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NCF President's Address at the 4th National Cricket Club Championship in Kaduna - 12th July, 2009 | (2009-07-25 )

Distinguished Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to this 4th edition of the National Cricket Club Championships in this global centenary year of cricket and 105 years of Nigerian cricket. There is no doubt that this is an exciting time for the sport which has emerged as the fastest growing sport in the world second only to football. The new funding policy put in place by the ICC coupled with the new tournament structure that encompasses the three formats of the game; test, ODI and T20 has given cricket a new lease of life among competing sports. The admission of cricket into the Olympic family will further create new impetus for this game of gentlemen. Here in Nigeria, it is noteworthy to note that in this centenary year of cricket, Nigeria has for the first time in the history of the game being accorded ODI ranking for its senior team. Pursuant to its participation at the World Cricket League Division 7 which held last month in Guernsey, Nigeria is now ranked 39th in the world and 6th in Africa. For the first time ever, the country's senior team donned coloured clothing and played with a white ball in true ODI tradition. The U-19 team two weeks earlier had indeed beaten the senior team to coloured clothing when it participated in the U-19 Cricket World Cup Qualifiers(CWCQ) in Zambia. Indeed it is the desire of the NCF that this tournament be played in colours as from next year and with a white ball in true ODI fashion in alignment with the global thrust of the game. Strategies to actualise this will be worked on and articulated within the forseeable future. As I welcome you to this 4th National Club Championship, let me remind you that this  was one item in the 6-point vision of the last Board of the NCF equally led by my humble self  that was  resuscitated after  a  minimum of a 10-year absence. Equally  resuscitated after a similar absence is the National Secondary Schools Cricket Championship sponsored by Dufil Prima Foods Plc  which held from November  2008  to March 2009  in the major cricket-playing schools  all over the nation.  This tournament which was  funded by a  sponsorship grant of =N=12.5million has renewed interest in the game in schools creating a pathway for the selection of age-grade national teams that will compete in U-13, U-15, U-17 and U-19 regional tournaments for Nigeria. It is unfortunate that Nigerian cricket centenary year in 2004 was not marked. However it is not too late to do so and we take the opportunity of this 105th year of the game in Nigeria to recognise the contributions of players and administrators alike who have made a mark in the last century and five years of cricket in Nigeria. Whilst a robust framework is being articulated to select such contributions in a manner which is seen as fair to all, the NCF Board in its wisdom has opted to start the merit award process by conferring the 2009 gesture to the following three Nigerians who are the only winners of the National Sports honour for cricket. Having being honoured by the nation at large, the NCF regards them as a veritable starting point for the Cricket Hall of Fame project that is popular in according recognition to deserving sportsmen. Today, the NCF not only has its own website but has a  secretariat  that is growing in effectiveness  on an on-going basis. There is no doubt that good governance off the field will often result in good performance on the field of play and we are slowly transferring the benefits of good planning to the players motivation to wear their country's colours with pride and be motivated to win! It is perhaps also noteworthy that I was elected as the Vice-President of the Africa Cricket Association(ACA) at the last AGM of the body last month; a deve;opment which is to the glory of Nigeria as a whole. There is no gainsaying that the National Sports Commission must encourage the placement of qualified Nigerians in both continental and international sports bodies as a deliberate policy to influence sporting policies in a manner that will be beneficial to the development of sports in Nigeria. Despite these modest achievements among others, there is still a lot to be done to be done to make Nigerian cricket take a quantum leap in the next four years: There is an urgent need to measure our participation in the game. We need to  know the total number of cricketers, coaches, umpires, groundsmen etc that are involved in the game. It is only when we know these numbers on an accurate basis that we can seek to grow them.  