As we ecstatically inch towards the
finale of the greatest sports fiesta in the world, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro
Olympics in Brazil, it is becoming increasingly apparent to many Nigerians that
this time, Nigeria is going to end up without a single medal of any colour in
any of the sports event.
In fact, we may not even be in any of the finals of
any sport, except perhaps, football, our current saving grace. But before I go
on, let me appreciate and say Thanks and
Kudos to our motley crew of athletes who, despite all the obstacles hurled in
their way by insensitive and inept officials, are still competing for their
fatherland, and giving it best they could, under the extenuating circumstances.
Watching Rio 2016 Olympics athletics
events is a sad reminder and unarguable confirmation of how far backwards
Nigerian athletics – and indeed, sports - has gone. While it is very heartening
to watch a South African win the 400 meters men in world record time and a
Botswanan finishing fifth, it is instructive to note that Nigeria was not
represented in that event. Also, the other day an Ivorian lady came fourth in
the women's 100 meters; again no Nigerian made it through to the finals. To
think that not too long ago, at least in Africa, the 100 meters, 200 meters and
400 meters were the exclusive preserve of Nigeria, male and female. I really do
wonder......
So, shaking my head, what is the
matter with our track and field athletes, and again, indeed, sports? Our
athletes are simply not performing (that is, those few ones we see), and whose
fault? Definitely, I will not pass the blame on the athletes; rather, it is the
fault of our mediocre, corrupt and unpatriotic sports administrators and the indifferent
Nigerian government itself. The people, this time, take my vote; we are as
enthusiastic, supportive and patriotic as ever and always.
One thing is clear and salient,
Nigeria has got the talents - harnessing these talents and making them world
champions will remain so very elusive as long as those in authority continue to
be inept, lethargic, unconcerned, self-centred, self-serving, serving sectional
interests, practicing nepotism, putting mediocrity before meritocracy and
lacking vision and focus. The lack of
cohesion, the lack of adequate preparation for international events, the
absence of unity, the overwhelming ethnicity complete the major reasons why we
don't do well in sporting activities these days... and I might add, in
everything we do.
Oh!
The days of Chidi Imoh, Innocent Egbunike, Sunday Bada, Mary Onyali, Falilat
Ogunkoya, Francis Obikwelu, Soji Fasuba, Henry Amike, Yusuf Alli, Olapade
Adenekan, Osmond and Davidson Ezinwa, Deji Aliu, Glory Alozie, Christy Opara,
Beattie Utondu, Chioma Ajunwa, Olabisi Afolabi, Regina George, Charity Opara,
Clement Chukwu, Adewale Olukoju, Fatima Yusuf, Moses Ugbisien, Airat Bakare
Adejobi, Alimat Sadiat Sowunmi Barnes, Carol Lyn Nwajei, Kehinde Vaughan, Linda
Ezemokumo, Linda Ige, etc. They don't make them like these anymore. These may
not have won Olympic medals or World Championship medals, but they have won in
Africa and made their marks on the international stage too. Most of them were
highly globally ranked and respected; gave Nigeria respect and dignity in
athletics, and did their best for this country.
Olukayode Thomas (Playthegame.com of
09.08.2007) in his article, The Sorry State of Nigerian Sports, wrote “It
is shocking that officials of NSC are not concerned that about a decade ago,
for every eight lanes in the women 400m at either the European circuit or the
IAAF Grand Prix, it was certain that four of the athlete would be Nigerians.
Then we had three consistent 49.00 secs runners in Falilat Ogunkoya-Omotayo,
Charity Opara and Fatimah Yusuf. The last of the four, Bisi Afolabi was then a
consistent 50.00 secs runner. But officials of NSC are not bothered by any of
the above. Nor are they bothered that a few years ago, Nigerian female
sprinters like Mary Onyali, Gloria Alozie, Christy Okpara, Beatrice Utondu,
Ajunwa, Mary Tombiri etc. rivalled the likes of Gwen Torrence, Gail Devers and
others for honours in major games and championships.
They have forgotten that not too long
ago Olapade Adeniken, the Ezinwa twin brothers, Davidson and Osmond, Daniel
Effiong. Francis Obikwelu, Seun Ogunkoya, Sunday Bada, Clement Chukwu, etc.
were among the best sprinters and quarter-milers in the world. They also don't
seem to remember that apart from the Americans, Nigeria's relay teams were the
most dreaded in the world not too long ago. NSC officials do not realise that
unless they go back to organising monthly classics and other developmental
programmes and the American school system, we will never get back to where we
were before, talk less of surpassing it.
It was local developmental programmes
that led to the discovery of such phenomenal talents like Ajunwa, Bada,
Afolabi, Ogunkoya, Obikwelu, Alozie, Nduka Awazie, Angela Atede, Rosa Collins,
Innocent Asonze, Opara, Deji Aliu and others too numerous to mention, while the
American school system gave as the likes of Ogunkoya-Omotayo, Onyali, Chidi,
Imoh, the Ezinwa Brothers, Pat Itanyi, Fatimah Yusuf, Innocent Egbunike, Adewale
Olukoju, Chima Ugwu, Vivian Chukwuemeka and others.
