administration an inter-ministerial committee comprising the Ministries of Sports, Finance and Federal Inland Revenue Service was set up to agree on a series of incentives to boost private sector involvement in sports, which Government was expected to approve but didn’t.
Today the Honourable Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh has stated that the Federal Government of Nigeria has approved the adoption of the National Sports Industry Bill (NSIP) approved by immediate past administration for full implementation, under the renewed mandate of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“The National Sports Industry Policy as approved by the last administration has received endorsement by the current administration, led by our president, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” The Minister stated. “The thrust of the policy is to advance sports as a business, not just as a mere recreation.
The incentives are to provide an enabling environment for private sector investment and support for sports in the country. We’ve heard this before without implementation and that’s why our sports is light years behind other parts of the world. However Senator Enoh added:
“It is important that going forward, the investments and funding for sports should come from the private sector, as obtainable in other parts of the world,”
“One of the plans of the Federal Ministry of Sports Development is to see how to sell sports to the private sector. We want to build the trust and confidence of the private sector, so that competitions and the initiatives of the ministry can enjoy the supports and endorsement of the private sector.”
With all these said we hope the Nation’s sport sector would return to the days when the private sector were the main drivers.