Former Lagos State Governor and former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, has urged Nigerian sports policymakers to make deliberate investments in grassroots sports development.
Fashola said the country and the continent stand to benefit immensely from the global multi-trillion-dollar sports industry.
Fashola, who spoke at the grand finale of the 2026 ITTF Africa Youth Cup held at the Borteyman Sports Complex in Accra, Ghana, where he served as the special guest of honor, praised the quality of talent on display.
The former Governor described the tournament as proof of Africa’s vast sporting potential.
Fashola said the performances of the young athletes reinforced the belief that Africa possesses abundant human resources capable of producing world-class champions with the right support.
“I am particularly thrilled by the display of these young talents. It shows that our continent is rich in human resources when it comes to sports. Looking at what happened in Accra, I could see raw talents that only need refining to become world-class,” Fashola said.
He commended the leadership of ITTF Africa, led by Wahid Oshodi, for organizing a successful championship and expressed hope that similar developmental initiatives would be replicated across other sporting disciplines.
“I must commend the leadership of ITTF Africa led by Wahid Oshodi for putting up a good show for the world to see, and I hope this can be replicated in other sports,” he added.
During the tournament, Fashola was honoured for his role in the revival of table tennis in Africa.
While serving as Governor of Lagos State, he supported the establishment of the Lagos Table Tennis Classic, which later evolved into the Nigeria Open and has since become the internationally acclaimed WTT Contender Lagos.
Highlighting Africa’s demographic advantage, Fashola stressed that governments must begin to treat sports as a strategic economic sector rather than merely a recreational activity.
“Looking at Africa’s strength as the continent with the youngest people in the world, investing in sport will help us immensely.”
‘ These young people can earn a lot from sports. As we know, sports is now a trillion-dollar industry globally.”
” If we deliberately invest in grassroots sports development, we can truly benefit as a continent.”
Fashola concluded by urging policymakers across Nigeria and Africa to adopt long-term sports development policies capable of creating employment, producing elite athletes, and unlocking the enormous economic opportunities available in the global sports industry.