NSC top shots have not thought it wise
to revive the programmes of the past, which worked so well. What appears
paramount to them are promotional events, and obviously the megabucks that goes
with them”.
Compatriots please read and digest the
above. What has changed? Nothing! Has anything been learnt? No! Isn’t it
painful that NOBODY ever listens or learns from mistakes and history? Are we
cursed to be saddled by unthinking and mediocre administrators in all areas of
our lives in this country? Why are we always applying “fire brigade” approaches
to all our preparations? Ours is a classic case of “if you fail to prepare,
then be prepared to fail” – and this has been happening since time immemorial.
Our inept administrators never fail to prove and confirm their ineptitude.
In my article, “The Death of Nigerian
Sports And A Walk Down Memory Lane”, published in 22 Aug 2009, I wrote: “We
were on our way then, because in subsequent years, Nigerian sport was improving
splendidly, nurtured by disciplined, sincere, honest, focused, dedicated and
committed sports administrators such as the late Abraham Ordia, Isaac Akioye,
Dan Enajekpo, Dr Awoture Eleyeae etc. They practically lived for athletics, a
trait that is hard to come by in present-day managers. Then the roof, or rather
the sky, fell on Nigerian sports the moment the likes of Amos Adamu came in
with their one main ambition – make as much money as they can. And they did
make money”. But the country’s sports have been on a downward spiral
since they took over.
In that article, I proffered many
solutions, advice and called on the government of Nigeria to please realise the
importance of sports in governance. We do not need to win tens of gold medals
in any international competition, but to perform well and creditably; for our
athletes to be proud they contested, and for upcoming youths to be interested
and looking forward to represent their country and for that country to be proud
of them too.
Grassroots sports development remains
a programme on paper; sports facility development and welfare of athletes are
lip service; poor funding and no call for private investments; the decay in
sports is a reflection of the decay in Nigeria. Look at our efforts in recent
past at sanitising the sports industry and see what obtains today. How do we
expect to be victorious without any worthwhile effort, sacrifice and necessary
prerequisite to be competitive in the world – little or no funding or adequate
preparations were made to compete with world-class competition.....it's a no brainer.
....we cannot reap where we don’t sow. We refuse to invest in our youths, in
our sports, in our education; so what do we expect from those youths who are
the backbones of sports in any country? Then we install mediocre and corrupt
officials to manage our sports.
Rather than make progress, we are
retrogressing. This is beyond corruption. We just keep having inept people who
know nothing about sports running sports. That's another problem – putting
square pegs in round holes, all because of nepotism, political
narrow-mindedness and blatant ethnicity.
On the Africa medals table, South Africa,
Kenya, Ethiopia and Egypt are ruling the roost with medals; these are also more
progressive African economic hubs, let us face it. Globally the US, Great Britain,
China, Japan, Germany are on top ... again these are global economic and
industrial giants. If only we understood how a sound economy impacts on so many
things positively, we would not trifle with it.
There is a very strong correlation
between sports achievement and economic and industrial progress. In a country
where people are impoverished, unemployed, unloved and uncared for by their own
leaders and government, living day by day in an unjust, unequitable and corrupt
society, where in every area of endeavour and governance, there is no level
playing field, there is no opportunity to excel, there is no chance to spread
your wings, failure is bound to be the outcome of any competition that the
government embarks on. It is there for all to see in EVERY area of our lives.
Now comes the question of Nigerian
nationals now competing for other countries, notably, Asian and Middle-east
countries? Do we blame them? Why are others still competing for Nigeria despite
all that Nigeria has NOT done for them, if that is our grouse against our
country’s attitude? Why are you still a Nigerian yourself? (and if you say
you're not Nigerian anymore, why are you reading this article and interested?)
Why are some athletes still doing things for Nigeria when they have seen that
Nigeria MAY not do anything for them in return?
Somebody said Patriotism is
reciprocal; No, it is not (my opinion). It is one way. You are either patriotic
to your country or you're not. Like the famous JF Kennedy saying goes, “ask not
what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country”. Yes,
our rulers are bad, but also our people, the followers, are bad too. It is a
societal problem. We have all contributed to the demise of EVERYTHING in
Nigeria. I do not believe there is an excuse for abandoning or not representing
one’s country of birth when the opportunity arises.
Our country itself, NIGERIA, is not a bad
country, God knows; it is the people, rulers and followers alike, in it who are
messing it up. Didn't we have the American-born Nigerian professional rower,
Chierika Ukogu, who probably paid her own way to the Olympics, rowing for
Nigeria? She's probably never been to Nigeria, and probably bought her gear
from her savings. The Nigerian Olympic Basketball team consist mostly of
American-born Nigerians who came together to represent Nigeria from their base
in the US.
We have to change the system; we have
to change the leaders; we need to educate our people. It is our country. It
belongs to all of us, not greedy, clueless, corrupt charlatans parading
themselves as leaders, senators and legislators. Please this is NOT about
Politics or Party Politics. It is about a natural desire for us to be a good
country, a good people, a progressive people.
