Mallam Bolakale Adisa Magaji is no doubt, a complete sports man, following his rise in the industry from being an athlete, to a coach, and now, an Administrator. Today, he is the very first Executive Chairman of the Kwara State Sports Commission. He championed the transition from Sports Council to Sports Commission, and after three years on the saddle, he highlighted some of the breakthroughs in this chat sportsbash.com.ng.
Excerpts:

Q: To what extent are you cherishing being the very first Executive Chairman of the State Sports Commission?

It’s not the beginning that matters, but how it will end. I pray that it will end better than we are doing now. When we took over, sports were existing and we are building on what we met. Talking about the National Sports Festival (NSF) and the National Youth Games (NYG), our positions have improved. The first time I supervised our participation in the NYG, our final placement improved tremendously. Some people said it was because it was staged here in Ilorin. The following Games hosted in Delta state, we got better than what we did here.

Q: Before the inauguration of the Commission, you have been part of the defunct Kwara State Sports Council. What were the major challenges in transiting to Commission status?

I spent 18 years at the Sports Council before I left. I was a foundation member of the people that started it here at the Stadium, in 1977. When we started, we met a well organised Sports Council, in terms of performance, attitude to work, financing and dedication. Unfortunately, when I came back here, the standard had fallen beyond necessary.

So, anybody bringing a reform here will meet a lot of obstacles. I can assure you today, if there is going to be an election here, if I have up to 10 percent, I am lucky. It’s not because I am not good, but because I am introducing reforms. A lot of them are not used to the type of positive reforms I am introducing.

For example, when I first came in, they didn’t sign the attendance register… that’s when they resume and when they close from work. We found out that some people will just sign and go back home. Some coaches will not be at their duty posts where they are supposed to be training their athletes. Some Secretaries are not where they are supposed to be. I tried to change that mentality, and they didn’t enjoy it. They knew I was not bored. I know what I want to do, and I know what I have come here to do. As early as 7.30am, I am already in the office, as the Executive Chairman, and it’s not supposed to be so, but I am doing that to set examples.

The first Games that we went for was in Abuja. I said the athletes, the Director of Sports, the Secretaries and the Head of Coaching should go, while the Heads of Developments should stay behind, because it shouldn’t be a jamboree. Even me, I didn’t attend. What’s my duty there? We have the Director of Sports, Head of Coaching and the Secretaries there. But it doesn’t go down well with them. If I had gone, my allowances as the Executive Chairman would be at least, equivalent to what would have catered for about seven athletes that can win medals for us. But they felt I deprived them of what they should have made. It’s not easy, but thank God, we are getting used to it.

For every Games, we normally carefully select athletes that we felt can do well, on merit. That also attracted a lot of criticism. But we let them know that it’s all about results and performance.

Q: The Governor is about completing the renovation and modernization of the Indoor Sports Hall, but that project wasn’t embarked upon without the creation of credible alternatives, which included renovations and constructions. How did you cope with this?

Our Governor is a complete Sports man. It will interest you to know that in 1973, he was a member of the team that represented the state at the National Sports Festival. He knows what it takes to be an athlete, and the benefit of training and preparations in relation to performance. Then, he played squash, table tennis and was engaged in swimming.

My first project here was the development of athletes.

I have always said it, you can have knowledge; you can be practical and be everything, but if you don’t have the required support, you might not be able to do anything positive. Whatever you see as an achievement here, I dedicate it to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, because he his the pillar behind our successes.

I thank God, and I thank him for his continuous support. He has done a lot for us, and he has continued to impact meaningfully in the areas of facilities, sponsorship and total support.

The Governor has done so much for us . For the National Youth Games, he has sustained our participation. If you see the new attire for the state athletes, it’s different from the one we used last year. And surprisingly, they were made here in Kwara, at the Garment Factory. I took samples to them, and that was all. We have always been buying them from Lagos. It’s even cheaper than that of Lagos. That again, is part of the initiative of His Excellency. He has touched virtually all sectors. He is the Governor of the people, serving the people.

Q: What was the most appreciative part of your three years’ reign as the Executive Chairman of the Sports Commission?

It’s the tremendous support we are getting from Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq. The support is giving us serious leverage. Part of our achievements was moving us from the Sports Council to Sports Commission. The money being pumped into the sector is commendable. It has increased massively in terms of infrastructural development and sponsorship, and we are expecting that our subvention too will be increased.

Just recently, he noticed that anytime we are going for major events, our vehicles used to break down. He gave us money to put all our vehicles in good shape. We bought engines and other parts, to refurbish all our buses.

I dedicate my reign to God and His Excellency.

Q: The state is about to have a new and modernized Indoor Sports Hall, following the ongoing renovation of the edifice. What are the advantages that await?

For some of us that are here as far back as the 1970s, you will know that when the Indoor Sports Hall is completed, the socio-economic situation in sports will improve. Government will also rake in more revenue here. Sports Federations will open national camps here. Back then, we normally have camps here ahead of the All Africa Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.

Apart from that, we will start organizing bug time tournaments.

When we resumed here, we found some facilities that were not too good. The Indoor Sports Hall was dilapidated to the extent that it stinks. It was home for rats and snakes. His Excellency brought the idea that the government cannot immediately begin the renovation of the Indoor Sports Hall without first providing alternative training venues for the athletes.

That was when we started with the Outdoor Basketball Courts, the Outdoor Volleyball Courts, Handball Courts, which also included construction of changing rooms, offices and toilets, and the construction of a Table Tennis Hall. We now have a Table Tennis Hall, and Kwara is the only State that has a dedicated facility for only table tennis. Then comes the eight glass back Squash Court, apart from the renovation of the existing Squash Court.

We are also making efforts to have a befitting Badminton Hall. And when the Indoor Sports Hall is completed, there will be multiple opportunities because its a multi-purpose facility.

