The Chairman of the Screening Committee of the just concluded 2nd edition of the Niger Delta Games, Sir Braveman Wodi, has revealed that integrity-driven administration and youth-focused reforms were key factors in the success of the event held at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria.
In an exclusive interview with the media, Sir Braveman Wodi emphasized that age cheating, a major problem plaguing the Nigerian sporting ecosystem, was tackled head-on by the Screening Committee. He disclosed that strong actions were taken against recycled senior athletes and rule violators, and that lessons learned from the first edition of the Games proved invaluable in this regard.
According to Sir Wodi, the mandatory pre-tournament screening and advocacy visits to the 9 participating states were other crucial elements that contributed to the success of the Games. He explained that after the first edition, the organizers, Dunamis-Icon, chaired by Project Consultant Chief Itiako Ikpokpo, brainstormed on ways to improve the event. One of the decisions taken was to lower the age bracket to focus on churning out young talents.
“We started by lowering the age bracket, because the central idea is to churn out young talents. So we did that and we said there would be a lot of issues with age cheats, that’s the pain of Nigerian sports, what do we do? So we went hunting for those who are men and women of integrity. And also brought out rules which would be applied by all, and that is exactly what was done,” Sir Wodi said.
To ensure the success of the Games, the Project Consultant suggested advocacy tours to all participating teams and pre-tournament screenings. This led to the discovery of 260 ineligible athletes, which were subsequently replaced by the states. “We forwarded that to the States and we gave them room to replace those athletes. In doing so, the battle line had been drawn because we had given them the platform to make the necessary amendments. What we did there was to weed out what we thought was not right in terms of age cheating, in terms of poaching of athletes and breach of the rules,” Sir Wodi explained.
Sir Braveman Wodi, a former Director of Sports at the Bayelsa State Sports Council, highlighted the competitive balance achieved at the event, stating that the talent levels were more authentic. “I think the level of competition is keen and to a very large extent, you will agree that the athletes are very young, and we had done a lot to that effect. The competition was keen because the competitors are within the same age bracket, and we are seeing their potential.”
He attributed Bayelsa State’s decline on the medals table to administrative bottlenecks and psychology, framing it as a circumstantial setback. However, he expressed confidence that Bayelsa’s sports fortunes will rebound with the recent appointment of the new Deputy Governor, Pastor Dr. Peter Akpe, a sports enthusiast.
“Bayelsa State has a very good sports structure, and I think their lull on the medal table somehow has to do with psychology. Because we lost our Deputy Governor in December, morale was low, and it affected preparations because sports is directly under the portfolio of the Deputy Governor. So we had some hiccups and administrative bottlenecks that culminated into what you are seeing now.
“I am sure that now that we have a new Deputy Governor who is sports personified… He was a martial artist and he started at the Bayelsa State Sports Counsel as the Organizing Secretary before he later retired and went on into politics, so he is a man who knows what sports entails. So we are privileged that we have another Deputy Governor who knows much about sports, and it is a thing of joy that we have him. And I know that the fortunes of Bayelsa sports will turn around, and it will only get better.”
Sir Braveman Wodi concluded by praising the organizers, noting that competitions of this quality are rare. “Beautiful, what I want to say is that they have done a good job, and you know we don’t have this kind of competitions regularly. More especially when we have sponsors who are ready to sponsor it year in, year out. So we need to do our own due diligence by making sure that we participate by the rules.”
