By Tom FredFish
It is one thing for the government to set agenda, and the other to achieve its purpose. A promising government agenda must be consistent with three factors which are actors, resources, and institutions. Actors are people needed to drive the policy; resources are cash and material on the ground and institutions are the government machinery available for use.
Accordingly, when Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom state whirled out a five-point agenda in 2015 upon assuming office, he was vested with knowledge of the three factors that must be deplored to mold his plan to success, specifically actors.
For the government to accomplish an agenda, a reliable actor must steer it. The task of every Chief Executive Officers of a State is to formulate policy/agenda, and scout for credible persons to execute them. Mr. Emmanuel’s intention to alleviate poverty, create jobs and wealth through sports hinged on the faith he had in the person to implement the sports agenda of his administration.
The appointment of Sir Monday Ebong Uko to Head the Youth and Sports Ministry has given the Emmanuel-led administration the positive incentive to complete its agenda and finish its two terms of eight years satisfactorily. Under Sir Monday Uko’s leadership, who is otherwise known as “Monty”, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has achieved numerous milestones, becoming a pacesetter for the Emmanuel administration to anchor its completion agenda.
To establish precepts for the undertaking of Governor Emmanuel’s sports agenda, Sir Uko supervised the construction of a modern sports center at West Itam Secondary school to aid in discovering and developing sports talents before initiating the first-ever annual “Sports Festival for Schools and Colleges” in 2016. The aim according to sir Uko was the charge given to him by governor Emmanuel to “go down to the grassroots to discover and nurture talents to take over the nation’s retiring athletes.”
True to the demand by Governor Emmanuel to Sir Uko, the commissioner for Sports did not fail or derail in that respect. The launching of the first-ever 2016 Ibom Youth Sports Festival for Schools and Colleges in the state, with particular reference to the grassroots has facilitated the discovery and nurturing of talents to take over from the faded and retiring stars in Nigeria.
More than 15, 000 students from primary and secondary schools in Akwa Ibom participates in the yearly event in about 23 games which include athletics, badminton, baseball/softball, basketball, boxing, chess, cricket, cycling, football, handball, judo, karate, kung-fu and traditional sports (Mbok). Others are scrabbled, squash rackets, special sports, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, and wrestling.
The discovery of the teenage sensation at the second edition of the Akwa Ibom Youth Sports Festival, Imaobong Nse, has put paid to the hard work, determination, and foresight of Sir Uko to assist Mr. Emmanuel to realize his completion agenda in sports.
Imaobong Nse was discovered during the third edition of the Akwa Ibom Youth Sports Festival in 2018 when she represented Ibeno LGA. And had gone ahead in the same year to win gold in the women’s 400m final at the National Sports Festival in Abuja. The 17 years old track Queen has justified Sir Uko’s adroitness to achieve set goals.
From the Olympic Games in Tokyo to the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Nse, the Nigerian track Queen who has so far made 6th appearance for Nigeria in 2021, competing in her first individual event at a major championship, running in heat 3 of women’s 400m in 52 seconds and winning the Gold medal in the 4x400m mixed relay. The 2021 gold medalist at the World Under 20 Athletics Championship in Kenya, is a testimony of sound policy implementation panache by governmental actors such as Sir Uko.
In football, Akwa United has been crowned champions of the 2020/2021 Nigerian Professional League season, becoming the league winner and finding a spot at the CAF Champions League cup, after listing the longest indomitable run for 18 games. The team had established a series of records since Mr. Emmanuel assumed office in 2015. For the first time in its existence and even that of clubs from the axis of Cross River and the Akwa Ibom States, in virtually 60 years of FA Cup, Akwa United FC clinched the cup in 2015 and duplicated the feat in 2017.
Sir Uko further supervised the building of a brand new stadium at Eket and the reconstruction of Ikot Ekpene and Uyo stadiums as strategic plans to build infrastructure and enhance the capacity of the youths. The agenda to etch Akwa Ibom youths to be responsible, accountable, and self-reliant gives birth to the intentional policy of Mr. Emmanuel’s administration to entangle them in construction contracts. Sir Uko ensured that youths are enlisted to undertake contracts under the inter-ministerial direct labor jobs, empowering them to advance in financial independence as well as political inclusiveness.
A catalog of Sir Uko’s activities as the helmsman of the youth and sports ministry exemplifies the fact that no political leader can achieve considerable excellence in office without relying on individuals that can drive his intention to reality. Owing to manifestations of the sports agenda, Governor Emmanuel can conveniently nudge Sir Uko for increased responsibility in the days ahead, without a scintilla of doubt.
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