How can our athletes and
sportsmen/women give good performance with no preparations or trainings? It is
the fault of the mediocre people that are everywhere in Nigeria. It’s the fault
of the system. Sometimes the best are not picked because those that will go
have godfathers and mothers. How can they compete with people who prepare and
train year in, year out and have been doing so since their country qualified
for the next Olympics. Since 1998, UK Sports has increased its funding to its
athletes about 300%, and this paid off when London hosted the Olympics in 2012.
Their commitment, efforts, vision, focus, resources, and funding has paid off
again at the Rio Olympics. They invested in their athletes; the country reaped
the benefits, the fame, and most importantly, the goodwill of their citizens,
who are happy and proud every time a medal of any colour is won for Great
Britain. Yet, the British Government itself contributes very little to the
funding of their athletes. This is left for the independent UK Sport to raise
funds, mostly from the National Lottery, to support promising athletes and
sports that they feel they will get the most medals and mileage.
In my country, there is no proper
diet; no regular training schedule; very little funding (and the little funding,
the officials still put into their own pockets); there are no more serious
sport programmes to nurture new talents; youth empowerment is zero; the motivation and drive is no more
there and I think the system of picking these athletes is seriously biased.
They don't pick the best anymore.
Bad leadership begets a bad system
....and when the system is bad, nothing works! Our leaders do not seem to care
about sports; this is visible when you see them getting fat and unfit whilst in
power; going about in agbada, babariga and feathered caps; and not allocated
needed funding for sports. The National Stadium in Lagos; the Abuja Stadium,
the Liberty (now Obafemi Awolowo) Stadium and the Lekan Salami Stadium in
Ibadan, all lying almost derelict, rare or no sporting activities, except uses
for religious and entertainment activities. The stadia have been converted to
“pepper-soup” joints, where even the rent that commercial tenants pay fail to
be recorded into the account of the Sports Commissions that own these stadia,
and end up in the pockets of the Commission officials.
Our rulers do not know anything; their
minds are totally shut out from ideas and knowledge; they are irresponsible,
obdurate and tyrannical. They are devoid of any inspiration to do things for
their country, only to loot. They don't know sports make the country great and
famous. The only 'sports' they know is corruption and oppression of the masses.
They do not know the role that sports plays in national development, youth
empowerment, employment, health, good governance, acceptability and respect in
the comity of nations. They do not know that sports promote unity and people
cohesion; promotes security and negates dissent and grumbling from the people.
They do not know sports is a tool of governance.
The key is the re-introduction of an autonomous
National Sports Commission headed by a technocrat .Their remit will be for
development of sports in the country, and to raise funds which will then be
matched by the government after due accountability. Coaches and sports
administrators should be employed and posted to the geo- political zones and to
all the States and the various sports Associations. This will also assist in
creating jobs for the youths on the streets. The talent scouts should be all
over the country, helping to organise grassroots sports to identify budding
talents that they can then groom to world standard. School Sports should be revivified
and brought to the fore .The School Sports have always been producing national
athletes in the old days. Foreign-based athletes always compete against
home-based to pick jersey. Most often the Local based have always been
defeating foreign based then. The overseas scholarship should be brought back
for budding talents to go to America to gain more – this is how we produce
Chidi Imoh, Innocent Egbunike, Mary Onyali, etc
In the days of these athletes
mentioned, there was a pride to being a Nigerian, a certain sense of belonging
and patriotism; zeal to project Nigeria.... All of these fuelled the very ingredient
of representation through TALENT HUNTING!
Every government, past and present,
military or democratic, federal, state or local, is to be blamed. Nigerians in
the past that did well in sports did it out of sheer determination and a hope
that sports issues would improve in the country. But they have realised that
every Nigerian government does not care about its citizens, neither do the
government keep to its promises. So, those who represent us now are not only
ill-prepared but have been emotionally drained. I learnt that those who went to
Rio were told to pay for their flights and warned to fly economy. If this is
so, how can they perform well when they have a lot of other worries on their
minds?
Simply put, our sports are just a
reflection of who and what we are – a nation without pride, dignity,
credibility, vision, focus; led, ruled and ruined by mediocre people of dubious
character and pseudo-patriots.
There are thousands of Niger Delta
natural swimmers, but those who run our sports would never look that way as
these people do not belong. Archery should be natural to the core north, but
the Almajeri system is an entrenched social system that forbids schooling, not
to talk of sports participation.
When the wicked ones are in the
position of governance, the nation mourns and when the righteous ones are in
the position of governance, the nation rejoices. This is a true reflection of
the current happenings across every sector in Nigeria. Current happenings beg for
proper and ideal solutions. We all have gone to sleep in Nigeria and it is time
to wake up to the reality of the current times.
Things have fallen apart. We have
failed and are still failing, ourselves. But the hope is that we can still
rescue ourselves from these self-inflicted failures.
Will we be saying the same thing in
four years’ time?
Akintokunbo A Adejumo MSc, Dip Mngt, CIHM, MCMI, FITP
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