Obasanjo's sports achievements
SIR: I wish to comment on the article "A leader's winning aura", by Kingsley Osadolor, published in (The Guardian of July 7, 2004. In it, the gentleman identified Nigeria's major sporting victories, attributed them to the incumbent Heads of State, and pronounced that "President Obasanjo is now into the sixth year of his eight-year rule and his administration cannot point to one major sporting victory."
What about Enyimba Club of Aba winning the African Champions League in 2003, the first time that Nigeria won the trophy since inception in 1964 All the leading clubs in the country had been trying since 1968, first under the leadership of General Yakubu Gowon, General Murtala Mohammed, President Shehu Shagari, General Muhammadu Buhari, General Ibrahim Babangida, Chief Ernest Shonekan, General Sani Abacha, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, all to no avail.
What about the 8th All Africa Games, Abuja 2003 Osadolor dismissed it as a "charade" but the fact remains that for the first time, Nigeria topped the medals table. There had been nine previous Nigerian Heads of State who did not have the "aura of winning" the Games, but Obasanjo did.
While one should not disparage other achievements of the Golden Eaglets of 1985 and 1993, nor our first Olympic gold of 1996, Nigerians should not forget that it was during Obasanjo's leadership in the 1970s that Nigeria began to assert our presence by winning our first continental trophy in sports " IICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan capturing the 1976 African Cup Winners Cup, Rangers International of Enugu repeating the feat in 1977; the Green Eagles' first bronze medal at the 1976 African Cup of Nations, and another bronze at the 1978 African Cup of Nations.
Perhaps the salient point Osadolor made is the general state of despondency and lack of enthusiasm and self-belief that currently envelop Nigeria's sports. The cause of this virus has to be located in the various political parties, none of which enunciated a clear-cut sports policy. So the various governors and even the Presidency run administration that has no manifesto on sports.
Obasanjo will however write his name in gold (not bronze) if he pursues his anti-corruption crusade into the dark corners of Nigeria's sports. There are many looters of Nigeria's sports money and if no sacred cows are being protected, staggering amount of money will be recovered and ploughed back to sports development.
Fabio Lanipekun,
Lagos
