Enthusiast Bemoans Decline Of Swimming

Chairman, Lagos State Swimming Association Samuel
Ebito-Jesimiel, has blamed the declining fortunes of the sport in the country
to lack of maintenance of swimming facilities.

He also blamed the misfortunes of the sport on
maladministration.

Ebito-Jesimiel told newsmen in Lagos that in spite of many
swimming pools that abound in the country, the sport was not being promoted.

“We have enough facilities in the country, but they are not
well maintained. We have swimming pools in Maiduguri, Bauchi, Abuja and in
Kano, that are all poorly maintained.

“We may not have water in all these states, but I tell you
we have pools. We have some 25 metre pools in some states in the South-West
that are good enough for training,’’ he said.

According to him, the Federal Government should expedite
action over the refurbishing of swimming pools across the country for the sport
to be promoted.

He noted that some past administrators ruined the sport
because they had no passion for the sport.

“Between the ’90s and 2000, people that were appointed by
government to administer aquatic sports in the country did not have any
knowledge of them and they ruined them all.

“But in 2008, when the sport was concessioned, Babatunde
Fatayi-Williams, who had a passion for the sport, emerged as the president and
began reviving the sport,’’ he recalled.

Ebito-Jesimiel, a member of the technical committee of the
Nigeria Swimming Federation (NSF), identified lack of facilities and poor
funding as the major challenges facing the revival of the sport since its
concessioning in 2008.

He added that swimming had witnessed some progress since
2011, recalling that it won medals at both the 10th All African Games and at
the African Senior Championships in Maputo, Mozambique and Dakar, Senegal,
respectively.

Ebito-Jesimiel noted that the sport had 22 medal prospects
and urged the Federal Government to engage in the aggressive promotion of the
sport, in order to boost the country’s medal haul in continental and global
championships.