A two-day seminar on netball for P.E. Teachers in Cross River State was recently organised by the Community Sport and Educational Development (CSED) Initiative in collaboration with the Cross River State Ministry of Education. The basic netball training event took place on the 2nd and 3rd of May 2024 at the Table Tennis Hall of the U.J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar.
This training is part of “Project 2027,” which is CSED Initiative’s quest to provide Nigerian school children and youths access to learn and play the game of netball in a safe space. Netball is the only sport in the world that is specifically designed for girls and women. CSED Initiative sees the game of netball as an important tool that could be used to promote the general health and well-being of the girl child, as well as empower them to blend sports with their academic pursuit.
38 participants from various secondary schools in the state, as well as three Cameroonian refugees who represented the Cameroon community that is based in Adagom 1, Adagom 3, and Ukende Camps in Ogoja local government area. The training was facilitated by Edema Fuludu and Dr Grace Ataha, who were supported by Ifiok Inim (an Uyo-based secondary School P.E. Teacher). Dr Ping Osaji Nsagha of the Human Kinetic Department of the University of Calabar was one of the newly trained netball coaches. Two students of the University of Uyo, also benefitted from this free netball training that used a manual that was developed by Ambassador Mary Waya (a Netball Africa certified instructor). The trained netball coaches were provided with a free sports shirt that was donated by Lord’s Taverners (a UK-based charity).
The newly trained coaches were taught the basics of the game, netball rules, applications of the rules, how to mark a netball court, the different netball positions, as well as the roles that are attached to these positions. Warming up, passing the ball, throwing the ball, the restriction of the movement of players in certain parts of the netball court, practicing how to throw the ball and how to score were also covered. This was then followed by a practice game between the new coaches who were divided into team blue and team purple.
Another important aspect of the training was the session on safeguarding which was presented by Dr Grace Ataha. The newly trained coaches were advised that students and athletes are entitled to take part in sports in a safe environment. Access to free online safeguarding training was later provided to the newly trained netball coaches.
The Director of schools from the Ministry of Education Mrs. Okama U. Amos stated that she was very pleased to see an NGO that has passion for carrying out development and empowerment programmes that are targeted at the female gender, which was one of the reasons she approved the training course for P.E. Teachers in the state. She urged the participants to take advantage of the training and become reliable coaches in a sport that is being revived in Nigeria. Furthermore, she mentioned that she would work together with the Director of School Sports of the Ministry, Mr. Orlando Asuquo to monitor the use of the freely donated netball starter packs (a pair of netball rims/nets. finger-held whistles, two sets of netball training bibs, and netball balls) to the representatives of the participating schools.
The Director of Sports of the State Sports Commission, Mr. Moses Ita also urged the participants to make good use of the knowledge gained during the training. Their post-training actions will lead to the development of the game of netball in the state.
Mr. Moses Ita stated that netball will soon become a medal event in the National Sports Festival.
Finally, Mr. Moses Ita mentioned that he was happy that a participant from the State Sports Commission was in attendance, and he promised to help spread the sport to schools in other local government areas that were not represented in this seminar.
As part of events marking IDSDP (International Day of Sport for Development and Peace), the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) and CSED Initiative recently (6th to 8th April 2024) held a three-day introduction to cricket training for eighty Cameroonian refugees at the Adagom 1 playground, in Ogoja Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria.
Ten volunteer trainee cricket coaches were also introduced to the game of cricket for the first time. The training event was supervised by Bibiana Ngwenifun (Leader of Adagom 1 Camp), who ensured that the female folks were equally represented at this training event.
The new cricket players and trainee coaches were taught the basics of cricket by NCF Development Officer, Blessing Etim and Patrick Edididong. On day 1, the training involved the introduction of cricket to the trainees, fitness drills, basic batting, bowling and fielding drills. Day 2, involved a mixture of classroom based training and field training. The areas covered were cricket seminar, detailed explanation of cricket laws, as well as the demonstration of batting and bowling techniques. On the last day of the training event, a practice game between residents of Adagom 1 and Adagom 3 was held.
