The Olympics: Broken Promises And The Takasu Effect 

Dr Takasu fulfilling his promise to the Nigerian team at the Olympics

Nigerians can easily be mollified by promises; the more audacious and lofty the promise, the more they believe it. But when such promises fail to come to fruition, Nigerians are one of the most self-sacrificial people on earth. In fact, their gullibility is such that you can build another false hope by making further promises on top of unfulfilled ones. Because there is generally no respect for human rights or regard for self-worth, Nigerians have borne some of the most abusive relationships between leadership and followership in Africa.

The Olympic Games have just ended with Nigerians managing a bronze medal in soccer and holding the 78^th position on the medal table. The first, second and third countries had a total of 121, 67 and 70 medals respectively. Britain, with a tally of 70 fell into third position because it had less number of gold medals. The Nigerian soccer team endured so many debacles that on two occasions, they had to rely on outside help in order to make it to the venue and to actually participate in the Olympics. Dr Katsuya Takasu, a Japanese plastic surgeon gave a total of $390,000 to the team about two hours after they defeated Honduras in the third place football match. The good doctor saw effort and self-sacrifice in the boys, who were fighting against all odds, and decided to reward those attributes. He must have compared what a typical Japanese team takes for granted with what the Nigerians were never granted. It is obvious that when motivated, Nigerians are able to add zero to zero and come up with one.

The Nigerian authorities in charge of the Olympics probably earmarked money and resources for kits, transportation, accommodation and other essentials, but most of the effort never made it to the athletes on time. In fact, some of the kits needed by Nigerian athletes arrived almost 2 weeks into the game!  You can almost be certain that our athletes were assured things would be all right, by the grace of God. Nigerians in authority resort to invoking God's grace when planlessness, avarice and pathological ineptitude conspire to unmask their worthlessness. The list is endless: Salaries; grace of God, safety on the roads; grace of God, healthcare; grace of God, education; grace of God. Electricity? Try lightening. Most rights and privileges that citizens of this nation should take for granted are lazily projected into the field of circumstance to be fulfilled by a seemingly uncaring God. 

Nigerians are under the burden of unfulfilled promises. In the new political dispensation that took root in the late nineties, until now, it has been a history of broken promises. Each president has exhibited traits that scuttled electoral campaign promises: Obansanjo, too know; Yar'Adua; a no show, Jonathan; too slow and Buhari; too cold.  The less than stellar leaderships over the years was a sure way to destroy any hope of sport (and many other sectors) revival or excellence in Nigeria. Fifteen months into the government of PMB, the country appears to have taken a decidedly backward trajectory even when the obvious ineptitude of the previous administration is considered. Sportsmen and women have suggested that the current government's support for sports has been virtually nonexistent. 

Dr Takasu made a promise and delivered on his promise a couple of hours after our team won the bronze medal. But when it comes to the government or wealthy Nigerians fulfilling promises made to sportsmen, it is a different story. According to BBC Sports, "…Some members of Nigeria's Super Eagles - led by Stephen Keshi, who passed away in June - are still waiting for the houses they were promised by the government for winning the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia. Keshi is the fifth member of the so-called 'Golden Generation' of Nigerian footballers from 1994 to pass away, after Uche Okafor, Thompson Oliha, Rashidi Yekini and Wilfred Agbonavbare. Africa's wealthiest businessman, Aliko Dangote, has failed to fulfil his promise to reward Nigeria's team with $1m for winning the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. Nigerian economist and banker Tony Elumelu's promise of $500,000 for the Super Eagles' Nations Cup success in South Africa remains outstanding. The country's squad members who won the first FIFA Under-16 World championship in 1985 were only rewarded after a 30-year wait. However, the rewards came too late for Kingsley Aikhionbare, who died in London in 1996…"

Dangote and Elumelu are supposed to be part of a younger, successful and forward-looking generation who rub shoulders with the best on the planet discussing ideas on how to move Africa forward. However, it seems that encouraging youths in sports is not part of their forte. Obviously, genuinely supporting sports in Nigeria does not bring the usual profits and personal aggrandizement. While Nigerian football clubs are struggling to survive, Dangote has been trying to buy the England-based football club Arsenal! These local rich men are ever busy carrying out the agenda of their Western masters while bamboozling the ignorant of their benevolence.

Our rich men love recognition and honours from Washington, London and Paris; they also like local "chieftaincy" titles. In ancient times, these titles were given to the most worthy members of society who have performed great acts of valour and altruism. Today, with the right amount of money and strategic bribes everything is for sale. These men of means and power take pride in being part of an economic order that has caused some of the greatest tragedies known to mankind. 

But as the just concluded Olympic Games have shown: When the chips are down, Nigerian athletes are on their own. The only hope they have is the intervention of a Takasu, Delta Airlines or the elusive old man in the sky.

