Nigeria, Aug. 13 -- Former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, SAN, has called for a deliberate national strategy to harness sports as a major tool for tackling youth unemployment in Nigeria, arguing that the sector offers "a major solution. hiding in plain sight."

Speaking recently at a book launch in Lagos, Mr Fashola said the country was overlooking an obvious economic driver despite overwhelming evidence from around the world.

"This is the time in the history of human civilisation when talent is being most rewarded. and sports, as an expression of talent, has come to be in the vanguard of high-value earnings as a career," he said.

He noted that while one generation ago sports was largely seen as a hobby, it has now "b...