Attendees at this groundbreaking training event were drawn from the three camps that are based in Ogoja Local Government Area, namely: Adagom 1, Adagom 3 and Ukende. At the end of the training event, cricket starter packs for training and match purposes that were donated by Lord’s Taverners and the NCF were freely distributed to the Sports Committee Leaders of Adagom 1 and Adagom 3 Camps.
Representatives of Ukende Camp were advised that the event organisers will hold a separate training event for them within the next six weeks, after they would have taken delivery of sets of cricket packs.
The Chairman of Cross River Cricket Association, Dr Macfarlane Ejah stated that their Association will build on the success of this training event to develop grassroots cricket in the Ogoja and Northern axis of the State.
Going forward, based on the NCF experience of using cricket to support IDPs in Uhogua Camp in Edo State, the current leadership of the NCF is expected to support their new cricket coverts by using cricket to provide them with psycho-social support, empower them in terms of using the game of cricket to learn soft skills like computing/coding, as well as promoting tolerance and respect for each other. More importantly, living in peace and harmony with the other residents of Ogoja community, is also a priority.
On their part, the Trustees of CSED Initiative, are currently exploring the possibility of introducing other sports (netball, table tennis, pickleball, and taekwondo) to residents of the three Cameroonian camps. CSED Initiative also hope to take on the challenge of building a multi-purpose playing court at Ukende Camp.
Subject to overcoming the issue of high cost of generating alternative source of electricity, as well as procuring 20 to 25 computers, CSED Initiative hopes to introduce the “Sporting Coders” programme to some selected residents of the three camps.
Ako Allan (a Cameroonian refugee) and his team, are already on ground waiting to take the benefit of the “Sporting Coders” programme to the next level. This is after the “Sporting Coders” programme was successfully piloted in Bayelsa State, by members of the netball team of Tare Pet Montessori Group of Schools. CSED Initiative will soon commence discussion with the NCF on how their grassroots players can also benefit from taking part in the “Sporting Coders” training programme in future.
Twenty-one female students of Tare Pet Montessori Group of Schools, Yanagoa, Bayelsa State recently graduated from the Sporting Coders pilot programme that was organised by CSED Initiative and the Management of the school. This first of its kind training programme in Nigeria which combined training in the sport of netball and coding is aimed at introducing the participants to basic training in coding, as well as laying the foundation for them to consider future careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic), an area where female are currently underrepresented.
The twelve weeks training programme which started in the first week of January 2024, involved the participants doing their coding training every Saturday morning for a period of two hours, which is then followed by two hours of netball training. Free lunch was provided to the netballers by the school cooks. In order to sustain the interest of the students from the rigorous training of the netball coaches that are led by Funsho Ekundayo, the students were provided with two educational vouchers worth ten thousand Naira on each occasion. Furthermore, three of their ex-netball colleagues who are now in universities were provided with educational vouchers worth fifty thousand Naira by the training organisers, who have Lord’s Taverners (UK based charity), as their kits supplier. The students were provided with twelve netball training/match balls and two separate sets of sports jerseys and training bibs.
During the period of the training course, CSED Initiative donated one hundred and ten general interest books to the school library, as well as a new laptop to the Management of the school, who did everything within their power to ensure the success of the training programme. The parents of the 21 students were also not to be outdone, as they showed up in numbers during the school’s recently held inter-house sport competition and on the gradation day of the Sporting Coders programme, in order to support their daughters. The school proprietress, Mrs. Victoria Mologe advised the students to work hard and consider developing their sporting talent, while still pursuing their academic or professional careers.
Tare Pet School are currently the netball champions of Bayelsa State. The captain of the team, Alaere Wisdom, lauded the coaches, parents, teachers and the sponsors for providing them with the opportunity to access this free girl child friendly training programme. In her remark, the Director Technical Bayelsa State Sports Council, Mrs. Catherine Sasoude stated that while growing up in the 80s her parents used to discourage her from taking part in sports, but she managed to combine sport and education together. As a result, she is now supporting her two daughters to take part in sports, and netball is currently their sport of choice, after they have tried other sports.
Mrs. Sasoude thanked the sponsors (CSED Initiative and Lord’s Taverners) for investing in the leaders of tomorrow. On his part, the Head of School Sports Coordinators in Bayelsa State, Mr. Godwin Adagbo, stated that Community Sports and Educational Development (CSED) Initiative training of games masters and games mistresses under their “Project 2027” programme is currently yielding positive results in the state. Bayelsa State Sports Council is the only Sports Council in Nigeria that currently have a functioning netball team that takes part in competitions.
