For years there have been lamentations about the decadence of sports in the nation
It’s always the same story every time
A lot of factors causing the dearth of the game
• Wrong people at the helm of affairs at the Sport Federations; leading to poor administration
• Lack of development
• Lack of proper planning
• Lack of structure
• Lack of facilities
• Lack of investment
The so called ‘Giant of Africa’ go into tournaments hoping for magic or miracle everytime
At #Paris2024 Olympic Games, Nigeria went with 88 athletes to participate in 12 sports; out of which there were maybe three medal hopefuls (three out of 88)
but in reality there were none including Ese Brume and Tobi Amusan who both have struggled this season; many didn’t pay attention that
Fisayo Dairo tweeted after Tobi Amusan failed to reach the final of the 110m hurdles
“Imagine a whole nation having all its realistic hope on one person, why won’t we continue to get heartbreaks?
“Reminds me of how Okagbare was always the lone hope too, always end in tears. I hope Tobi recovers well from this because it is difficult to bear.”
No serious country put all their hopes on 2-3 athletes and expect magic
Anytime Making of Champions updates Nigeria’s performances, they always end it with words of encouragement
Kudos to Making of Champions though but the truth is while Nigeria had a lot of debutants which is good for the game, the issue is we don’t build on emerging talents and it has hampered alot of growth
Where are the facilities for the homegrown athletes to improve?
Our best legs ain’t based in Nigeria
Deji Faremi tweeted that ‘Nigeria isn’t a sporting country’
It’s not about Nigeria being a sporting country, it’s about doing the basic things to improve the game
You could say there are many countries that ain’t a sporting country as well but they do the basics
During the military days, there were investments in the game, Nigeria had success but the nation failed to build on it
Countries go into Olympic games knowing their area of strength which will guarantee them medals
Some countries have even developed beyond what we know them for
• Pakistan is known for cricket, won GOLD in Javelin with an Olympic record
• Jamaica is known for sprint, won GOLD in Discus with an Olympic record
• India has FIVE medals in Paris with a silver in Javelin
What does that tell you, they have improved in areas which are not even their strength
When China were to usurp USA at Beijing 2008, their preparation started after Athens 2000
United States of America are the Real Madrid of the Olympics, beating them wasn’t going to be easy, they have been over all champions 18 times
The Chinese were second to USA with a difference of four gold medals at Athens 2004 using the core of the athletes that will later shock the world in 2008
Coming second in 2004 was a blueprint of what to expect at Beijing 2008, they were poised to beat USA to glory and it happened
In 2008, China won the Olympics leading USA with a margin of 12 gold medals
Simple method; Structure, Planning, Preparation and Execution!
What is Nigeria area of strength?
How much are we developing the game?
The Sports Minister Senator John Owan Enoh.
has more than plenty work to do more than writing epistles on X
In conclusion, the decadence of Nigerian sports is the testament of how the country herself is
Nigeria presently is ARCHAIC, what do you expect from an archaic country?
Before Nigerian sports can rise from its dead state, Nigeria as a nation must first RISE!
Without a working Nigeria, don’t expect any magic in sports
The million dollar question is will Nigeria ever WORK?
God bless Nigeria
Thanks for reading
Pen 🖊️ drops!
Written by Ray Tolu Ayo
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