The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, SWAN, has accused the National Sports Commission, NSC, and other stakeholders of sidelining sports journalists despite their long-standing contributions to the country’s sporting development.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Secretary-General of SWAN, Ambassador Ikenna Okonkwo, who spoke on behalf of the association’s President, Isaiah Benjamin, said sports journalists in Nigeria continue to face poor treatment and exclusion from key activities, even as they make significant sacrifices to promote athletes, administrators, and events.
Benjamin decried the lack of institutional support, noting that unlike in other countries, the Nigerian sports media are “often left to their fate.”
“Journalists pay their way through to attend and cover proceedings at competitions, both local and international. They face the rigors of weather, harsh or high transportation and accommodation costs, coupled with many associated risks, yet administrators and others see and treat them with disdain,” he said.
Citing the recent 2024 Confederation of African Football, CAF, Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, WAFCON, in Morocco, SWAN said over 25 Nigerian sports journalists attended the tournament at their own expense, with no support from government or sports bodies.
“These journalists, beyond covering the event, also stood out as passionate supporters of the Super Falcons in the stands, amplifying the team’s morale and visibility throughout the competition.
“The experience of a regular sports journalist in Nigeria is so pathetic that a number of us pass through a lot without getting any assistance or rewards whatsoever,” Benjamin said.
He added, “Despite playing a leading role in the development of sports from month to month, year to year, journalists in Nigeria are highly under-valued by administrators, including those placed at high and strategic positions who should know better.”
While commending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, state governors, and past leaders for honouring athletes and coaches with cash rewards, houses, and national honours, SWAN said it was unfair to continually overlook the media that play a critical role in projecting sporting success.
“Yes, the athletes and technical officials deserve to be rewarded and celebrated. However, journalists as humans, who have shown greater dedication in championing the sporting, nay economic growth for Nigeria, deserve more.
“In other climes, the government, corporate organisations, and sports bodies do so much in ensuring that the sporting media are taken care of one way or the other, but in Nigeria, even the sports professionals, including highly placed officials at the then Ministry of Sports, now National Sports Commission, NSC, see media as a mere appendage—which ought not to be so.
“Most times, during the planning and execution of sporting programmes and activities, the administrators intentionally sideline the media,” he said.
Benjamin also criticised the hypocrisy of officials who seek media coverage during personal controversies but fail to involve the press in institutional decisions.
“Why will the sports administrators act as though sports journalists don’t matter to them, yet they run to same media whenever they are under pressure for certain personal aggrandizement?
“Why does the claim of ‘no funds’ always rear up when the media is meant to be part of crucial events, yet the administrators find ways of taking care of their continuous comfort zones?
“In recent times, the neglect has taken a new dimension with NSC top hierarchy repeatedly excluding SWAN, and indeed sports writers, from key national and international sporting engagements,” he said.
Ambassador Okonkwo urged the leadership of the NSC, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, and other sports federations to adopt a more inclusive approach that treats sports journalists as core stakeholders in the country’s sports development agenda.
