The Hon. Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh, has stated that Nigeria is enthusiastic about the potentials of eSports, also known as electronic sports or gaming sports.
The Minister made the assertion during a meeting with organized Nigerian eSports proponents, led by Mr. Clinton Agbor Ayuk, at his office in Abuja.
Senator Enoh expressed his faith in the promising future for the growth and advancement of eSports. He added that, sports as a sector provides Nigerian youths with a profound sense of social inclusiveness, and eSports, a gaming technology driven sports should therefore play a similar pivotal role in the nation.
“It does appear to me that the potential for the growth, progress and development of eSports as a sport in our country appears incredible,” Senator Enoh said.
“From my assessment of this sports, it appears as a Ministry and as a country we cannot continue to ignore the activities and operations of eSports, because I found that whether we recognize it or not, this game is going on”
“I believe for example that in promoting sports as one of the sectors that gives us the greatest approximation of social inclusiveness, as one of the sectors that takes care of unemployment, it can take care and alleviate people’s poverty”
“One of the things I expect, for example is that even in terms of taking care of the security challenges in the country, my hope is that eSports more than guarantees us more than all of that, through strengthening the forces that unites us.”
Mr. Clinton Agbor Ayuk, the leader of the delegation, stated that the purpose of their visit was to show support for the Minister, who has been fair and unbiased toward all sports, regardless of their status in the country.
He took the opportunity to brief the Hon. Minister on the numerous competitions in which they have participated over the past eight years. He also highlighted their recent achievement at the Afro Arab championship in Saudi Arabia, where they proudly fielded approximately 200 players.
“We came to see you as a father, because we have heard you times without number say you are a father of all sports and so we felt it will be right for us to come and identify with you, to confirm to the world that this Ministry is a ministry of the entire sporting activities”
According to Mr. Armstrong Ogwuche, the secretary of the eSports delegation, eSports is widely considered as the fastest-growing sport globally. He added that Nigerian youth have enthusiastically embraced eSports, viewing it as a multi-billion naira industry with significant growth potential, positioning Nigeria as a promising emerging market.
