American pop singer-songwriter, Josh Rouse sang, ‘Too many things on my mind’. A line in the lyrics asked rhetorically, ‘Can we recover, what’s been lost?’. If what’s been lost is time, it may never be recovered.
My thought actually is to do a review of sports events in 2024 which I term the bitter-sweet year for Nigeria’s sports.
Bitter for the fact that we started the year with cautious optimism that the Super Eagles may do well at the 2023 CAF African Cup of Nations, AFCON played in 2024 in Cote d’Ivoire.
They actually raised hopes gradually with each game until they got to the final. Just as the nation expected them to crown the effort with their fourth AFCON title, the third time on an away soil, they dashed the hope. Some Nigerians lost their lives, because of shock, in the process.
With the disappointment behind, the Portuguese coach that led that campaign, Jose Peseiro, leaving over botched contract renewal, our own, Finidi George got the privilege to steer the team in the World Cup qualifiers.
Nigerians expected him to prove one thing, that like Shaibu qualify the Super Eagles for the World Cup. Finidi lost just one game, painfully to Benin Republic and the cries for a return to our vomit, foreign coach started.
We are yet to recover from that indiscretion of not believing in our own people and allowing them enough time like we always give the foreigners.
Rouse’s song comes to bear here. Can we recover the 2026 World Cup ticket which, though not totally lost, but seems almost lost?
We went to the African Games in Ghana, as usual played second fiddle to Egypt. Most painfully, we lost grounds on our areas of strength, the short sprints but still qualified for the Olympics which held in Parish, France.
We came back with a bag of scandals which the erstwhile sports minister, John Enoh tried to probe even though he knew the problem. Of course he never remained in sports to see the re- port of his investigation which is as good as been dumped into the dustbin of history.
Just when we thought that the presidency would ask for the re- port of the investigation of Team Nigeria’s flop at the Olympics, it scrapped the sports ministry and resurrected the National Sports Commission, NSC.
Before the rebirth of the NSC, the defunct sports ministry awarded the hosting right of the 22nd National Sports Festival to Ogun state, the second time in their history after 2006.
Ogun’s preparedness was assured but the biennial event has suffered postponement twice now, the latest being three days ago when the joint technical meeting of both the Local Organising Committee, LOC, for the host state and the Main Organising Committee, MOC, for the Sports Commission issued a communique to that effect after assessing the state of facilities ear- marked for the festival.
Rather than accept the festival has been postponed and hope it will be the last postponement the country will see, the NSC Director General, Chief Bukola Olopade got angry with a journalist who posed the question, saying he won’t answer it.
He ridiculously said the movement of the festival forward by about five months from January to May wasn’t a postponement but “was strategically done to settle a new commission (NSC) and re-galvanise the idea of creating a sports economy that is Sustainable” I beg to disagree with Chief Olopade because I remember that a couple of weeks before the joint technical meeting, he had visited the Ogun state governor in his capacity as the new DG of the NSC and the state government assured Nigerians that they were ready to host the best sports festival in the history of the country.
This is not the first time host states of the festival will be disappointing Nigerians, especially athletes and their technical team who put in so much hours and resources training and looking forward to it. Stakeholders have always complained why the sports ministry or sports commission would award rights for the festival to states without adequate facilities to host it.
The argument that hosting the festival gives states the opportunity to develop sports facilities which will help to groom the abundant talents in the country doesn’t hold water. Henceforth, it should be made known that only states with standard and adequate facilities could be given the right to host the festival. Time lost by athletes because of postponements of competitions they have sacrificed energy and resources to prepare for, may never be recovered.
https://treasurenewspaper.com.ng/fuoyes-vc-felicitates-with-governor-oyebanji-on-57th-birthday/
The only light that shone at the end of the proverbial dark tun- nel for sports in Nigeria in the outgoing year is the victory of Super Eagles winger, Ademola Lookman as the new king of African football. From the day he decided to switch allegiance from England to Nigeria, the Osun-born player has shown humility in attitude and dedication to the National team.
Adeleke Damilola (ACTION) is a versatile content writer with expertise in news writing and a seasoned media professional and broadcast specialist. Currently serving as News Editor for DNews Info, Damilola is also the CEO of the ACTION brand, committed to shaping lives and establishing a legacy of excellence for present and future generations.
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