At the close of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Africa’s topmost country on the final medal Table-Kenya, finished with 4 gold, 2 silver and 5 bronze medals,a total of 11 medals and thus, occupied 17th position at the global final medal table of the 2024 PARIS Olympic Games.
These no doubt were clearly above the best ever results Nigeria emphatically posted 28 years ago, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic games with 2 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals(a total of 6 medals) and then occupied the second-best continental African team on the final medal table,behind south Africa that came first with 3 gold 1 silver and 1 bronze medals.Most unfortunately, this time Nigeria’s name was completely and miserably missing in the final medal table of the just concluded Paris Olympics Games.
Ironically and instructively too, Kenya at the same 1996 Atlanta Olympic games raked in only 1gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze medals which placed her far behind Nigeria.But today, Kenya has dwarfed every other African country at the just concluded 2024 Olympic games, which explicitly signposts smart sports development initiatives,progressive actions and ingrained political will, towards sustained sports development in the country.
The underlining lesson is that
one can only harvest what one planned and planted.There is the urgent and compelling need, more than ever, to reinvent and resuscitate school sports and grassroots sports development in Nigeria which remains the only master-key for posting sustainable excellent podium results,the world over.
We recall with nostalgia, that the nation’s sports heroines and heroes at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, such as Chioma Ajunwa Oparah and Kalu Nwankwo led under 23 dream football team players, among others, were all home-born, bred and developed to become phenomenal products of school sports.
Unfortunately today, the nation is bountifully reaping the rotten fruits of moribund school sports in Nigeria,with its obvious consequential “generation-gap” of home-groomed elite athletes from the school system which of course finds its expression in the country’s over reliance on diaspora elite athletes for effective prosecution of her important continental and global sports completions.Which also comes at humongous costs ,as clearly evident in the recently concluded 2024 PARIS Olympic Games.Unfortunately too, some of the diaspora elite athletes, characteristically and counter-productively always exhibit very low national patriotism and commitment whenever they are invited for national assignments which equally impede their optimal performances and results.
Above all, in recent times, knowledge, professionalism and positive attitude rule the world in every aspect of human endeavor and sports is not an exception. The current dilution and lowering the bar of sports leadership positions in Nigeria,at all levels,with the engagement of non sports professionals and others just for political compensation and rehabilitation can never take our sports future and fortunes far. As no one can give what he doesn’t have.
To change the narrative positively, Nigeria will have to lament less but go back to the drawing- board, tell ourselves the honest truth, do the right things in good time with the right personnel.There is the need also to prioritize adequate and timely funding of all important sports programs and projects, with special focus on school sports/grassroots sports development in Nigeria.Then Certainly, the country will start raking in once again, excellent podium results from the nation’s sports sub-sector.
Dr. Ogu Geoffrey/INI.