I went to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s birthday in Abeokuta. I met him at the Squash Court. I was cracking jokes with him that the new Squash Court in Kwara is better than any from any part of the country. I showed him the pictures on my phone, and he was asking if it wasn’t a photoshop.

Afterwards, he commended Governor AbdulRazaq for the good job. For Chief Obasanjo to credit somebody, you know what that means.

Look at what he is doing for Kwara United Football Club. They are well funded, and we’ll take care of them. I thank God that it’s happening during my time here.

Q: Talking about facilities, the Commission sometimes ago toured some Local Government Areas in a bid to renovate and construct Sports facilities. How far have we gone on this?

For the government, everything has time. For example, the Olofa Stadium in Offa, everything has been completed towards having it renovated and modernized. All we are waiting for is the Bill of Quantity. We also visited Lafiagi. When the Ministry of Housing concludes their own part, the government will do the needful.

Congratulations to the Commission for having an athlete that made the nation proud at the Paralympics, talking about Mariam Bolaji Eniola. What next, for the athlete?

What people are enjoying today about Mariam Bolaji Eniola is an interesting story. I was in Lagos then. I came in for the National Sports Festival, and I met the late Rafiu Oyebanji Bello. He was lamenting that he had a Para badminton tournament in Uganda, and that there was no sponsorship yet. I took him to Governor AbdulRazaq. He was sponsored to the tournament. He went, conquered Africa and became the best in his category. From there, he qualified to go to Brazil, and Governor AbdulRazaq still sponsored him. And that was how Eniola came in. Late Oyebanji said, let me look for more athletes that are like me. She came in and was doing so well.

They wanted to travel together to Spain. As at that time, I was already here. It was during Ramadan. Whenever Oyebanji comes to Lagos, he normally stays in my place.

When he was going to Lagos for his visa, I told him where to get the keys to my house in Lagos. As God will have it, at about 2.30pm, he called me to say that he had completed his tasks in Lagos and was coming back to Ilorin. I advised him against doing so. He said he thought he could make it. But unfortunately, he didn’t make it. He had an accident in Oyo State, and died.

And that has been the motivation for Eniola.

The first tournament she went for, she sustained injury. It was the Sports Commission that took her to a Physiotherapist for three months. We even made special shoes for her. These are the efforts by the Kwara state government. That’s not enough. Government has a big plan for her. She is presently under the employment of the state government, even before she traveled out for the Paralympics. We are going to make a case for her to be promoted, to be given a scholarship to go to school, and also, be given monetary reward. This will come very soon. She is a decent, gentle girl, dedicated to her training.

Q: The issue of Eniola brings us to the issue of Para athletes. Part of their demands was to be given employment. How far have you gone about this?

Honestly, I wouldn’t have wanted to talk about this. This is because it’s a sensitive issue. I don’t understand them, or rather, I would say, they don’t understand me and how the system works. It’s complicated. There is no way a state government will employ all the Para athletes that we have. It’s not possible. And it’s an understatement to say we didn’t employ some of them. I can name five of them that are working with us here.

Tunde Malik is under our employment, so for Eniola and Abdulwahab, who is the coach of Amputee athletes. We have Abdulkadri Romeo, then we have Rasheed. They are all under the employment of the Kwara State Sports Commission. How many other sports have as many as five like they have?

To be honest, I understand their plight, but they don’t really understand how it works. I am not fighting them, and I don’t have anything against them, but they don’t seem to understand that I also have my limitations.

The little stipends we are giving to some of them, we are getting it because some of us are sacrificing by denying ourselves some legitimate allowances. As the Executive Chairman, I don’t have a Personal Assistant, and I don’t have a driver. I can understand that they need help, but they should take it easy. Government will do the needful when the time comes.

Q: Lets talk about the current contentious issue of alleged removal of team sports from the Games by the Commission. How true is this?

I hope I won’t be misunderstood again. For those that are not aware, all team sports events in the 36 states and Abuja do qualify for the main event from the Zonal Eliminations, for both the National Sports Festival and National Youth Games. Our last Zonal Elimination was held in Jos, Plateau State. Unfortunately, Kwara teams, football inclusive, couldn’t attend, and that was automatic disqualification. Last year, they made arrangements among the Directors of Sports from the Zone, and two spaces were seeded in football, one for Kwara, while another state took the second slot. Unfortunately, they passed a circular that it has been reduced to one slot, because of venue issues, and because we didn’t participate in the Zonal Elimination, they gave the only slot to the state that was there. Nobody deliberately removed football or any other team sports. Three years ago, the NYG was hosted here in Ilorin, and we participated in football and won it.

Q: How have you been coping with the phase at which the Governor is supporting sports development?

If I have my way, I will want him to increase the phase, because I can cope, and I know all of us in sports can cope.

Q: Kwara United Football Club escaped relegation two consecutive times, all due to the timely intervention of the government. Now, another season has started. Don’t you think the first loss at home will affect the team along the line?

It’s too early to make any statement on Kwara United’s performance after just a match. As a sportsman, you have to be take cognisance of the fact that you win some, lose some and draw some. It is safe to say that the bad result coming at the beginning of the season will serve as a wake up call.

Last season, the first two clubs that started the season well, Doma United and Sporting Lagos ended up being relegated. The first game of every season is a lesson. A defeat doesn’t make a team a bad team.

My advice is, clubs in Kwara state generally…Kwara United, Abubakar Bukola Saraki FC, all the NLO teams and the female teams should work together. If they work together in unity, they will definitely get the required results. They need to share ideas, especially the coaches. It should be a collective thing. I want to appeal that there is no sports person that always wants to lose. Everybody goes to the field with the determination to win. Let’s always encourage ourselves.