A highly-respected athletics coach and lecturer, Mutiu Oluwa has opined that corrupt professors and uncompleted facilities are responsible for the lack of impact being made by Nigeria University Games (NUGA) in the country’s sports sector.
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Sports247 reports that Oluwa took a look at the recently concluded outdoor season in USA’s National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and reasoned that Nigeria’s sporting exploits in universities could be better with adequate facilities available.
While also pointing accusing fingers at university officials and top lecturers in various higher institutions across the country, Oluwa reckoned that Nigeria can equal the impact of NCAA, which continues producing top talents annually.
He asserted that the recent outdoor season in the NCAA again highlighted why USA’s collegiate system is one of the world’s most effective talent development structures, which also provides Nigeria with a steady stream of international stars.
From record-breaking performances to qualification standards achieved at major global championships, Nigerian and African athletes who compete within the NCAA system made the best of combining education with structured sports development.
Oluwa praised the NCAA for always producing elite athletes who dominate global competitions, while it also continues giving valuable lessons for Nigeria and other African nations seeking to strengthen their university sports systems.
The renowned track and field expert submitted that Nigerian universities have failed to maximise the enormous potential available within tertiary institutions in the country due to corruption, poor administration and paltry facilities.
“Don’t expect anything good for sports in our universities, mostly government-owned universities. Jealousy and hatred are everywhere. The lecturers will envy any performing athlete even if he or she puts on used clothes within the campus.
“It’s a sad story. Our academicians are fraudulent. The last NUGA was done with uncompleted facilities. The contractors are the professors. In fact, the professors have 97 percent of all abandoned projects in all universities,” Oluwa alleged.
