Memo to President: Time to halt downward slide in sports (1)

President Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari and All Progressives Congress’ (APC) dream of youth empowerment may turn out to be a mirage, unless they turn around the sports industry, which has the potential to engage millions of Nigerians. The first step will be appointing a Sports Minister, who understands the industry and has genuine intentions of stopping the present rot writes INNOCENT EGBUNIKE.

EVENTS in Nigeria since May 29, 2015 have been bitter-sweet to me. The sweetness is the good tidings I get each time I call my 95-year-old dad in Onitsha and my siblings in Nigeria, they confirm the good news I have been reading online about how things are changing for the better in Nigeria within a short period. But I am also bitter because President Buhari and the APC leaders seem not to have any plan for sports or they have wrong advisers.

Peradventure President Buhari is getting the wrong brief about the state of sports, my memo will not only give him the true picture, but also proffer solutions.

President Buhari must have been briefed that we just won the African Nations Cup in Basketball, but he should ask them what the state of basketball is at home or at the local league. Nigeria is probably the only nation in the world renowned for football without a good football league. Tennis is completely dead, ditto boxing, volleyball and other sports. Table Tennis was a sports we used to dominate completely, now we play second fiddle to Egypt and Congo. I read that you congratulated our team for placing second in the All Africa Games, but the truth is, the All Africa Games today is merely a developmental programme for upcoming athletes.
Athletics as an example

No other sports give me the opportunity to paint the sorry state of sports in Nigeria today than my sport, athletics, a sport that gave me global fame.

After watching the recently concluded Beijing 2015 IAAF World Championships in China, and the Brazzaville 2015 All African Games and reading up all the news articles, I made the decision to join the discussion and reflect on our past performances in comparison to where we are today.

Nigeria’s track and field records from the past speaks for itself, the Nigerian Record in the men’s 100m stands at 9:84 seconds, 19:84 seconds in the 200m and 44:17 seconds in the 400m, 48.50 seconds in the 400h, 8:27m in the Long Jump, 17:26m in the Triple Jump, 67:80m in the Discus Throw, 37.91sec in the 4 x 100m and 2:58:68 in the 4 x 400m.

On the women side our records are as follows:  100m 10:79sec, 22:07sec in the 200m and 49:10sec in the 400m, 12:44sec in the 100h, 54:40sec in 400h, 1:95m in the High Jump, 7:12m in Long Jump, 42:39sec in the 4 x 100m and 3:21:04 in the 4 x 400m.
Today, we don’t have male sprinters that can run under 10.00 seconds in the 100m.

How did our athletes reach those splendid performances? The answer is found in the framework that was built in the seventies during the leadership of Isaac Akioye.

Now late, Akioye invested in sports national development programmes, from Primary school, Secondary school to college level, with such examples as the Secondary School Sports, University Games (NUGA), National Sports Festival for junior and senior athletes, Armed Forces Games, and such national sports events, helped set standards in the development of track and field in Nigeria. I remember being at the same school sports with Sunday Uti, Yusuf Ali, Henry Amike, Daniel Ogidi, Rufina Uba and transitioning into the senior level with each of these individuals.

I remember that the first time I went to the National Sports Festival was 1979, Oluyole 79. I remember flunking the Xray exam for the junior team, but my state still took me to watch the competition and watching my team mate, Francis Ude, the great Samson Oyeledun inspired me to want to be on the national team.

To my recollection, everything was done right, there was a standard set for every event, for both junior and senior athletes.

Akioye brought in administrators and coaches that were given responsibilities and held accountable for their duties. Athletes were also held accountable with the code of conduct. It was a privilege to make the national team, because every athlete worked very hard and faced tough competition to make it to the national team.
Education and sports

Athletes were encouraged to go to college in Nigeria and overseas, we had the JJ Kio (dollar man) and Ahmed Adio, just to mention a few, that attended college in Nigeria, and the national team athletes Mary Akirimi, Kehinde Vaughan, Obusiemie Ensienu, Ikpoto Eseme, Iziaq Adeyanju, Lawrence Adegbehingbe, Samson Oyeledun who teamed up with likes of Felix Emadeye (Beautiful legs), Joe Sia Sia, Dele Udo, Charlton Ehizuelen, Modupe Oshikoya, Tom Nnakwe, Joan Elumelu, Edward Ofili and Godwin Obasogie that attended  college in USA. One thing that these athletes had in common was that they were treated the same way and were expected to respect and abide by the code of conduct.

The foundation that was laid in the seventies was the bridge to the performances in the eighties and nineties. In the eighties, Nigeria won the Commonwealth 4 x 100 with the great quartet of Ikpoto Eseme, Iziaq Adeyanju, Lawrence Adegbehingbe and Samson Olajidie Oyeledun, won her first Olympic medal, dominated the World University Games, showed her supremacy at the African Games. During the eighties, Nigeria won World Championship Silver and Bronze medals. The eighties started the who is who in track and field, the eighties gave us such athletes as Chidi Imoh, Moses Egbusien, Rotimi Peters, Joseph Taiwo, Sunday Uti, Airat Bakare, Henry Amike, Yussuf Ali, Paul Emordi, Augustine Olobia, Mary Onyali, George Igbede, Tina Iheagwam, Beatrice Utondu, Obinna Eregbu, Falilat Ogunkoya, Olapade Adeniken, Davidson Ezinwa, Hope Obikaeze and the list goes on.
Track and field in the 90’s

During the nineties, we started another trend of great athletes that trained in Nigeria, the likes of one of our best quartermilers, Sunday Bada, our Olympic gold medalist in the Long Jump, Chioma Ajunwa, Bisi Afolabi, Charity Opara, Deji Aliu, Pat Itanyi, Uche Emedolu, Francis Obikwelu, and they teamed up with the likes of Fatima Yussuf Olukoju, Adewale Olukoju, Clement Chukwu, Osmond Ezinwa, Oluyemi Kayode, Olapade Adeniken, Chima Ugwu, Francis Obikwelu, Faith Idehen, Udeme Ekpeyong, Jude Monye, Christy Opara Thompson, Gloria Alozie, Tina Iheagwam, Beatrice Utondu, Obinna Eregbu, Falilat Ogunkoya, Olapade Adeniken, Davidson Ezinwa, Hope Obikaeze, and Chidi Imoh.

Some of these athletes contributed to the success stories of Nigeria’s track and field that won one gold, two silver and three bronze medals at the Olympic Games; two silver and two bronze medals at World Championships; the nineties gave us the most medals