What’s the fuss about Nigeria’s Paris Olympics failure?

Frankly, I bash not recognize wherefore Nigerians should beryllium agitated by the precise abysmal outing of the country’s contingent to the conscionable concluded 2024 Olympic Games successful Paris, France.  After all, if you neglect to program earlier embarking connected immoderate venture, past you person planned to fail. There is thing analyzable astir that. So, I honestly bash not recognize each the fuss astir the Nigerian 80-man contingent not returning location with adjacent 1 bronze (the least) medal.

Sports administrators and writers, arsenic good arsenic enthusiasts person adduced each kinds of reasons for Nigeria’s nonaccomplishment astatine the Olympics aft spending a whooping N12 cardinal connected the country’s ample contingent astatine the planetary sports fiesta. Top among the reasons fixed for the nonaccomplishment of Nigeria successful the games are reckless spending, incompetence and negligence.

In what appeared to beryllium admittance of failure, the Honourable Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh, tendered a nationalist apology to Nigerians for the disappointing outing astatine the Paris Olympics. The Minister blamed the improvement connected mentation failures.

In spite of the apology, galore Nigerians, including absorption enactment leaders, criticised the authorities for the dismal outing, with each the billions spent, portion 9 different African countries achieved podium finishes. Some stakeholders went further to request for a forensic probe into squad Nigeria’s mediocre show astatine this year’s Olympics, which replicated the nation’s outings successful 1952, 1956, 1960, 1968, 1980, 1988 and 2012.

Although I americium not against the telephone for probe, judging by the Nigerian experience, it is highly improbable that thing meaningful volition travel retired of it. In the 2nd week of June this year, a study by the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity, revealed that lone 3 retired of the 614 nationalist probes related to corruption successful Nigeria, person been concluded since 1999. So, what is the warrant that the probe of Team Nigeria’s “disastrous” travel to Paris would beryllium different? I accidental this with owed respect to Senator Eno who described the outing of our squad arsenic a disaster.

For me, I deliberation that alternatively than embark connected the said probe, we should absorption connected the lessons successful bid to avert Nigeria suffering specified a nationalist embarrassment astatine a planetary signifier successful future. Like I said successful the introductory paragraph of this write-up, if 1 fails to program earlier embarking connected immoderate venture, the idiosyncratic has planned to fail. Nigeria failed astatine the Paris Olympics due to the fact that the state failed to program for it. This is the crushed wherefore I americium not frustrated similar different Nigerians astir our failure. It is not astir disloyalty to the federation oregon lack of patriotism successful me.

However, it is important to constituent retired astatine this juncture that the readying deficiency successful the state is not peculiar to sports. It exists adjacent successful the captious sectors of our nationalist life, specified arsenic powerfulness and infrastructure development. I retrieve that astatine the twilight of the medication of President Muhammadu Buhari successful 2023, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Dr. Zainab Ahmed listed the involution of the Federal Government of Nigeria Sovereign SUKUK Fund successful the nation’s roadworthy infrastructure betwixt 2017 and 2022. According to Dr. Ahmed, successful 2017, the SUKUK of N100 cardinal was spent connected Nigeria’s roadworthy infrastructure, N200 cardinal successful 2018, N362.56 cardinal successful 2020, N612.56 cardinal successful 2021, and N742.56 cardinal successful 2022, respectively. This happened during the epoch of His Excellency Babatunde Fashola SAN arsenic the Minister of Works.

Regardless of this humongous spending connected roadworthy infrastructure, determination are inactive respective deplorable national roads scattered crossed the six geo-political zones successful the country. Although this improvement could easy beryllium attributed to corruption, mediocre readying is besides portion of the problem. A period aft assuming bureau successful September past year, the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi said that nary existing roadworthy could past 7 years. Umahi said the verdict was based connected findings gathered during his roadworthy inspection tour, crisscrossing the full nation.

But, successful South Africa, much than 60 per cent of the roads person a beingness span of 25 years. In galore of the European countries, with capable maintenance, immoderate roads past 30 years. That roads successful South Africa and European countries past much than Nigerian roads, is not needfully due to the fact that they walk much than Nigeria.   

Back to the Olympics.
I tin stake that the full expenditure of the 9 African countries that made it into the medals array is not fractional of the magnitude spent by Nigeria. That we invested N12 cardinal connected our contingent was not a warrant of a medal haul. Medals are not sold oregon bought astatine the Olympic Games but won by athletes. Every state indispensable program for the mentation of its athletes.

I heard experts successful sports accidental that it takes 12 years to program for an Olympics. Fire brigade attack is communal successful Nigeria. We don’t program connected time. We hold until the past infinitesimal to bash things that ought to person been done earlier, including the ones that volition not outgo a dime. That is wherefore Nigerian athletes get to planetary events, lone to realise that they were not registered for the event.

By the clip things are sorted out, the jock becomes downcast. The athlete’s information arsenic becomes predictable. In immoderate instances, Nigerian athletes get the needed sports instrumentality from their colleagues from different countries to enactment successful events. Such instances were seen successful Paris. In astir cases, the administrators volition guarantee that they are going to analyse what happened. At the extremity of the day, thing is heard astir the probe and cipher gets punished. We determination on.

Nigeria cannot marque advancement by ever crying implicit spilt milt. The state indispensable enactment to succeed. For america to succeed, we indispensable prioritise readying successful everything we do. Part of the readying is putting quadrate pegs successful quadrate holes. In areas that are precise technical, specified arsenic sports, the radical with the know-how should beryllium appointed into captious offices successful those areas.

The Ministry of Sports, for instance, should not beryllium a dumping crushed for enactment members who mislaid predetermination oregon governmental cronies. Sports is large business. Besides being a wealth spinning business, it tin make employment for the teeming younker colonisation of the state who represent implicit 60 per cent of the colonisation of the country. If they are gainfully employed done sports, the transgression complaint and by extension, insecurity successful the country, volition trim to the barest minimum.

In conclusion, if Nigeria indispensable win arsenic a nation, readying should beryllium institutionalised successful each facets of our nationalist life, not conscionable successful principle, but successful applicable terms. If we privation to win successful Sports successful particular, we should prosecute successful agelong word sports improvement planning. Now that the Paris Olympics is over, we should look astatine the lessons, alternatively than dissipate vigor connected blasted game.

There tin ne'er beryllium a abbreviated chopped to progress. For america to marque it to the medals array astatine the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and consequent ones, oregon surpass our 2 golden medals champion show astatine Atlanta 2006 Games, the readying should commencement today.
Dr. Nzomiwu wrote from Awka, Anambra State. He tin beryllium reached via: [email protected]