Over 5o years of sports’ decline
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- Category: Sports
- Written by David Ngobua
- Hits: 391
In all fairness, it cannot be said that Nigeria has remained stagnant since independence for there have been few developmental strides here and there. The fact however remains that Nigeria largely tipped to be Africa’s torchbearer has failed to live up to its potentials. The myriad of problems confronting Nigerians presently are said to be clear indications that lack of qualitative leadership is still the nation’s albatross.
Consequently, the peace, unity and progress championed by our heroes and heroines past are said to have been rubbished by their successors who have allowed ethnicity, tribalism, nepotism and religious dichotomy to dictate their actions. It is against this background that Nigeria is presently lagging behind in even areas that she had shown enormous prospects of development.
There are signs of systematic failure in all sectors but the thrust of this piece is the journey so far in sports. The post independence achievements in the field of sports can be traced back to the early 60s when the National Sports Commission, NSC, under Abraham Ordia began to lay foundations for sports development.
Between 1968 to 1980, Nigeria witnessed accelerated progress in sports as some of her athletes made remarkable achievements in their areas of endeavour. The then Green Eagles qualified for the Mexico 1968 Olympics Games. In 1973, Nigeria hosted the second edition of the All Africa Games and introduced the National Sports Festival for talent hunting.
Football indeed grabbed the major headlines as IICC Shooting Stars and Rangers International won the prestigious Cup Winners Cup in 1976 and 1977. The bronze medals won by the Green Eagles in 1976 and 1978 in the Africa Cupof Nations was improved upon in 1980 when the Christian Chukwu led team lifted the trophy on home soil.
Nigeria’s exploits in the years under review continued with the most celebrated being the national U-17 team’s victory in the maiden edition of the FIFA U-17 World Championship in 1985, there was a repeat performance by the Wilson Oruma led Eaglets in 1993, Super Eagles triumph in 1994 in the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia, there was also the exhilarating display of the Super Eagles at the 1994 World Cup in the USA as well as the unprecedented achievement of the Dream Team 1 at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
It was at Atlanta 96 Olympics that Policewoman and ex-long jumper, Chioma Ajunwa gave Nigeria her first and only individual gold medal at the Olympics. But before then, Nigeria had won silver and bronze medals in the male and female categories of 4 x100m at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.
In 2003, Nigeria successfully hosted and won the 8th All Africa Games in Abuja. It was the first time that the country would win the games having emerged runners up on a number of occasions.
From the year of independence to the present time, Nigeria has produced talented athletes who have made their mark on the international scene. This brings to mind such former athletes like Musa Atanda, Nduka Odizor, Hakeem Olajuwon, Rasidi Yekini, Falilat Ogunkoya-Omotayo, Mary ONyali-Omagbemi, Mercy Nku, Kanu Nwankwo, Jay-Jay Okocha, Innoncent Egbunike, Chidi Imoh, Vivian Chukwuemeka, Mercy Nku and a host of others.
However, the exit of the aforementioned star athletes marked the beginning of the sharp decline in the fortunes of Nigerian sports. Those who succeeded them have found the shoes left for them too big to wear. Consequently, Nigeria’s performances in sports now leave much to be desired. From the administrators to the athletes, it has been tales of woes, leaving Nigerians with sad moments to contend with.
Nigeria has failed to develop on her areas of comparative advantage over other countries to emerge world champions. Save for few athletes whose individual efforts have brought the nation relief from nearly uninterrupted sessions of disappointment, there wouldn’t have been any single cause to celebrate even once in a while.
The country’s sports has nosedived to such an extent that some of her gifted athletes now prefer to take up other nationalities for enhanced welfare and motivation for optimal performances. Few examples suffice here. Gloria Alozie presently represents Spain, Francis Obikwelu competes for Portugal, Wrestler Victor Igali won an Olympic medal for Canada, Emmanuel Olasidebe played for Poland at the 2002 World Cup and a host other youngsters are on the verge of dumping the green white green jerseys for other nationalities.
The decision of some of the athletes to dump Nigeria may be viewed as unpatriotism but the fact remains that the management of sports and the athletes do not inspire any confidence. In recent times, victories attained are viewed in most quarters as accidental discharges. Such critics usually base their arguments on superfluous evidences which abound in the half-hearted and leap in the dark approaches being adopted by sports administrators.
Recently, ten of Nigeria’s top athletes attended the 2011 World Athletics Championship in Daegu, South Korea but none returned with a medal. At the just concluded 10th All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique, Nigeria placed third but the gold medals she won in sixteen different events were far less than those won by South Africa in one event-swimming.
At the moment, it appears the country’s saving grace is in athletics but that is only on the continent of Africa. Other African countries have broken Nigeria’s dominance in sports like football, volleyball, handball, table tennis, badminton, wrestling and power lifting.
Thus, it is apt to say that in 51 years of independence, Nigeria is yet to live up to her potentials in sports. It has been downward movement because the nation’s huge population and inviting conditions for excellence in sports like marathon, cycling and even swimming have not been exploited for maximum advantage.
