[Nigeria] How to alleviate Poverty through sports, by Kpakol

from The Vanguard

By Emma Ujah, Abuja

The National Coordinator (NC) of the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP), Dr. Magnus Kpakol, has begun a fresh push for poverty eradication through exporting young, talented Nigerians in the field of sports.

To this end, he met the Minister of Sports, Hon. Bala Kao’je, in Abuja, yesterday, to discuss the modalities in which the NAPEP could collaborate with the ministry to identify those Dr. Kpakol described as “hidden talents ” across the country.

Dr. Kpakol said he was convinced that there were many unsung, talented Nigerians at the grassroots, who could be mobilised, trained and given the opportunity to get hired by foreign clubs and thereby earn decent living, while uplifting their families and communities from the clutches of poverty.

Dr. Kpakol’s words, “we see sports a very important tool in the fight against poverty and we decided to come and share with you, particularly because you are the primary person in charge of that and we want to see how we can pay more attention to fighting poverty using some of your facilities.

“We think that there are some hidden talents in our country. They can play soccer, basketball or some other games, especially in the remote parts of our country.
“The people don’t get to see them. We can have many Okochas, many Martins, many Kanus if we search for them, assist them develop and later they will not only take care of themselves but also others in their communities.”

According to him, the fight against poverty must be fought from all fronts.
In his response, the Minister of Sports said that the ministry already had a database on young talented Nigerians and that he was prepared to work with NAPEP towards achieving their objectives..

Hon. Kao’je urged the Nigerian private sector operators to invest in sports as according to him, there were many benefits in sports both to the individual, the society and the overall national economy.