By Olajide Fashikun
Nigeria’s best outing so far at the Olympics was recorded in the United States at the
Atlanta 1996 Games where the country won two gold, one silver and two bronze medals. We had started attending the Olympics in 1952 at the Helsinki Games. Of the 23 medals we had won (two gold, nine silver and 12 bronze), which one was deliberately planned and worked for as it is in other nations of the world.
There is no medal we had won that was deserved because we worked for it. Check the medals again one after the other.
Unproductive factory: Nigeria has not been developing good athletes over the years (except in Basketball, which was why she had a reservoir of athletes that qualified us for London) despite the fact that many of them could still be found at the grassroots.
Liars, journeymen managing sports federations: The various sporting federations are peopled with journey men. Many of them don’t know the rules of the game they administer. Many lie that they are spending their personal funds to run the Federation whereas we know of one who a former athlete (Rosa Collins borrowed money at the inception. So where did he get the money he claims he’s using to fund the federation?)
Outside of basketball, Scrabble and Chess I want to be corrected which sports federations can be considered as working. These are the only three sports federations in the Nigerian firmament that was and is working. Others exist for sharing appropriated funds and attending competitions without developing the athletes. They take old women and fathers to championships meant for kids including the Maputo All African Games.
The state sports councils: This is where the athletes are supposed to be produced are all moribund and practically dead. How many of them have people you can actually call coaches? Their funding is better described does not take care more than the recurrent overheads. Most of the governors have no single interest in sports.
Sports journalists as the problem: This is one fact many will hate to admit is that the sports journalists are the biggest other problems of sports. Many of them are worse than illiterates. How many are experts in any single sport? Very few. We have such in basketball. Here, Joe Apu, Bamidele Kayode, Pius Ayinor, Segun Ikuesan and probably a few others have and show a firm grip.
No such expertise exist even in football. Our analysis are so warped and fluid. Our reportage does not elicit mastery. Our database and expertise of athlete information is archeulian. Not too far, they are belonging to camps that can pay for their ink and thought even if what they report is not true and pedestrian.
Despite the ‘bad’ outing of Nigeria in London, how many Nigerian journalists saw and reported the ‘good’ of the Nigerian teams?
As an individual, I have my grouses about the colossal mismanagement of Blessing Okagbare. The unmanaged Regina George. The unattended ones and the absence of professionalism in the entire structure of for example the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN).
Where are the reporters who report the AFN? They were blinder than the bat. Even when some of us either by virtue of havinf ran the tracks saw and reported what we know, they will call you and urge you to join evil. Now evil has taken over and wants to sustain itself in our athletics, where are the reporters?
Did anyone saw that Blessing Okagbare with her insolence (to Nigerian journalists and the national coach, Innocent Egbunike) was untouchable and it was running in her head like cocaine?
Why did we not make headline news that she finished with a Personal and Season’s Best of 10:92 secs in the semi-finals to qualify for the finals of the 100m? Why did we not raise the alarm when her mis-managers were making her run so many unnecessary pre-Games races? We had failed on this anvil before. We need to learn how to read and write history.
The second silent but remarkable event is that of Muizat Ajoke Odumosu who ran 54.40seconds to set a new national record in the 400m hurdles.
Patrick Ekeji: Ordinarily, we have been shocked to believe that no one resigns in Nigeria. We have also been forced to feel if a person fails a task, he should repeat the class and task. Why are people calling for Ekeji’s resignation? Will his resignation change anything in the NSC? Why are we not asking why the National Assembly (a supermarket for buying laws) not passed the Act to make the NSC a Commission? Unconfirmed sources told me and I believe when I was told the National Assembly asked for N30m before they can put the laws in place.
The NSC does not have athletes. They have not been able to effect a project to make the states effective and efficient. If we get the whole budget of Nigeria from the private sector, and the Federations are doing well, without the sports councils, we are on square one.
Assuming Ekeji leaves today, who takes over? What differences will that person bring to bear on the system? The problems are essentially fundamental, structural and has made the pyramid to sit on the sharp cone.
With a National Olympic Committee (NOC) managed by people who have roundly failed at the Federation level, what do we expect from that quarter? They collected money from the IOC for the preparation of the nation’s athletes, the monies disappeared into private pockets. May the soul of Alhaji Raheem Adejumo rest in absolute peace. Can we have such wonderful and committed people again and not hungry but jobless people who needed to survive on funds meant for sports?
Team Nigeria in Diaspora
|
SN |
ATHLETE |
NATION |
EVENT |
REMARKS |
|
1 |
Innocent Emeghara |
Switzerland |
Football |
|
|
2 |
Foluke Akinradewo |
Usa |
Volleyball |
|
|
3 |
Danielle Alakija |
Fiji |
400m |
|
|
4 |
Anthony Alozie |
Australia |
4X100m |
|
|
5 |
Haynes Akeem |
Canada |
4x100m |
|
|
6 |
Saheed Idowu |
Congo |
Table Tennis |
|
|
7 |
Ayodele Ikuesan |
France |
4x100m |
|
|
8 |
Oluwasegun Makinde |
Canada |
4x100m |
|
|
9 |
Ezinne Okparaebo |
Norway |
100/200m |
|
|
10 |
Chinyere Pigot |
Suriname |
Swimming |
|
|
11 |
Oluseyi Smith |
Canada |
4x100m |
|
|
12 |
Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua |
Great Britain |
Gold |
|
|
13 |
Christine Ohuruogu |
Great Britain |
400m, 4x400m |
Silver |
|
14 |
Peter Bakare |
Great Britain |
Volleyball |
|
|
15 |
Ifeoma Dieke |
Great Britain |
Football |
|
|
16 |
Temi Fagbenle |
Great Britain |
Basketball |
|
|
17 |
Phillips Idowu |
Great Britain |
Triple Jump |
|
|
18 |
Marilyn Okoro |
Great Britain |
4x400m |
|
|
19 |
Lawrence Okoye |
Great Britain |
Discus |
|
|
20 |
Anyika Onuora |
Great Britain |
100/200m |
|
|
21 |
Andrew Osagie |
Great Britain |
800m |
|
|
22 |
Abiodun Oyepitan |
Great Britain |
100m |
|
|
23 |
Abdul Buhari |
Great Britain |
Discus |
|
|
24 |
Anthony Ogogo |
Great Britain |
||
|
25 |
Eniola Aluko |
Great Britain |
Football |