Olympic Games: Nigeria's Negation Of Its Potentials

Nigerian contingent at the 2016 Rio Olympics

The Olympic Games are probably midway by now and many countries are participating in the prestigious event. As in previous years; the Olympics is dominated by those that are well prepared, especially countries with the economic and socio-political power base to sustain a sporting culture that accentuates pride in nationhood. Despite a few outliers, the medal table usually shows a gradation of nations from the most, to the least developed. In today's world, the "first", "second" and "third worlds" are firmly in their places, even in sports.

Nigeria, despite its great potential, has only managed to have a rather rudimentary sports culture. The country only gets "serious" when there is something "international" coming up. The seriousness usually comes late and preparations are pitiable so that you wonder how our sportsmen and women manage to perform some of their feats. Some of these men and women who manage to let their lights shine against all odds are true heroes of this country.

In climes that are more serious, the sports industry is part of national identity. Attendance at sporting events is not the only goal, because wins over "rivals" goes beyond the field of sports, and becomes social, political, economic and even racial superiority contests. During the 1980 Olympics for example, the US and its allies who were mostly members of NATO, boycotted the Moscow Olympiad because the Soviet Union (as Russia was known then) was conducting a war in Afghanistan! The USSR, in concert with its allies retaliated by boycotting the summer Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, USA, four years later.  Today, the Soviet Union has collapsed and the US is having its own Afghanistan moment! The race to dominate the medals table by the superpowers and their satellites continues to this day, despite the collapse of the Soviet Union. 

About two weeks ago, we got a new "German technical adviser" to head the national football coaching team with qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Moscow starting in about three months. After starting preparation so late, how do we compete with nations that take training and coaching far more seriously? Countries should implement changes in coaching strategies or coach replacements even in "peace" times when there are no major tournaments. We view sports as events instead of an integral part of our culture that needs nurturing as forms of national identity.  

Kenyans and Ethiopians are renowned as unbeatable long distance runners despite political and economic instabilities in their respective countries. Jamaicans are known for their men and women sprinters. This is possible because these countries have embraced their uniqueness and nurtured it as a national treasure. They have academies dedicated to training youths to develop their athletic abilities during the formative years. They have also managed something Nigerians have failed to do, namely; to keep sport talents at home. Usain Bolt, despite his fame and riches, lives in Kingston, Jamaica, instead of Beverley Hills, California. He insists on filming his commercials (when asked by companies) in Jamaica, thereby creating sport enthusiasm and work for the local youths. With a population of over 170 million, our potentials in sports are limitless. We hear of Nigerians entering international sporting events for Spain, France, England and winning for these countries because Nigeria has been a bad mother to her children. 

It is not enough to qualify for world events or send representatives in order to fill space and boost the egos of a few. The sporting industry is a serious business and if handled well could employ millions of Nigerians, both directly and indirectly. We need to harness the power of Africa's innate athleticism instead of putting a price on it and selling cheaply to the world. Generally, we appear content with playing second fiddle to everybody else. We seem contented with mediocrity and planlessness while systematically destroying the will and excellence of our youths. A few who manage to escape our debilitating environment become stars outside our shores and then we pay heavily to get them back.

It is my prediction that the Olympics would go the way of past ones for Nigeria: we might gain a medal or two at best, or none at all and then we come home thinking it was a great outing to have gotten to the semis or quarter finals of most of the events, or start the usual blame games (we do have a lot of medals for that). We enjoy celebrating instead of deliberating. There is no purpose or deliberate preparation for most of our international engagements, whether in sports or anything else. Getting our soccer team prepared and safely delivered to Brazil for their matches became a national disgrace and an international fiasco. But to their credit, the boys have been doing well so far. It is better imagined, what those boys could achieve if they were from a country that builds its youths instead of eating them. We however seem very good at encouraging non-productive ventures such as Hajj Pilgrimage. For example, a presidential directive to the Central Bank was recently issued to secure a subsidized Naira/Dollar exchange rate for pilgrims, while our industries lie prostrate waiting for the same relief.

There are probably laws enacted to encourage sports at local and federal government levels in Nigeria, but these laws are hardly implemented or judged to be of national importance. Corruption, incompetence and lack of patriotism are the norms in most sporting bodies. Secondary and tertiary institutions that should be bastions of sport talents are for the most part mediocre and ill equipped. Some secondary schools are so bad that they may fail certification as animal pens in some countries. Tertiary institutions are just a shade better, with murderous cults taking over what should be a peaceful environment for personal development.

The new body language of PMB is economic diversification; maybe it is time get serious about sports, as a bona fide industry needing revival. A Nigerian sportsman noted recently that the preparation for this year's Olympics was the worst he has seen. This is not surprising because the president comes from a part of the country where sporting events consists mainly of being entertained as potentates not as participants. In order to nurture the sporting culture of this country, men and women of goodwill (getting fewer these days) must push for what is right and stop relying on ad hoc preparations and representations before a world that to all intents and purpose has condemned us to perpetual mediocrity.