This will assist in setting targets on an annual basis and also iad in allocating resources on an even basis. We need to make the zonal structure work for us through the zonal coordinators who are responsible for the states under them and must be able to report on a quarterly basis challenges and achievements in their zones. This is the time to professionalise our administration by appointing a General Manager who will report to the Board and be in charge of day-to-day administration. The ICC given the recently implemented funding policy which has allocated more resources to each country is committed to ensuring that agreed budgets are followed and members don't spend money they don't have! The GM's position should also be complemented by an Accounts Officer who will have the responsibility of preparing the monthly and quarterly financial reports required by the ICC on an on-going basis. This has been recently done successfully under ICC-Africa's supervision by Tanzania and it joins Kenya, Uganda and other African ASSOCIATE members who have adopted this process. In order to allow the GM's position statutorily, we commenced the review of our constitution two years ago, we need to conclude that process so that we have the enabling environment to actualise that. We need to finish this off at the AGM and seek the necessary endorsements from the NSC as quickly as possible once it is approved by the AGM. We need to also rebrand the NCF into CRICKET NIGERIA in line with not only global contemporary practise but also to give the body a private sector orientation in its marketing efforts. The constitutional review should also take this into consideration. We must seek to establish programmes that will enable the game to be played all year round. Formats like softball cricket clinics during the off-season will prove equally exciting to both schoolkids and seniors  for example and can be played in any open concrete-based area with a tennis ball and just one bat! We must seek to integrate women's/girls' cricket into our national programmes on an immediate basis. With women accounting for over 50% of the Nigerian population and having the power to release their kids to participate in the game, it has been argued by the ICC that member countries who don't seek to empower  women and teach them the rudiments of the game would not only be losing out in terms of spectators but also will not receive the required co-operation when seeking the release of their children; either male or female. I'm happy that already about four states have some womens cricket structure at the moment, we will use that as a springboard to set up an annual national womens tournament and encourage the four states to set up similar competition structures in their states. Finally we must consumate the efforts that have been commenced in terms of building at least one turf wicket before the end of 2009. This issue is of utmost importance for us as a cricketing nation and was exhibited even more openly during the U-19 CWCQ in Zambia when our boys found it extremely difficult coping with batting on turf wickets that tournaments of such stature are played on. Having enumerated some of the challenges that we are going to be faced with in the next four years, I'm pleased to advise that membership of the new board of your federation is constituted with committed personalities, some already known, who have pledged their time and resources in continuing the upward direction of cricket administration in the NCF and I take time to present them to you on an individual basis: Dr Yahaya Ukwenya retains the position of 1st Vice-President, he is the Chairman of Kaduna State Cricket Association and he is also the zonal coordinator for the North-West; Mr Soki Dakoru is our new 2nd Vice-President, he is the Chairman of Rivers State Cricket Association and also the South-South zonal coordinator; Hon Bappa Missau is the Government nominee and we are pleased to have him in our midst. Ms Bimbo Sowoolu is the NAWIS representative on the Board and is a senior official of the NTA and has alreadt started the work of giving cricket the necessary leverage on the NTA; Mr Okon Ukpong is Chairman of Oyo State Cricket Association and zonal coordinator for the South-West zone ; Alhaji Saidu El-Buba is the Chairman of Borno State Cricket Association and North-East zonal co-ordinator; Col A.O Okoh represents the Armed forces on the Board; Alhaji Alfa Mohammed is the North-Central zonal co-ordinator and finally Dr A.O Okunbor who is the NAPHER-SD representative on the NCF Board. Mr Adokiye Dans remains the Secretary subject to changes by the NSC. The outstanding position for the zonal co-ordinator for the South-East zone will be advised in due course by the NSC. I believe we have the necessary number and variety of competences on our Board to move this Federation to the next level.

Let me at this juncture recognise the contributions of two former Board members, Messrs Ewa Henshaw and Chuma Anosike for their sterling work in the last three years. I want to believe that we are still one family and they will still support the work of cricket in one capacity or the other.

Thanks and God bless you all.


Kwesi Sagoe
President, Nigeria Cricket Federation