THE ESTABLISHMENT AND THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE NATIONAL SPORTS COMMISSION IN NIGERIA

The purpose of this study was to find out why the Federal Government of Nigeria set up the National Sports Commission and to know its operational system and achievements in the field of sports. An extensive review was made of selected books, dissertations, sports magazines and programs, Nigerian Daily News Papers and minutes of sports meetings. Two sets of questionnaires were used to obtain necessary information from sports administrators, coaches, organizers, university teachers, students and sport lovers. Questionnaire A went to members of staff of the National Sports Commission while questionnaire B went to physical educators and students of physical education in Nigeria.;From this study, the writer discovered the following: (1) The British people who colonized Nigeria introduced sports to the country. They were aided by the sailors, traders, missionaries, and military officers who also came to Nigeria. (2) The Empire Day Sports celebration which came up every May 24 of every year, and which was introduced by the British in Nigeria in 1903 was the foundation of sports competitions in Nigeria. It was from this idea that the inter-school, inter-house, inter-collegiate and inter-club competitions sprang. (3) Formation of sports associations in Nigeria led to the establishment of the National Sports Commission which was charged with the responsibility of coordinating the work of the associations. (4) The National Sports Commission was established by Decree No. 34 in 1971 to take up the responsibility of developing and promoting sports all over Nigeria. (5) The sources of revenue to the National Sports Commission were through grants from the Federal Government of Nigeria, donations from individuals or groups, firms and clubs, affiliation fees from clubs and proceeds from sports like soccer and boxing.;The following recommendations based on the writer's findings were suggested for implementation: (1) The Government of Nigeria should give out more money for the administration of sports. The lack of sufficient funds does not only prevent participation but also denies the generality of the people's opportunity to watch sports as recreation. (2) Since the facilities for sports in Nigeria are not adequate, the National Sports Commission should influence the government to provide more facilities in the country. (3) It is recommended that the government should establish factories that will produce sports goods and equipment. This will reduce the scarcity of and high expensive sports materials. (4) All coaches and sports organizers in the services of the National Sports Commission should be given opportunity to further their education and/or to have constant refresher courses in their field of specialization. (5) In order to obtain the support of the public, efforts should be made to educate the entire public on the importance of sports through all media of information available in the country. (6) The National Sports Commission should employ adequate sport psychologists in its research division so that the behavior of the athletes can be studied for positive utility. (7) There should be one sport for one sport secretary and where practicable he should have an assistant. (8) The Sports Medicine division of the N.S.C. should prevent the use and abuse of drugs by athletes. (9) The N.S.C. should provide means of recreation to the entire populace of the country. (10) The Nigerian University Games Association should intensify its activities in sports in order to produce more of the national athletes.;The data collected from the sets of questionnaires were analysed separately and comparatively.