SPORTS UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa has taken off in a historic debut.
Located at Idumuje- Ugboko in Aniocha North local government area of Delta state, Southern Nigeria, the Sports university is the initiative of famous philanthropist and business mogul, Hon. Prince Ned Nwoko.
The birthing of the university is a long drawn story in courage,tenacity and focus. 23 years ago, Nwoko had muted the idea while serving as member ,House of Representatives, Aniocha/Oshimili federal constituency in 1999. As a parliamentarian,he had sponsored a bill for the establishment of a Sports university in Nigeria.
Bureaucratic hiccups and political subterfuge, all too familiar with the Nigerian system, would abort the conception as the bill was not passed. But a determined Ned Nwoko,superlative game changer who knows how to score goals ,kept his eyes on the ball.
On May 21,2022, the federal government,through the National Universities Commission,NUC,granted operational license to the country ‘s premier sports university,placing Delta state and Nigeria on the world map.
Nwoko, a British trained lawyer,educated at the university of Keele,England and Kings College, university of London,where he had an honours degree and a Masters in Maritime and Commercial Law was a gifted footballer in his youth.
Playing in parts of Nigeria, especially in the Eastern region,Nwoko grew up with innate fascination for sports. Beyond soccer, he is a keen Lawn Tennis player and swimmer.He has mentored a sizeable number of sports enthusiasts till date, including several celebrities and every day people,in his his private Tennis Courts and Pools at Abuja and idumuje -Ugboko country home.
Founding a sports university is hence a consummation of Nwoko’s sporting life,from the bloom of youth to adulthood.
He has in the past few years deployed his personal funds to build the university without a single loan from any financial institution or investor.
The campus is a spectacle citadel.Magnificent structures of classrooms, auditorium, staff quarters , hostels,administrative blocks as well as sundry sports infrastructure have sprung up at the serene university, which beckons in lavish splendour, less than 30 minutes drive from Asaba international Airport.
Sitting on an expansive plane, nestled in the tropical rain forest region of Delta North also known as Anioma,the Sports university has an enchanting landscape, that cascades far afield, overlooking the greenery horizon of neighbouring Edo communities like Ewohimi and Ohordua. A scenic view so stunning in exterior and wondrous in imagination.
A perfect sanctuary to groom young and budding talents in sports. The university combines sports and learning in a unique academic mix ,unprecedented in the annals of Nigerian university system.The university is structured to offer certificate,diploma and degree courses in sports as well as conventional academic curriculum with ( 4) four faculties, (30) thirty departments and (32) programmes.The first set of students would receive scholarships,courtesy of Prince Nwoko.
To strengthen its long term objectives, an arm of the Sports university, designated HIGH PERFORMANCE CENTRE has been established.The centre provides standard facilities,the latest technology and innovations in sports training and development.There is a comprehensive list of physical sports available at the institution : Football, Swimming,Boxing Badminton,Basketball,Lawn Tennis, Table Tennis,Track and Field events,Volleyball,Wrestling,Golf,Hockey,Gymnastics,Taekwando, Squash, Rugby, Cricket and Baseball.
The Sports university is designed to provide the best amenities in the sports world, like Olympic-size swimming pools, international Golf course and top -notch pitches for football, basketball, hockey and so on, a vintage nest of future champions.
Reflecting on the university which has commenced admission of students ,an excited Ned Nwoko said:
“ This is my dream from decades.To be able to provide an environment where men and women can do sports and also be educated.
“The sports university is so different from the conventional university. It is a special university for the pursuit of sports and education. 80 percent sports and 20 percent academics.
“The idea is to produce world- class sports stars who will achieve Olympic Gold medals,represent Nigeria in World Cup and break international records in sporting events”
A man of prodigious vision, Ned as he is fondly called seemed enamoured with pioneering tendencies.He is credited to have established the biggest law firm in London in the peak of his legal career in the 1990s in Britain and was adjudged the best black lawyer of African descent in the UK.
He is the first Nigerian and first black African to have embarked on expedition to the South Pole ,Antartica where in 2020, he hoisted Nigerian flag as the 13th in the icy clime. A symbolic tour he undertook to draw global attention towards the eradication of Malaria in Africa.
Nwoko is set to become the first politician to emerge Senator from Aniocha axis of Delta North and Idumuje clan, as all odds favour him to win the Delta North senatorial seat under the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party ,PDP in the 2023 general elections.
Again, he runs one of the largest private -driven scholarships in Nigeria, Ned Nwoko Foundation, shouldering the educational burdens of thousands of secondary and tertiary school students, while providing financial succour to the aged and the needy.
In 2018, he doled out over 100 million Naira for the rehabilitation of the Idumuje -ugboko/ Onicha -ugbo road, which is a major gate way linking the South South and South east to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The first time an indigene from that axis of Anioma would take such step.
Perhaps the most profound track record of Prince Nwoko ,besides the establishment of the Sports university is his role as initiator of the London /Paris club loans refunds which not only ended Nigeria ‘s recession but bailed out states and local governments from financial quagmire.
Whether as exceptional sports administrator, time honoured politician , international lawyer and patron of public charities, Prince Nwoko has proved enigmatic.
His Sports university, anticipated to take Nigeria to global heights in sports is particularly a giant leap for all Nigerians.
Source: Norbert Chiazor, veteran journalist in Delta state
