Why I’m in politics – Fashanu

In this era of political manoeuvring, sportsmen and women are beginning to take the bull by the horns to join the train.
Before now, former Nigerian international athlete, Brown Ebewele, had formerly declared for the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to join forces with Comrade Adams Oshomhole, the governor of Edo State.

Shortly after that, Olympic gold medallist and Commonwealth champion in wrestling, Daniel Igali, contested and won the PDP primaries in Bayelsa State for the House of Representatives. Ayo Omidiran, under the auspices of ACN in Osun State, is also in the political race.

Meanwhile, the success stories of these sports personalities have attracted John Fashanu to the terrain, and he says anyone who calls him a politician won’t be far from the truth. The fact is that the former Wimbledon star is nursing the ambition of becoming a full time politician and he wants to run for an office. According to him, joining the bandwagon would be a means for him to help in changing the face of administration in the country for the better, thereby, contributing his quota outside sports to national growth and development.

The Presidential Tasks Force member noted that footballers in the country needed to embrace politics instead of shying away from it, adding that they stood a good chance of improving the society through their vote during and after their active days in the round leather game. Explaining the rationale behind his recent involvement in INEC advert on the television, he said it was meant to draw the attention of all footballers whose number runs into millions to exercise their civic rights by ensuring that they got registered to cast their votes during the April polls.

“One thing some people have failed to understand is that you cannot rule out politics from football. Everything about football is politics and by virtue of that, every footballer is a politician. That is why I can boldly declare anywhere that I am a politician. Even the US President, Barrack Obama and the amiable President of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, recognised that fact. That is why they carry sportsmen along in their programmes.

“It has been discovered over the years that many footballers have been shying away from participating in active politics and in electoral process. That was why INEC came up with that television advert to alert footballers on the need to take part in electoral processes and exercise their political rights.

“Ensuring that the right people are put in place at any given position in the country in order to move the nation forward, is the only way we can put things right in the country. Most sportsmen and women still shy away from football politics, that’s why Nigeria has not been able to put the right football administrators in place to develop the game in the country,” he stressed.

Fashanu noted that footballers could contribute positively in changing Nigeria for the better.
“How I wish every Nigerian registered during the voters registration exercise for the April elections. I registered in Ogun State.

“As for becoming a full time politician, I cannot rule out the possibility, but the time is not reaped yet because I have not finished managing my immediate family, which is very important to me.”

 -Sun

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Posted by admin on Feb 6 2011. Filed under Latest Politics, National Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry