Without any modicum of doubt, Nigeria’s outing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which ended on Sunday, was a disaster waiting to happen. The Minister of Sports, John Owan Enoh, has duly apologised to us for this untenable and unacceptable performance. While tendering the ministry’s apology, Senator Enoh enumerated the challenges he met on ground on assumption of office a year to the Paris games, while so many other serious countries had already met qualifying times for the track and field events, embarked on training tours of their basketball, volleyball, swimming teams.
The Minister of Sports listed the lack of adequate preparation for training camps by the Federations among other issues.
So where was the optimism about “doing well” coming from? It’s not the Minister’s duty to do magic one year to an event smaller countries had been drilling and training their athletes for 10 years before now. While we boast of 200 million citizens, we watched St Lucia, a country of 180,000 people, win the female 400 metres gold, small Botswana of the southern part of Africa won the male 200 metres gold and the male 4×400 metres relay silver. Akane Simbine led South Africa to win the male 4×100 metres relay silver. Kenya’s beautiful young Faith Kipyegon won her third successive Olympic games 1500 metres gold from Brazil, Tokyo and now Paris, while my dear Nigeria’s gold medal haul still stands at two.
Clearly something has gone wrong. Once upon a time, Chidi Imoh (200 metres), Innocent Egbunike (400 metres), Davidson Ezinwa all got to the finals at major international games, be it Olympics or Commonwealth games. What happened after the reign of boxing greats Dick Tiger, Nojeem Maiyegun and Peter Konyegwachi? Let’s not forget Modupe Oshikoya and Falilat Ogunkoya in the 400 metres or our 4×100 female relay quartet of Mary Onyali, Tina Iheagwam and co.
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It would seem not too long ago that the National Youth Games twice held in Ilorin in Kwara State, the African Athletics finals in Asaba, Delta State took place, giving hope to podium places in future. Alas, the transition from that youth level to professional training and camping seems to be the problem.
A second major challenge has been the low number of competition and circuit tours. In the past, Chief Moshood Abiola sponsored an annual Athletics meet regularly, Wahab Folawiyo sponsored the U-20 Athletics meeting annually too. Same thing for Mobil Oil, which bankrolled annual competitions over so many years and we all looked forward to selection trials that featured Nigerian student athletes from the world standard Azusa Pacific University and Santa Monica Track Club come and face serious duels with the Nigerian-based stars for a place on the flight to the Olympics.
Lack of accountability of the funds given saw the gradual withdrawal of the sponsorship amongst other factors of inept and incompetent people at the helm of affairs at the various Federations with the exception of Wrestling. Even the Nigerian Olympic Committee has seen its archaic leadership overstay its usefulness and has run out of ideas just like Swimming, Boxing, Judo, Volleyball and Tennis.
For the government to “renew the hope” of Nigerians in sports and immediately begin to prepare for the next Olympic Games, it must head-hunt dedicated and passionate administrators with sports backgrounds who have integrity and private sector funds can be entrusted into their hands, then infuse them into the Federations. There are too many jobbers occupying top positions in the Federations who feed on the system. The National Olympic Committee must be revamped through new elections into the executive and performance-driven persons put in charge. Government must be definite and intentional in funding scholarships to designated universities of sports in the United States of America, China and Cuba for student youth games products.
Finally, nothing works in sports like hiring good high performance coaches from anywhere in the world and setting up a swimming high performance camp in the Niger Delta, sprints high performance camp in the South East, long distance high performance camp in Jos and Gembu Mambilla plateau, boxing and athletics high performance camps in Lagos as was done by Colonel Samuel Ogbemudia when he set up Afuze in Edo State.
Fortunately, I have no doubt in the very deep interest and support that President Bola Tinubu can and is ready to give to the revamping of sports in the country. He showed that much when he provided a grant of N12 billion to the Football Federation during the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire earlier this year as well as providing for the Paris Olympics before the start of the tournaments.
My dear friend, Senator John Owan Enoh, you have your work cut out. And the work starts now.
. Dr. Bako, a former Senior Special Asst to the Minister of Youth and Sports between 1995 and 1998, attended the Seoul 88 Olympics, Barcelona 92 Olympics and Atlanta 1996 Olympics.