Certificates were presented to the graduating students of the Sporting Coders programme in the presence of their cheering parents, teachers, and fellow students. The biggest cheer of the day was the announcement that the 21 graduates of this programme would be provided with a fifty thousand Naira educational voucher by the organisers, once they show proof of being offered admission into a tertiary educational institution in future. Furthermore, these new graduates would be supported to access online safeguarding training, and they will be tasked with supporting 10 local primary schools to develop their netball access training through the “Bee netball pathway.”
A spokesman for the event organisers stated that CSED Initiative is currently exploring the possibility of rolling out the Sporting Coders programme in other states of Nigeria. They are open to partnership and sponsorship with other relevant NGOs, corporate organisations, and educational institutions. More importantly, subject to the availability of funds, they will consider doing the Sporting Coders training for residents of hard to reach community (IDPs, refugees and wards of the state).
The Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) in partnership with the Cross River State Ministry of Education and the UNHCR Ogoja Zonal Office recently (8th and 9th February 2024) organised a two-day badminton outreach training for Physical and Health Education Teachers from 16 secondary schools.
18 P.E. Teachers were joined by 52 secondary school students, as well as nineteen students/volunteer trainees from the Cameroonian refugee community that reside in Ogoja Local Government Area.
This training event which was held at the premises of St. Catherine College, Igoli, Ogoja is aimed at taking the game of badminton to hard-to-reach and underserved members of the community.
The event was powered by the Community Sport and Educational Development (CSED) Initiative, as part of their two-year grassroots badminton development agreement with the BFN.
The attendees at the training event were taught the basics and practical aspects of the game of badminton by Godswill Ifejika; who is a trained “Shuttle Time” instructor, as well as a Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) accredited umpire, and he was supported by Nwachukwu Igwe and Obianuju Eneh.
The BFN which is one of the most active sporting Federation that promotes grassroots sports development in Nigeria, decided to organise this particular event in order to use sport in promoting community integration and peaceful co-existence between the Cameroonian refugees in Adagom, and members of the Ogoja community.
At the end of the training event, basic badminton training equipment (rackets, shuttlecocks and nets) were freely distributed to the representatives of the secondary schools, as well as representatives of the three Cameroonian refugee camps that are located in the Ogoja local government area.
During an interview, a representative of the Cameroonian community in Ogoja, Ako Allan Agbor, thanked the event organisers, as he stated that taking part in sports helps to alleviate the trauma of the refugees and will provide them with the opportunity to take part in an organised pro-social activity like badminton.
However, Ako Allan Agbor re-echoed the yearnings of the other attendees for government agencies and NGOs to take capacity-building programmes to marginalised groups and residents of rural areas in Nigeria.
A representative of the Cross River State Ministry of Education, Mr Francis Odey urged the P.E. Teachers, the students and members of the Cameroonian community to strive to put into good use the training that they have received from the BFN trainers.
UK-based sports recycling Charity, Lord’s Taverners recently delivered 712kg of sports kits/equipment to the CSED (Community Sports and Educational Development) Initiative.
This was done by the Management of Lord’s Taverners as part of their effort to empower children and youths to take part in grassroots sports activities.
Since 2019, this is the third consignment of sports kits/equipment that Lord’s Taverners has delivered to CSED Initiative.
The latest kits/equipment delivery brings Lord’s Taverners’ total donation to CSED Initiative to about 1500kg.
It would be recalled that CSED Initiative has in the past successfully distributed the donated kits/equipment to some of the projects, secondary schools and universities that they currently work in partnership with among whom are Edo State Cricket Association, ABU Zaria cricket team, IDP Camp Uhogua, netball activities in Taraba, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Lagos and Akwa Ibom states.
This time around, a Trustee of CSED Initiative stated that the recently donated kits/equipment by Lord’s Taverners will be freely donated to projects that support vulnerable and hard-to-reach children and youths at IDPs Camp Uhogua, as well as a new project that will support asylum seekers/refugees in the Ogoja area in Cross River.
