We continue this week on the series, "it takes a minister", to discuss the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Nigeria's population of 200 million-plus people, is predominantly of young people. This is actually Nigeria's potential strength and strongest link.

Young people in their prime have much energy, limited fear and willingness to explore. If Nigeria can create a supportive and enabling environment for young people to discover and express themselves, young Nigerians can create and innovate to fundamentally change our society and economy for good. We can plan our entire social and economic ecosystem on youth.

From building infrastructure and systems of housing, hospitals, schools, etc., to virtual systems that connect us to markets and creating tens of millions of decent Naira-denominated tax-paying jobs to sustain inclusive economic performance. By unleashing our youth potential, we can create the jobs that we require to support social insurance systems to pool resources and risks. It will then become relatively easier (and flexible from a policy perspective) to finance quality universal health coverage through third-party payment systems mindful of structural and systemic issues that may endanger healthcare markets. It will also become much easier to finance all levels of education linked to local and national social and economic objectives and goals.

As domestic savings increase, pensions fund grows and the capital market strengthens. Access to the right financing for incubating new ideas and scaling also becomes relatively easier. All of these feed back into increased local production and improved efficiency which would make us more competitive, given monetary policy. Not only would the right investments in policy-supports for youth reposition our economy, but it would also transform politics and governance and deepen democracy.

But, the minister of youth and sports needs to see these possibilities in its widest perspective and far sight. The minister has to think youth and sports, in terms of industry, to identify constraints and connect system linkages. That is the right way to accomplish much greater beyond the usual level of performance, to expand and advance ministerial performance to the overlaps interconnecting multiple sectors in Nigeria and beyond. That is the sense in which the mandate of the ministry of youth and sports resonates loudest: "Nigeria youth to become self-reliant and socially responsible…. Promoting the physical, mental and socio-economic development of the youth". Indeed, investing in "learning and in youth ownership of national values including social justice, unity, fairness, solidarity, volunteerism, equity and equal opportunities will strengthen inclusivity and national unity".

One understands why the focus of successive ministers of youth and sport, has been on sports. Nigeria is a sports-loving country. But we have to change our model from just financing sports for competition-sake, to policy-making in sports as an industry. Sports can then become a vital component of youth education and development, with significant economic value chains to unlock its potential. This approach should be long term in view. It should focus on resolving bottlenecks and attracting private and social sector investments. That is the model that has made the English Premier League a multi-billion Pound industry. That is the model that ensures that team Great Britain builds from the bottom up, starting with school sports that continuously streams upwards and feeds into age group competitions in various sporting pathways, supported by the national lottery fund.

Not only is this model self-sustaining with wider social and economic impact but it has positioned Britain to outperform at global competitions. It is the same model that the United States of America (US) uses. The US builds through elementary schools where talents are discovered early and fed into collegiate sports and competitions, then into the major leagues and conferences. These pathways attract massive private sector investments in sports and expand huge value and supply chains and associated derivatives as part of an industry – all of which result in money-making – with wider social and economic impact. It is also why the US does so well at all major global competitions.

China has also come to realise the opportunities in sports and is developing a massive sports industry, attracting private sector investments. This is within its 30-year strategic plan, that integrates tourism. China currently considers sports as a high-growth industry (within China and for exports) beyond just winning medals at global competitions and the 'feel-good' and national pride that comes with winning.

So, there are obvious opportunities in sports in Nigeria but we must approach sports as an industry. The minister of youth and sports should lead this conversation and explore and expand these opportunities and possibilities. The value and supply chains from sports could support local markets and jobs worth hundreds of billions of Naira. The opportunities for sports (including goods and services) exports are also huge. Below are some areas within the sports industry that the minister of youth and sports working across government (legislature, states, and other ministries) may want to start developing (removing barriers, and introducing enablers and incentives):

Infrastructure for Sports
Merchandising for Sports
Nutrition for Sports
Safety & Security for Sports
Logistics for Sports
Marketing for Sports
Financing for Sports
Corporate Social Investment for Sports

Youth and sports should mean a lot more for Nigeria than participation in competitions. The 'feel-good' is important but its impact can be much sustained to fundamentally affect the life of Nigerians. Sports value and supply chains can mean jobs. It can improve the living standards of millions of Nigerians. It can become a major source of revenue for the government. It can broadly have positive feedback on overall economic performance. It takes a minister to imagine these wider possibilities.

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