Bound To Fail In China

Asked about the country’s hope for medals at this year’s Olympic Games, which begin on 8 August in Beijing, China, Dan Ngerem, a former president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, said: “The tragi-comedy in our sports is playing out before our own eyes like a bad dream. While I have generally declined to comment on AFN administration since I left office, the unfolding tragedy for our country at the Beijing Olympics is particular poignant and painful.”

The pessimism is a widespread one. Most members of the country’s sporting community think Nigeria’s contingent is the least prepared ever. Apart from the fact that the country has lost appreciable ground in some of the sports in which she once excelled, the contingent was in disarray before it jetted out of the country. To train for the games, most athletes who had the financial capability had to travel abroad on their own to be in the right physical and mental frame for their events. Solomon Ogba, a sports enthusiast, expressed shock at this develpoment. “I was shocked that our teams were still in Nigeria when they were supposed to be sharpening up abroad and getting ready for the games,” he said. Aside from a dearth of facilities, there is virtually no plan by sport administrators to initiate programmes that would enable the country to do well in global competitions.Over the years, save for one or two exceptions, Nigeria’s participation in the Olympics has always been characterised by its reliance on luck. Of the 10 events the nation is competing in at the games, it is only four that the country has won medals in previous Olympics. They are football, boxing, athletics and weightlifting. And of these, it is only football – male and female – it could be said that the country has had some semblance of preparation. This is not as a result of the efforts of officials of the National Sports Commission, NSC, or the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, but through the doggedness of Samson Siasia and Joseph Ladipo, coaches of the two teams. While the Siasia-tutored side could be said to have a fair chance of winning a medal, the same cannot be said of the female team, despite their impressive performances in their warm-up matches. In the group stage, the Dream Team IV will face Netherlands, Japan and the USA in the group stage, so the team’s chances of progressing into medal zone is very high. However, the team must be wary of Argentina, defending champions and hot favorites for the gold, and Brazil, a country that is yet to win gold at the games.