The Ogoja Sports for Refugees project will start in 2024.
The Trustees stated that the CSED Initiative has recently reached an agreement with the UNHCR field office in Ogoja to support asylum seekers/refugees and members of their host community in Ogoja, by delivering sports for change training programmes for teachers and students in the three separate refugee camps.
“Apart from supporting the training of teachers in football, we will provide the children and youths with some of the free kits/equipment that we received from Lord’s Taverners. Also, access to training in sports like badminton, cricket, netball, table tennis, chess, scrabble and taekwondo will be gradually introduced to P.E. teachers and selected students at the refugee camps and in the Ogoja community. The goal is to use sports and access to quality training to promote peace and unity between the refugees and members of the Ogoja community,” the Trustees stated.
The indoor sports hall of the Akure Sports Complex recently hosted a two-day netball training event for game masters and mistresses in Ondo state.
The netball training event was organised by the Ondo State Ministry of Education Science and Technology, in collaboration with Blitzik Sports and CSED (Community Sport and Educational Development) Initiative.
The training event was attended by 36 game masters and mistresses from various public and private schools, some staff of the Ondo State Sports Council, as well as some secondary school students.
The attendees were taught the theoretical aspect of netball, as well as the practical aspect of the game by coaches Edema Fuludu and Onome Edema.
According to coach Edema Fuludu, the training event is part of the NGO’s effort in developing and empowering Nigerian children and youths, especially the girl child to play netball and further spread the awareness of the game to one million Nigerian school girls before the end of 2027.
The practical aspect of the training covered the areas of basic warming-up drills, ball handling, passing, shooting and positioning of the players on the netball court.
The attendees were also taught how to mark the netball court, as well as the importance of safeguarding of students who take part in netball in the school and local community.
At the end of the event, netball training kits/equipment which includes netball rims/nets, finger-held whistles, sets of netball training bibs, as well as netball balls, were freely distributed to the games masters and mistresses for use in their various schools.
The Director of Ondo State Sports Council and a Director in the Ondo State Ministry of Education Science and Technology, Mr Jide Fawolu thanked the two NGOs (Blitzik Sports and CSED Initiative) for holding the training event in Ondo State and he urged the teachers to make good use of the netball equipment given to them in developing the talents of the students in their schools.
The position of Dr Esther Oluwatoyin Aluko, Secretary-General of the Nigeria Netball Federation (NNF) is being threatened after Cornelius Ehimiaghe, a Trustee of CSED Initiative and members of the Naija Netball Stakeholders petitioned her over suspected illegal activities.
Aluko, THE PARADISE gathered was petitioned alongside Dr Henry Nzekwu, who is also the President of the Nigeria Netball Federation.
In one of the petitions directed towards the president of Netball Africa, Cecilia Molokwane in 2021, the petitioners stated that the illegality and anti-netball activities started with Helen Manufor who did not follow due process, yet self-imposed herself as the Secretary-General which Aluko is following today. The petition can be found HERE.
The petitioners also petitioned the duo to the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare in a letter dated January 25, 2023, which stated that Aluko and Nzekwu are using NNF to deceive Nigerians, thereby extorting both the local and international communities. You can find the petition HERE.
One of the petitioners, Cornelius Ehimiaghe, a trustee of CSED Initiative and sports for change activist said the Naija Netball Stakeholders view the action of the so-called President and General Secretary of NNF as an illegal action that violates the principle of justice and Fairplay.
Ehimiaghe claimed that Aluko and Nzekwu have been imposed on the netball stakeholders by the top hierarchy of the Youth Sports Ministry, who failed Nigerians in conducting their developmental and supervisory role in respect of netball, in the past decade.
“Now that they have seen the gradual progress of ‘PROJECT 2027’ (CSED Initiative programme of making one million Nigerian school girls to be aware of netball), they are now trying to be a clog in the wheel of progress”, Ehimiaghe said.
He said the Naija Netball Stakeholders see the recent move by Aluko and her backers as a desperate attempt to further their personal interest of being relevant in the sports sector in Nigeria.
