Daily Independent Online.
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Tuesday, August 24, 2004.
Africa without Nigeria
with Godwin-Spiff Sagbamah
e-mail:[email protected]
Eritrea is the 52nd country in Africa and
the youngest. After a prolonged battle, the people of Eritrea finally got their
independence from Ethiopia. In the 10,000 metres track and field event, Eritrea
booked a bronze medal behind their brothers from Ethiopia. In that event,
Ethiopia swept gold and silver. Before this time, South Africa and Zimbabwe had
written their own names on the medals table at the on going Athens Olympic.
As I write now and as you see now, many
other African countries have written their countries name on the Olympic
medal’s table.
These African countries did not go to
Athens with any bogus contingent, their sports’ ministers did not
accompany them except of course, officials.
Their government did not send delegations,
whether official or not. Their different states or provinces did not send their
traditional rulers or mayors with over twenty state delegation. No other
African country promised her citizens to win ten gold medals or more. No other African country left for the
Olympic with officials that were sent back from Athens because no accommodation
was found for them in the Olympic quarters. In fact, no other African country
spent or has spent the kind of money Nigeria spent to prepare for the Olympic
and eventually go for the games proper. Yet again, very few if any at all, of
African countries whose nationals are running for other countries like Nigerian
athletes. In Great Britain team alone, over five Nigerian athletes are
competing for Britain. A Portuguese Nigerian or a Nigerian Portuguese is in
track and field, Spain has a
Nigerian young lady who at Sydney ran for beloved Nigeria. Americans has
Nigerians actively competing for them.
I am so happy for all the Nigerians doing
other countries proud. If your country had known how to properly care for her
own, you would be spotting the green-white-green colour but you were treated
like a leper in our own country. Our sports’ officials from the
sports’ ministry and other government official will feed fat on your
sweat, stole what belong to you to themselves, cutting your allowance into half
while increasing theirs.
No other African country claims the giant
status of Nigeria. Yet Nigeria lives like an ant. Ant is even better, it
prepares for the rainy day by saving and storing. Even the Bible talks about
the ants so powerfully, advising that we learn her ways and be wise. Nigeria
therefore lives like a grasshopper, destroying everything that has been put in
place to her, including the ones she even managed to put in place. We have
enough athletes in this country and in diaspora that will beat any country hands down. But bad
management and personal gains have destroyed everything we should have. Today,
Africa is shinning without Nigeria at the Olympic and it is interesting to see
how far Nigeria can go by the end of the Olympic this weekend. Am so glad for
Eritrea, a small country that does not measure up to Lagos State. Politically,
Nigeria is not reckoned with in the community or committee of nations. Economically,
our nation is in deep crisis and our leaders have no clue as to how we will get
out of this wilderness. Agriculturally, Nigerian cannot feed herself and must
import even the little we used to produce in the seventies.
Time was when we can raise our shoulder
high and feel happy among the nations in the world and that is in the area of
sports especially football.
If we are really honest with ourselves. Can
Nigeria really win football gold at Athens Olympic? And if we did, would that
have amounted to ten gold as promised by our sports politician.
This brings me to 1996. According to the
then head of state, late Sani Abacha, Nigeria won nineteen gold medals from
Atlanta ’96. How? After
Nigeria came back from Atlanta ’96, the then head of state asked how many
gold medals did Nigeria win. The leader of the delegation replied, two gold
medals sir. Then replied the commander-in-chief what happened? I saw all the
players collecting their gold medals (those who played and those who did not
play). Add that to the gold won by Chioma Ajuwa (MON). Our leaders do not make
room for those who bring the best image for Nigeria. The amount of money this
country spends to launder an image we do not have abroad or at home, if it is
directed into sports development, America will smart to catch up with
Nigeria. Our potential in sports
is beyond comprehension among our youths but those in leadership will not see
anything good in our youths, therefore, what will bring them future in good
measure has to be destroyed. Where is Nigeria, is she absent even among African
nations? Is Nigeria completely submerged that she cannot even raise her head up
in the presence of young Eritrea.
Nigeria! Is this you, so ordinary and cheap in Africa! How then are you in the rest of the
world?
What is wrong with our sports is basically
the problem of the Nigerian contract called country. This country is sick from
inside and only after we have found solution inside that we can locate solution
outside. The system is totally rotten that only a complete revolution will
bring us to a place of progress and actualization. By September 5, after the Olympics, Zimbabwe will play
Nigeria in world cup qualifier.
The Zimbabwean are fully ready for Nigeria
and even boasting that Nigeria will fall.
The team has been playing friendly matches since the coach announced the
team that will play Nigeria. Meanwhile, the Nigerian team is yet to play any
friendly match since the match against Algeria.
Against Germany, our girls played with so
much determination but no purpose, no focus and lacks character with staying
power. How do you consistently win Africa and consistently put up a mediocre
show outside Africa.
What is the sense of winning in Africa when
you cannot win outside Africa. Many analyst have said that, oh! Our girls tried
very well since they were playing against the world champions. To have gotten
to the quarter finals of the Olympic is no mean feat. Yes, I agree but for how
long would our girls play negative football that lacks purpose. These players know
that we have no coach of any experience at the brightest level in world
football. After holding Germany for over seventy minutes, why was it that the
match finally turned against them? What was it that the German ladies had that
they did not have? Before the German equalizer, these girls had the opportunity
severally to have buried the Germans with three goals before they realized what
would have hit them.
But what did we see, on resumption of the
second half, the girls started shying away from pushing forward and punish the
Germans before they could wake up. To compound matters, the girls started
contesting the referees’ decision and disputing with the assistant
referee running the lines. If I was taken by astonishment, I would lie to
myself. I was so sure that as soon as the German coach began introducing new
players to his side, I knew immediately then that coach Ismants Mabo would follow suit without justifying
the change positively.
