UNITED States (U.S.)-based Nigerian former athlete, Benedict Olusola, has advised Nigerian young children to cultivate the habit of cutting out unnecessary socialising to enable them combine sports with academic activities in school.He equally urged parents to lay a solid foundation for their children by giving them basic education. The specialist in Cosmetic Surgery and Family Medicine told The Guardian from his base in Texas: 'Education is gold and every Nigerian child should be given good education because nothing is better than going to school.'Everybody asks me how I can be a doctor and participate in sports at such a high level' This is possible if students prioritize their time, be productive with their time, read when they are supposed to and train when they are supposed to.'My ability to compete at the national level as a doctor was an inspiration for some of my peers in those days to get back to school.'The Ekiti State-born Olusola was one of the most gifted high jumpers that rose from the Nigerian school sports system to the national level. From Eko Boys High School in Mushin, Lagos, where his athletics career blossomed, he rose to become a national school champion, both in high and triple jumps.He represented Lagos State at Oluyole '79 National Sports Festival and the 1981 edition hosted by Lagos State, winning gold medal and setting a new state record in the triple jump. He also got silver medal for the University of Lagos in the triple jump at the 1981 edition of the West African University Games held in Cote d'Ivoire.Advising young school children, parents and the government on how to bring back the glorious days to the nation's school sports, Olusola said: 'My early days in sports set a stage for me to move on to do bigger things in the United States.'The fact that I am able to participate in sports took me to different parts of the world, where I made a lot of friends. It helps me in my professional career as a doctor and also helped to break down a lot of racial barriers.'At the age of 53, I can still outrun a lot of people in their 20s, and as a surgeon, I have to stand and operate for many hours on daily basis five days in a week. All these would not have been possible if not for the fitness I acquired from my early days in track and field.'According to him, the steady decline of school sports in Nigeria is as a result of lack of dedicated coaches, poor sports administration and lack of proper training of coaches. He added: 'The private sector has to be given incentive to take over sports sponsorship as it is done in the United States.'They can also partner the government. Proper education of the coaches in arrears of physiology of exercise and how it applies to fitness training is very important.'There is a need to organise more school competitions for talent discovery and subsequent training. Nigerian coaches should be on contract and the terms of renewal should be based on their performance. Our sports facilities should be refurbished and maintained and used as training centres.'The National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos, gave me the opportunity to train in my young days, so why should such a structure be neglected' Our problem has been maintenance and there should be no need to build more facilities than we can maintain.
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