For a state that once proudly wore the badge of sporting excellence, many Cross Riverians are beginning to ask a question that refuses to go away: where exactly is sports in Cross River State heading?
More than three years into Governor Bassey Otu's administration, roads are being discussed. Tourism dominates conversations. Agriculture, healthcare and education frequently make headlines. Yet when it comes to sports, the silence is almost loud enough to hear.
The Ministry of Sports Development, led by a Commissioner Agnes Atsu, has remained one of the least visible ministries in the state, according to many observers. While official records point to activities such as hosting the National Council on Sports, supporting competitions like the Agbokim Green Marathon, celebrating Pelican Stars' successes and promoting talent-hunt programmes, critics argue that these have not yet produced the kind of lasting transformation many expected.
Sports, they say, is more than organising events.
It is about discovering a gifted child in Boki before the world does.
It is about giving a young footballer in Obubra a field instead of excuses.
It is about ensuring that a girl in Bekwarra with Olympic dreams does not abandon them because there is nowhere to train.
A ministry can organise ceremonies.
A ministry can hold meetings.
A ministry can issue press statements.
But the true scorecard of sports is written on community fields, school competitions, functioning stadiums and the opportunities created for young people.
That is where many believe Cross River is still waiting.
Today, in many communities, football pitches remain rough fields. Local sports festivals have faded in several areas. Grassroots competitions that once united villages and discovered talents no longer command the excitement they once did. Many school sports programmes struggle to survive.
It is difficult to measure sporting progress when many rural communities cannot point to a single government-backed sports facility or programme that has directly changed the lives of their youths.
Sports should be the ministry that gives idle hands a purpose.
Instead, many young talents continue to search for opportunities outside the state.
The silence becomes even more striking because Cross River is blessed with enormous sporting potential.
From the hills of Obudu to the forests of Boki.
From the streets of Calabar to the communities of Ogoja.
Champions are born every day.
But talent without structure is like rain falling on a rock.
It makes noise.
It leaves no harvest.
Many sports enthusiasts believe the ministry should now be moving beyond ceremonies into visible legacy projects; modern community sports centres, inter-school leagues across the 18 local government areas, regular talent identification programmes, rehabilitation of sporting facilities and stronger support for athletes from grassroots to elite level.
Supporters of the government argue that some progress has been made and that sports development takes time. They point to state participation in competitions and several organised sporting events as evidence that the sector has not been abandoned.
Yet perception also matters in governance.
When citizens struggle to identify landmark achievements in a ministry after more than three years, questions naturally follow.
Perhaps the greatest challenge facing the Sports Ministry is not simply what it has done, but whether ordinary Cross Riverians can see and feel the impact in their communities.
Because when sports is working, stadiums become lively.
School fields become nurseries of champions.
Communities gather every weekend.
Young people dream again.
And the state discovers tomorrow's heroes before another state claims them.
Cross River has produced champions before.
The question many residents are asking today is simple:
Who is preparing the next generation?
Until that answer becomes obvious on the playing fields of every local government, the debate over the performance of the Sports Ministry is unlikely to disappear.
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