“We the stakeholders sent a petition letter to the Honourable Minister of Youths and Sport on January 26, 2023, complaining about the illegality that has been perpetuated in Nigeria’s netball in the past decade. Instead of investigating our allegation, the next thing we know is that Dr Henry Nzekwu who is a bosom friend of Mr Sunday Dare (the current Minister of Youth and Sports), is now the President of the Nigeria Netball Federation.
“More worrying is the fact that Dr Aluko who since October 2021 fooled Nigerians to believe that she is the General Secretary of an unregistered NNF, is now calling the shot at the NNF (Nigeria Netball Federation). This is the same Dr Esther Oluwatoyin Aluko who contested for the post of General Secretary of the NOC in December 2022, as a representative of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HNF)”, Ehimiaghe stated.
He added that “This is the same Dr Esther Aluko who lied to Nigerians that basketball stunted the growth and development of netball in Nigeria. But in December 2022, she used mercenaries from other sports to demonstrate netball at the NSF in Asaba. This is the same Dr Aluko who lied during a television interview on 2 April 2022, by misleading sports journalists to believe that AFFAN built the first netball court in Nigeria. This woman is so desperate to be relevant in Nigerian sports that she would not mind selling her country (Nigeria) for a bowl of porridge.”
Ehimiaghe noted further that Aluko keeps flaunting the fact that she played netball in the 1960 and 70s before she converted to handball. “If netball was that important to Dr Esther Aluko, what did she do to develop netball as a civil servant; where she spent more than 30 years and rose to the position of Director before she retired from service a few years ago?
“Funny enough, I was the person who brought the problem in netball to Dr Esther Aluko, as the president of AFFAN. I did so in 2019. If I am lying, you can ask her to confirm or deny this”, aggrieved Ehimiaghe said.
He said the current Sports Minister has given Nzekwu roles to play in the past in football and basketball. “Though we do not know if the current Minister is behind Dr Nzekwu’s current elevation to the position of President of NNF, we the Naija Netball Stakeholders are not going to accept this. Na only Dr Nzekwu be the competent sports administrator wey dey Nigeria?” Ehimiaghe stated.
“The one-million-dollar question that Naija Netball Stakeholders want to ask the principalities and powers of Nigerian sport is: is the role of sports developers at the national level only reserved for former Sports Ministry/NOC staff? If not, can any other citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, aspire to play a role in developing grassroots sports in Nigeria without being the bosom friend, girlfriend, and boot lickers of the principal staff of the Sports Ministry and NOC?”
Recall that CSED Initiative has been at the forefront of trying to revive netball in Nigeria. As stated earlier, in 2019, the Initiative challenged the authority of the former General-Secretary of the then-unregistered NNF, Hellen Manufor, who dribbled the NOC and Sports Ministry staff to believe that the NNF was a registered Federation.
While the principal officers of the Sports Ministry and NOC were asleep, Ehimiaghe brought Manufor’s activities to the attention of the former Nigeria Sports Minister, Barr. Solomon Dalung.
It was reported that Dalung ordered the NOC to investigate the grievances of the CSED Initiative in respect of how netball was being run in Nigeria. Instead of doing so, the then General Secretary of NOC only wrote an email to CSED Initiative. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, two members of the staff of the Youth and Sports Ministry and NOC were rewarded with a place in the illegal NNF Board that was handpicked by Manufor in May 2019.
“It is only in Nigeria that people are appointed into the Board of a Sports Federation that is not even registered with the regulatory corporate affairs regulator”, Ehimiaghe said.
Ehimiaghe, however, stated that since nobody seem to care about the development of netball in Nigeria, CSED Initiative took the bull by the horn and in February 2020 – they built the first netball court in Nigeria this millennium at the IDP Camp in Uhoghua, Edo State.
“In March 2020, CSED Initiative went further by training 24 Nigerians to be certified as Netball Africa Coaches. The first time this has happened in the history of Nigeria. To date, CSED Initiative has trained an additional 216 Nigerian P.E. Teachers/Youths to become Netball Coaches. These trainings were conducted in Utoka (Edo State), Mosogar (Delta State), Uyo (Akwa Ibom State), Enugu (Enugu State), Yenogoa (Bayelsa State) and Jalingo (Taraba State)”, he disclosed.
