WE MUST SAVE NIGERIAN SPORTS

By Nnamdi Okosieme

The NFF have reminded us that we have now won gold, silver and bronze in football at the Olympics but they have tactfully hidden from us the fact that we are progressing in reverse.

In 1996 in Atlanta, we won gold; twelve years later in 2008 in Beijing, we settled for silver and now, eight years after Beijing, in Rio, we have managed bronze.

Now, our sports minister, who so far has failed to live up to his name, will come doing the "I told you so". What he will not tell us however, is that whereas countries like the United States and Japan are making in roads in sports where in the past they were no-hopers (America took gold for the first time since its participation at the Olympics, in women's 800 metres, and Japan took silver, yes Japan and not America, Britain or Bahamas, in the men's 4x100 metres relay), Nigeria is fast relinquishing stake in those events that had earned it global respect in sports.

Nigerian sports is definitely at its nadir. As I write this, World U-17 defending champions, our very own Golden Eaglets, have had their noses bloodied in Niamey, Niger Republic. The defeat handed to them this evening, means they will not be part of the next edition of the U-17 World Cup.

The defending champions have effectively been stopped in their tracks by a lowly football nation and this not at the Mundial itself but at the qualifying stage. They will thus join their egbons, the Super Eagles eating Boli ati Epa or drinking Kunu when the 2017 Afcon and the U-17 World Cup are taking place.

I decided long ago that if I didn't want to commit suicide ( you do not commit suicide only when you deliberately kill yourself through shooting, poisoning, knifing, etc; you also commit suicide when you see something patently destructive of your life and embrace it), I should completely detach myself emotionally from Nigerian sports.
The only time I'll probably get emotionally involved again is if Jayjay Jay-Jay Okocha or Kanu Papilo Nwankwo get back on the field again. They'll be worth the risk and I'll take the chance of explaining to Baba God why I took that risk.

That said, I want to thank Nigerian athletes for their labour of love toward this country, There can be no greater patriotism than placing your mind and body at the disposal of a country, which has in overabundance, callous, godless, greedy, lying, conniving, manipulating and obnoxious sports administrators; men and women in whom the milk of human kindness is absent.

Many Nigerian athletes have been maimed, raped, abused and have their careers truncated by these mindless mercenaries superintending over sports in Nigeria.

Nigeria as a country itself has been embarrassed, humiliated and shortchanged by the callousness, greed and ineptitude of these administrators ( I use the word administrators for want of a better term, for in truth, they are nothing but journeymen), feeding fat off the fragile body of Nigerian sports

It is tragic that a country that in the past produced some of the best athletes in the world would lie so tragically prostrate at the feet of mediocrity. In athletes alone, we have had greats like Innocent Ejima Egbunike, Mary Onyali, Davidson Ezinwa, his twin, Osmond Ezinwa, Olapade Adenekan, Pat Itanyi, Adewale Olukoju, his wife, Fatimat Yusuf-Olukoju, Chidi Imoh, Clement Chukwu, Chioma Ajunwa,Taiwo Aladefa(Tai Wo), Orode Oyiki, to mention just a few. Before them, there were the Felix Imadiyis, Bruce T. Ijirighos, Charlton Ehizuelens. How can we have these fine athletes still alive and athletics in Nigeria would be on life support?

I do not want to even talk about the array of former football talent this country has produced because I'd probably still be naming them by the time the Olympics ends.

We cannot continue like this. I am challenging these athletics greats I have named here and many I have not, to stand up and be counted. We must save sports in Nigeria. I am under no illusion it will be an easy task. It will be painstaking, excruciating, thankless and even dangerous but it can be done. We have principalities and powers to root out and these have agents in government and the media, two institutions critical in this fight. We must not despair. Despite the complicity and acquiescence of many in the media in the destruction of our sports, there are still fine and decent journalists ready to put patriotism and morality above pecuniary considerations. Please let us stand up and be counted. I beg of you.

No one cud hv said it better than dis man just did!!!.....I love d write-up,100%!

Btw,i hope we get to sing 'When Nigeria win Brazil,sum player(nt Beberto) start to dy cry' again!

100% perfect and accurate

Now Dalung will be like "What's my business in saving Nigeria's sports?" and still the children of hate will back him up.

This is what happen when an appointment is made based on tribal reasons other than on merit.

I have truly seen cluelessness at its apex in this administration