2nd October, 2013
Nigeria as a nation on 1 October 2013 rolled out the red carpet to celebrate her 53rd independence anniversary, but sports in the country is still crawling decades after attaining independence.
There is little or nothing to cheer when it comes to sports in the country as most of the sporting facilities are in dilapidated, while sports men and women can hardly rub shoulders with their counterparts on the continental stage and in the world at large.
Since attaining independence Nigeria as a country has struggled to meet up with her status, while smaller countries continued to make bold statements in sports that they have comparative advantages.
For lack of space, this article would seek to dwell on the sports that Nigeria used to be reckoned for and it would also be on the last 365 days. Since attaining independence, Nigeria as a country has struggled to meet up with her status, while smaller countries continued to make bold statements in sports that they have comparative advantages.
This article would dwell on the sports that used to bring fame and honour to Nigeria in the past.
Boxing: In the past Nigerian boxers both professional and in the elite division are forces to reckon with, but same cannot be said of the present day pugilists.
Names such as Richard Ihetu better known as Dick Tiger; Jerry Okorodudu; Peter Konyegwachie and the most recent Samuel “The Nigerian Nightmare” Peter grabbed headlines with their boxing prowess but those glittering talents had since gone. A number of Nigerian professional boxers are making waves abroad, but it is worrisome that those on the home front now play second fiddle to their counterparts abroad.
Of late, it was only Segun Ajose, who tried in vain to fight his way into boxing reckoning but he had failed on several attempts. Nigerian elite boxers were also disgraced at the London 2012 Olympic Games raising doubts over their ability to rise up to the occasions when it matters most.
Athletics: Names such as the Ezenwa brothers; Innocent Egbunike; late Sunday Bada; Mary Onyali; Falilat Ogunkoya-Omotayo and others sent chills down the spines of their opponents on the tracks in those days, but it is so sad that in the last 12 years, Nigeria can only boast of one track and field star in Blessing Okagbare.
To say Okagbare is synonymous with athletics in Nigeria would surely be stating the obvious as she has been the only athlete that has been able to maintain her momentum among Nigerian track and field athletes. It is also worthy of note that all the Delta State-born athlete was able to achieve was a solo effort from her and support from some corporate organisations in the country.
It even got to a stage that she had to cry out over negligence from the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, and the National Sports Commission, NSC.
A number of athletes of Nigerian descent have since dumped the country for other countries; it was evident at the last Summer Olympics, where some Nigerian-born athletes donned the colours of other countries. They didn’t only represented other countries but they went ahead to win medals for their adopted countries.
In almost all the International Associations of Athletics Federations, IAAF, sanctioned events that Nigerian athletes featured they always played second fiddle to their foreign counterparts apparently because of poor preparations.
It is also an established fact that Nigerian athletes are always ready to put in their best but it appears the administrators are only interested in their selfish ends instead of making grants available for them to have adequate preparations.
Table Tennis: This was a sport that Nigeria once dominated but those glorious days are now a thing of the past as Nigerian ping-pongers have been relegated to the background. Reason for this is dearth of tournaments to keep pin-pongers busy in the country.
Some stakeholders reasoned that past authorities failed in grooming young talents to take over from aging athletes such as Segun Toriola; Atanda Musa and Funke Oshonaike and a few others
An administrator, who craved anonymity for fear of being reprimanded tasked authorities on the need to organise competitions, where aspiring ping-pongers can be discovered and groom to become world beaters. According to him, “it is worrisome that Nigeria can no longer boast of having table-tennis players that can hold their own when it comes to international competition. We have to go back to the grassroots if we must reclaim our lost glory in the racket sport again.”
Basketball: Nigeria to some extent may not be a force to reckon with in basketball, but the nation’s male basketball team, D’Tigers announced their arrival at the world scene by qualifying for the basketball event of the London 20102 Olympic Games.
Although D’Tigers were disgraced at the Olympics, it is instructive to note that they would had performed very well if the NSC had prepared them adequately. A member of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, identified the over reliance on football as the bane of sports development in the country.
The ex-basketball player is of the view that other sports should equal attention just like football gets from the sports commission. In his words: “Basketball is a team sport just like football, but it is a pity that we don’t get much funding from the NSC compared to football, something must be done to correct this anomaly if basketball in Nigeria must develop.”
Like their male counterparts, the female basketball team, D’Tigress was also disgrace at the just concluded FIBA Afrobasketball Championship held in Mozambique.
Coach of the team, Scot Nnaji attributed their poor outing on the over-reliance on foreign-based players. He urged the NBBF to go back to developmental basketball. According to him, “it wasn’t a bad performance for D’Tigress. We went to Mozambique to prove a point but my grouse is that we can’t continue to rely on foreign-based players if we want to succeed. Most of the players we took to Mozambique were players that combine education and basketball at their different bases abroad. The only way we can make headway in the future is for us to build a homegrown team.”
Football: In the last 365 days it has been a topsy-turvy affair for Nigerian football. From the Golden Eaglets to the Flying Eagles it was not a too rosy story except for the Super Eagles that ended the country’s 19 year wait to win the Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON early this year. Coach of the Eagles, Stephen Keshi went ahead to become the first Nigerian coach and player to lift the AFCON trophy. He was the skipper of the team when they won the title in Tunisia 1994.
The Eagles later went ahead to win the 2013 Nelson Mandela Challenge in South Africa. They now have a hurdle in the Walya Antelopes of Ethiopia if they must qualify for the Brazil 2014 World Cup. Both teams would engage in a two legged qualifiers and the winners qualify for the Mundial.
The Eaglets at the African Junior Championship, held in Morocco were on a goal scoring spree but they had to settle for the second position. The Eaglets had been tipped to clinch the trophy, but they lost the title after a 5-4 penalty shoots to Ivory Coast. The Flying Eagles made amend for missing out on defending their title by beating Mali 2-1 to finish with bronze at the 2013 Orange CAF U-20 Championship held in Algeria.
Their third place finishing qualified them for the World Youth Championship, WYC, which was held Turkey. However they couldn’t wipe out the tears of soccer loving Nigerians. The U-23 Eagles on their part also failed to qualify for the football event of the London 2012 Olympic Games despite parading an array of stars in their nest.
Clubs in the local league were not as active as expected at the CAF Champions League and the Confederations Cup. One of Nigeria’s clubside, Rangers International of Enugu were expelled from the Confederations Cup for fielding an ineligible player, which brought to the fore the issue of poor documentation on the part of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF.
The Super Falcons, as Nigeria’s female national team are known, failed to lived up to their pre-tournament status as they returned to the country empty handed.
With the 53rd anniversary fast becoming history, it is pertinent to note that it is high time that the country channels her resources to sports that the country has comparative advantage over other countries.
Will there be more to celebrate when Nigeria becomes 54? Only time will tell.