The National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Surulere, Lagos, once a cornerstone for training Nigeria’s coaches and medical personnel, has fallen into a state of alarming disrepair.
On Monday, Director-General, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu, conducted a tour of the facility and was confronted with a grim reality: an institution plagued by neglect and decay.
The dormitories, offices, and toilet facilities were found in deplorable conditions, with crumbling infrastructure and signs of long-term abandonment. Essential services, including the water system and electricity, were barely functional, while general maintenance appeared to have been ignored for years. The sorry state of the institute, tasked with shaping the nation’s sporting talent, left Shaibu visibly shaken but resolute.
In response to the dire situation, Shaibu declared a state of emergency for the institute’s renovation, vowing to restore it to its former glory. “This is unacceptable. The National Institute of Sports is critical to our nation’s sporting success, and we cannot allow it to rot away,” Shaibu said during his inspection.
He pledged swift and decisive action to address the institute’s challenges, emphasizing the need for urgent intervention to revive its operations.
The scale of the task ahead is daunting. The NIS, established to train and retrain national coaches and medical personnel, requires extensive repairs and modernization to meet contemporary standards.
Shaibu’s commitment to revitalizing the institute will demand significant resources, strategic planning, and collaboration with stakeholders.
Shaibu’s declaration has sparked hope among sports enthusiasts, who see his leadership as a potential turning point for the institute. However, the success of this ambitious revival will depend on the government’s support and Shaibu’s ability to translate his promises into tangible results.
For now, the nation watches as the new Director-General takes on the challenge of breathing life back into a once-proud institution.