THE ONGOING RIO OLYMPICS AND NIGERIA’S FATE
It’s
not anymore news that the longed awaited 2016 Summer Olympic Games graciously
kicked off penultimate week, precisely on Friday 5th August in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, South-America as planned, and it is expected to come to an end
on Sunday August 21, 2016. It would be recalled that the last edition of the
tournament, which was hosted in London, United Kingdom (UK), took place four
years ago, in 2012 to be precise; suffice it to say that the widely celebrated
global multi-sporting event is a quadrennial.
It’s worth noting that, as long as the
tournament lasts, Nigeria would participate in eight sporting events only, as
earlier disclosed by the Minister of Youths and Sports Mr. Solomon Dalung. The
games in question include men’s football, basketball, canoeing, table tennis,
wrestling, high jump, long jump, as well as track and field events. The
minister equally promised that the contingents would be well treated
financially and otherwise toward ensuring better participation throughout the
tournament.
It’s no doubt mind-boggling and
disheartening that among the total of three-hundred and six (306) games to be
played at the tournament, or in a competition that’s expected to yield 161
medals for men, 136 for women and 9 mixed medals, Nigeria the acclaimed ‘giant
of Africa’ can only boast of participants in just eight of the available games.
Such level of apathy isn’t unconnected to the fact that the nature of
preparation employed prior to the outing wasn’t in any way encouraging, or was
nothing to write home about.
In his speech penultimate month, precisely
on Wednesday 15th June 2016, the Nigerian international and Africa’s
most decorated table tennis player, Segun Toriola described preparations for
the ongoing Olympic Games as the ‘worst ever’ in the Nigeria’s sports history.
The 42-year-old Toriola who just made history in Brazil as the first African
athlete to feature in seven Olympic Games tournaments, stated that he had never
seen such poor preparation since his debut at the 1992 Barcelona Games in
Spain.
The statement, which was made available to
the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos State, frowned at the level of lack
of interest on the part of the government officials responsible for the said
preparation. The aggrieved athlete who unequivocally urged Nigerians not to
expect ‘much’ from the participating athletes further lamented that it was more
painful and pathetic that nobody was even telling them (the athletes) what the
next line of action entailed.
Aside the various lapses that surrounded
the preparation, as at three weeks ago, the Nigerian Olympic team was
reportedly still uncertain if it would make it to Brazil for the Olympics. The
revelation, which triggered the anger of series of sports commentators cum
analysts alongside well-meaning Nigerians, was greeted with enormous criticisms
and counter-reactions. Many described the experience as ‘untold’ considering
that it occurred when the country’s unity was being threatened; according to
them, it was only sports that could adequately unite Nigerians.
However, amidst the uproar and confusion,
barely two weeks to the commencement of the tournament, on Tuesday July 19
precisely, President Mohammadu Buhari ordered the immediate release of funds
budgeted for Nigeria’s successful participation in the Rio Olympics, which
amounted to #2 billion. The President announced the approval during the
official handover of Team Nigeria to the Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC) at
the State House, Abuja. He equally warned that the flight tickets of those who
had no business at the event shouldn’t be sponsored by the organizers, towards
curtailing excesses.
It’s on record that the bane of Nigeria’s
sports industry, ab initio, has been inadequate or non preparation whenever a
competition is awaited, which is often occasioned by administrative error or
jamborees. Most times when the officials of the various sport authorities in
the country are expected to mean business, they would rather prefer to indulge
in frivolous politics thereby ending up creating quagmire within themselves.
Though it’s obvious that there’s an element of politics in whatever we do here
on earth, it’s imperative to acknowledge that while discussing how to fortify
the nation’s sports arena, politics is required to be set aside.
The last time I checked, four years was
good enough for any preparation, and Olympics aren’t exceptional. We can’t be
confidently told that if a competent and reliable fund-raising committee was set
up by the apt quarters toward the Rio Olympic Games, Nigeria wouldn’t boast of
reasonable sum of money needed to cater for the overall preparations. The
plight remains inability to comprehend what to do as well as how best and when
to implement it. Rather than concentrate on the needful, the men we entrusted
our sports to keep dancing Makosa when they are meant to dance Reggae, or
vice-versa. Honestly, there’s a compelling need for a rethink.
The country has every required potential
talent and facility towards participating in any Olympic game to include
swimming, golf, table and long tennis, gymnastics, boxing, javelin, shot-put;
name them. The needed human and natural resources are conspicuously abound; all
we need to do is to harness them by using the appropriate technique and
mechanism. It’s quite appalling that the inter/intra-school sports
competitions, which were the talk of the day, are currently no longer in vogue
as a result of apathy, laxity and what have you. Every socio-cultural sporting activity
that used to speak volumes has abruptly vanished into thin air.
Nevertheless, this critique was mainly
necessitated by what Nigeria’s fate entails in the ongoing Olympic tournament.
Since the deed has already been done, at this critical point, any concerned
Nigeria is expected to be solely mindful of the anticipated performance of the
Team Nigeria throughout the highly competitive event, instead of laying
emphasis on retrogressive issues. Our last outing in London was obviously poor
and disastrous, thus any right thinking Nigerian both home and abroad expects
to be compensated in Brazil.
To this end, the participants ought to be
sensitized on the need to do more even when they are seemingly worn-out. They
should be conscientized to do their very best toward making their fans and
Nigeria at large more proud of them in spite of the limited resources or porous
preparation. Just as the motto of the tournament - ‘live your passion’ implies,
they are expected to vigorously and passionately compete for gold because none
of them deserve second best, rather second to none. Their respective coaches
ought to let them understand that, even if they have lost interest in Nigeria,
they need to strive to make their teeming fans happier because without fans,
there wouldn’t be a player/athlete.
The NOC should equally acknowledge the
essence of a formidable fan-club toward recording success in any sport
competition. They ought to borrow a leaf from the Nigerian Atlanta ’96
fan-club. Against this backdrop, they should source for more fans in Brazil;
they need to discover Nigerians resident in the country with a view to ensuring
that the available fan-club is duly boosted.
Nigeria may have prepared poorly prior to
the ongoing tournament, but we ought to note that sometimes success is gotten
via passion and luck; hence, despair not Nigerians. However, we must ensure
that what transpired this year never repeats itself subsequently. Think about
it!
Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor
(TheMediaAmbassador)
-Public
Affairs analyst & Civil Rights activist-
Chief Executive
Director, Centre for Counselling, Research
& Career
Development - Owerri
_____________________________________
frednwaozor@gmail.com
+2348028608056
Twitter:
@mediambassador
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