Ehimiaghe further disclosed that CSED Initiative does not only train teachers in netball but also embeds safeguarding in its training of these coaches. He lamented that the NOC/Sports Ministry in Nigeria do not even have a safeguarding protocol, not to talk of implementing one for Nigerian athletes.
“At the end of our two days of basic netball training, CSED Initiative usually provide free netball starter packs (netball balls, finger-held whistles, two sets of netball training bibs and two netball rims/nets) to participants of their training events. The attendees of these free training are also provided with a decent lunch”, he said.
One of the Naija Netball Stakeholders, Edward Edema said that: “I am aware that CSED Initiative delivered equipment for the training of 30 P.E. Teachers in FCT (Abuja) to Dr Esther Aluko. But Dr Esther Aluko diverted it to pursue her own personal/AFFAN interest, with a view of curry favouring her principal in NOC, Engineer Habib Gumel. This is a typical example of how the personal interest of an individual is greater than that of an entire community.
“It is an open secret that even with their access to public funds, the Ministry of Sports and the NOC have not trained one Netball Africa certified Coach. More laughable is Dr Esther Aluko’s recent claim that the target of the NNF is to participate in the 2024 All Africa Games in Accra”.
Concluding, Ehimiaghe advised Dr Esther Aluko and the NNF that they should learn how to crawl before they think of walking or even taking part in a race. “Dr Esther Aluko is supposed to be a PhD holder but some of the views she has expressed in respect of netball in the past year raise concerns about how she obtained her doctorate degree. Do she and her illegal president of the NNF think that other countries who have been playing netball regularly in the past few decades are just going to go into hiding because they are going to play Nigeria in future?
“Even with Dr Esther Aluko and Dr Henry Nzekwu being highly connected to the authorities in the Sports Ministry/NOC because of them being former staff, there is no guarantee that they are going to remain in their current position. This is because CSED Initiative and Naija Netball Stakeholders are currently in the process of consulting with their members and solicitors with a view to taking this matter to Court. You cannot build something on nothing”, Ehimiaghe maintained.
When contacted on the phone on Wednesday evening (April 5, 2023), Aluko told THE PARADISE NEWS that: “I represented Nigeria as an athlete and a coach and I served this nation and I was the Secretary-General of the 8th National Sports Federation before I retired from the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, so, I’ve paid my dues.
“Somebody cannot come from anywhere…have you heard of netball, was anything happening in netball in Nigeria? I am over 60 and I’ve paid my dues for my nation – nobody from nowhere can come and mess up…they didn’t pay anything…we are serving and giving back to society doesn’t mean someone with an ulterior motive will come and mess things up”.
She said, “The Federation has a president, I am not supposed to talk to anybody because I’ve been told not to respond to anybody, so, the president is in the position to speak”.
Aluko further disclosed that the Federation will be unveiling a logo and a 5-year development plan which will be made available to the press soonest.
Giving a further explanation about netball and her experience in Nigeria, Aluko said: “I played netball in the 60s and 70s, so, I’m not a baby when you’re talking about sport. I am the President, Association of Former Female Athletes of Nigeria (AFFAN). Go and see our antecedents, we have joined with former athletes by bringing them out of retirement, to remain relevant in their various sports.
She disclosed further that: “Netball will be participating in the All African Games next year. The people writing all sorts of things [petitions], what have they done for netball in Nigeria? We took netball to the National Sports Festival, we gave netball prominence – we demonstrated netball at the National Sports Festival for the first time, where were they?
“God has done so much for me, so, I’m grateful to Him every day. What we are doing now is to give back to society, and serve as role models and that is why what Former Female Athletes are doing…we have them in all the chapters of the Federation…that we are in netball now to help netball develop…does netball have money? Is there anything for netball? Nothing! Just the passion. You can’t see anybody that has done sports in Nigeria that doesn’t have passion for sports to develop. What is netball? Even the current sports that are on, do they have funding? Not to talk of a sport that some people are coming to develop to ensure that it grows – we are trying to see that what happened in the 60s/70s when netball died will not happen again.
“We are building a proper structure, a federation has been recommended and registered by the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development. When a Federation is registered under the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)…who are the stakeholders? Netball was nowhere. They are supposed to develop all sports in their communities, why are they so interested in destroying the structure that the Government is trying to put in place?”
