No sports economy without intellectual property, says NSC chairman Dikko
Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Shehu Dikko, has stressed that Nigeria cannot build a sustainable sports economy without properly harnessing intellectual property (IP), describing it as the foundation for transforming sports into a viable economic asset.
Dikko made the remarks on Monday while delivering a keynote address at the World Intellectual Property Day seminar organised by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Nigeria Office at the United Nations House in Abuja.
Speaking on the theme, “IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate,” the NSC chairman said sports has evolved beyond medals, trophies and national pride into a global business driven by branding, sponsorship, media rights, merchandising, technology, data and fan engagement.
“At the heart of all these is intellectual property,” Dikko said. “The real challenge before Nigeria is whether we can properly identify, protect, package and commercialise the intellectual property behind our sports assets.”
He linked the renewed focus on sports development to President Bola Tinubu’s administration, noting that the re-establishment of the National Sports Commission signaled a shift towards treating sports as an economic sector.
According to him, the NSC’s flagship policy, the Renewed Hope Initiative for Nigeria’s Sports Economy (RHINSE), is aimed at moving sports “from dependency to productivity; from public expenditure to investment; from isolated events to commercial assets; and from raw talent to structured economic value.”
Dikko warned that failure to protect sports-related intellectual property would continue to deprive the sector of much-needed revenue.
“A sports brand that is not protected can be used by others without reward. Broadcast rights that are not clearly owned and protected cannot command full value. An athlete who does not understand image rights may be celebrated publicly but exploited commercially,” he said.