Articles
Over 5o years of sports’ decline
Category: Sports Written by David Ngobua Hits: 391
As Nigeria rolls out drums today to celebrate her 51 years of independence from colonial rule, the atmosphere would be thick with mixed feelings arising from thoughts of fulfillment and bewilderment. For the few opportunistic ones, the independence gained on October 1 1960 has provided ample opportunity for self aggrandizement to the detriment of the majority who are daily wallowing in abject poverty. Those who have seen the dreams of the founding fathers of the nation die without any actualization would see this year’s celebration, whether low or high keyed, as another jamboree meant to massage the ever rising egos of the ‘enemies of state’.In all fairness, it cannot be said that Nigeria has remained stagnant since independence for there have been few developmental strides here and there. The fact however remains that Nigeria largely tipped to be Africa’s torchbearer has failed to live up to its potentials. The myriad of problems confronting Nigerians presently are said to be clear indications that lack of qualitative leadership is still the nation’s albatross.
Consequently, the peace, unity and progress championed by our heroes and heroines past are said to have been rubbished by their successors who have allowed ethnicity, tribalism, nepotism and religious dichotomy to dictate their actions. It is against this background that Nigeria is presently lagging behind in even areas that she had shown enormous prospects of development.
There are signs of systematic failure in all sectors but the thrust of this piece is the journey so far in sports. The post independence achievements in the field of sports can be traced back to the early 60s when the National Sports Commission, NSC, under Abraham Ordia began to lay foundations for sports development.
Between 1968 to 1980, Nigeria witnessed accelerated progress in sports as some of her athletes made remarkable achievements in their areas of endeavour. The then Green Eagles qualified for the Mexico 1968 Olympics Games. In 1973, Nigeria hosted the second edition of the All Africa Games and introduced the National Sports Festival for talent hunting.
Football indeed grabbed the major headlines as IICC Shooting Stars and Rangers International won the prestigious Cup Winners Cup in 1976 and 1977. The bronze medals won by the Green Eagles in 1976 and 1978 in the Africa Cupof Nations was improved upon in 1980 when the Christian Chukwu led team lifted the trophy on home soil.
Nigeria’s exploits in the years under review continued with the most celebrated being the national U-17 team’s victory in the maiden edition of the FIFA U-17 World Championship in 1985, there was a repeat performance by the Wilson Oruma led Eaglets in 1993, Super Eagles triumph in 1994 in the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia, there was also the exhilarating display of the Super Eagles at the 1994 World Cup in the USA as well as the unprecedented achievement of the Dream Team 1 at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
It was at Atlanta 96 Olympics that Policewoman and ex-long jumper, Chioma Ajunwa gave Nigeria her first and only individual gold medal at the Olympics. But before then, Nigeria had won silver and bronze medals in the male and female categories of 4 x100m at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.
In 2003, Nigeria successfully hosted and won the 8th All Africa Games in Abuja. It was the first time that the country would win the games having emerged runners up on a number of occasions.
From the year of independence to the present time, Nigeria has produced talented athletes who have made their mark on the international scene. This brings to mind such former athletes like Musa Atanda, Nduka Odizor, Hakeem Olajuwon, Rasidi Yekini, Falilat Ogunkoya-Omotayo, Mary ONyali-Omagbemi, Mercy Nku, Kanu Nwankwo, Jay-Jay Okocha, Innoncent Egbunike, Chidi Imoh, Vivian Chukwuemeka, Mercy Nku and a host of others.
However, the exit of the aforementioned star athletes marked the beginning of the sharp decline in the fortunes of Nigerian sports. Those who succeeded them have found the shoes left for them too big to wear. Consequently, Nigeria’s performances in sports now leave much to be desired. From the administrators to the athletes, it has been tales of woes, leaving Nigerians with sad moments to contend with.
Nigeria has failed to develop on her areas of comparative advantage over other countries to emerge world champions. Save for few athletes whose individual efforts have brought the nation relief from nearly uninterrupted sessions of disappointment, there wouldn’t have been any single cause to celebrate even once in a while.
The country’s sports has nosedived to such an extent that some of her gifted athletes now prefer to take up other nationalities for enhanced welfare and motivation for optimal performances. Few examples suffice here. Gloria Alozie presently represents Spain, Francis Obikwelu competes for Portugal, Wrestler Victor Igali won an Olympic medal for Canada, Emmanuel Olasidebe played for Poland at the 2002 World Cup and a host other youngsters are on the verge of dumping the green white green jerseys for other nationalities.
The decision of some of the athletes to dump Nigeria may be viewed as unpatriotism but the fact remains that the management of sports and the athletes do not inspire any confidence. In recent times, victories attained are viewed in most quarters as accidental discharges. Such critics usually base their arguments on superfluous evidences which abound in the half-hearted and leap in the dark approaches being adopted by sports administrators.
Recently, ten of Nigeria’s top athletes attended the 2011 World Athletics Championship in Daegu, South Korea but none returned with a medal. At the just concluded 10th All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique, Nigeria placed third but the gold medals she won in sixteen different events were far less than those won by South Africa in one event-swimming.
At the moment, it appears the country’s saving grace is in athletics but that is only on the continent of Africa. Other African countries have broken Nigeria’s dominance in sports like football, volleyball, handball, table tennis, badminton, wrestling and power lifting.
Thus, it is apt to say that in 51 years of independence, Nigeria is yet to live up to her potentials in sports. It has been downward movement because the nation’s huge population and inviting conditions for excellence in sports like marathon, cycling and even swimming have not been exploited for maximum advantage.