Beyond Paris ’24 – Nigeria, at the edge. . . of greatness

I am writing this on Thursday morning to meet production deadline. Truth be told, as we approach the finish line of Paris 2024, Nigeria’s name is nowhere near the top of the final medals table. Of course, Nigeria is not a sports super power.

After the Olympics, Team Nigeria are unlikely to be scored high, in the absence of a last-minute haul of medals to show. I still hope that Wrestling and Tobi Amusan, and any one of the three female jumpers underlining the natural ability of Nigerians in the sport, will bring back home the few medals Nigeria deserves from the games.

As usual and before every Olympics, expectation of Nigerians soars to the heavens, an unrealistic exercise based on unearned achievements. The country has surely not invested enough in what are required to become consistent winners of medals at the Olympic Games. Always, the country seeks to harvest from what it never plants.

A close look at the results of the few events Nigeria participated in reveals Nigeria’s huge potential. To extend that and expect a haul of medals would not do justice to sports and to what is required to become champions.

Having said that, Nigeria’s very impressive performances in some specific sports events; must be acknowledged. They confirm the Olympic Movement’s fundamental philosophy that all participants are ‘winners’, and that ‘you do not have to be First to be a winner’.

To be one of the 11,000 athletes that represent the best in the global human population of over eight billion people is no mean feat. Olympians are special. They are gods and must be celebrated, Gold or not.

To compete and to leave a good impression in the minds of the global audience of sports’ followers is hard enough. That’s why, sometimes, even a good ‘fight’ is considered as good as Gold, a reward for total commitment and effort!

Such is the case of Team Nigeria 2024, in my humble opinion, far from the unproductive outcry that will come in the aftermath of Paris 2024, unless, of course, if Tobi Amusan pulls out the rabbit from the hat and wins a Gold medal, and soothes the pain of Nigerians up till now.

As the sprints relays and wrestling events start, there is some hope that a few medals may still come Nigeria’s way to improve the country’s standing on the final table which does not look impressive presently despite some performances that must be considered as good as Gold. Top of that list is the performance of D’ Tigress, the female national basketball team. The team has put up a great display in all their matches, showing the clear possibility of basketball also becoming one of Nigeria’s greatest strengths at the Olympics, next to the sprints and long jump events in athletics.

That three girls are representing Nigeria in the finals of the long jump clearly underlines Nigeria’s strength in the event, validating Chioma Ajunwa’s 1996 Gold medal victory. This is an event that Nigeria must pay more attention to for podium performances in the future.

What applies to the long jump event also applies to the short sprints, the relays and the 100m hurdles. These events appear to come naturally to Nigerians.
Nigeria’s wrestlers have also been consistent. Blessing Oborodudu, who missed out on the medal podium by whiskers, must be commended for effort. One or two other wrestlers have just started their competitions at the time I am writing this. They may go far and even win medals.

What must be acknowledged at the end of Paris 2024 is that Nigeria’s performances clearly show that if and when the processes of discovering talented athletes and providing them with the necessary development tools and processes are honed properly, Nigeria will surely become a global force in certain sports.

That is the greatest lesson that I take away. Nigeria must invest more in institutionalised sports development, and strategically pay special attention to some specific sports for which the environment may be a natural breeding ground.Team Nigeria have done as well as the investment on them. To achieve more would be unrealistic expectation. You do not plant cocoyam and expect a harvest of yam.

Qualifying for the Olympics is difficult. It is a long, hard and torturous journey. To win a medal is the most difficult journey for any athlete. That’s why, the Olympic Games were conceived in the spirit that at the Games there are no ‘losers’, every athlete that participates is a ‘winner’ and goes home with a replica Medal.

In Paris 2024, Nigeria participated in only a few sports. The athletes put up creditable performances but are mostly not enough to win medals this time around. Winning a medal at the Olympics is a Marathon race, not a sprints event.

I hope Nigeria will aim to invest in the development of a proper production line for elite athletes and sports development. It is only then that Nigerians can realistically start to expect a haul of medals at the Olympics. For now, I commend Team Nigeria. They did well. They remind us that Nigeria is at the periphery….. of greatness, just ahead, in sports.