Probe Rio Olympics shame

 Nigeria’s woeful outing at the recently concluded Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil was an event rich in lessons, notably the lack of focus and seriousness on the part of Nigerian sports authorities, whose actions and inactions necessitated Team Nigeria’s miserable performance at the 31st Olympiad.  Nigeria participated in a total of 10 […]

 Nigeria’s woeful outing at the recently concluded Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil was an event rich in lessons, notably the lack of focus and seriousness on the part of Nigerian sports authorities, whose actions and inactions necessitated Team Nigeria’s miserable performance at the 31st Olympiad. 

Nigeria participated in a total of 10 sports in Brazil, namely, athletics, basketball (male), boxing, canoeing (slalom), football (male), rowing, swimming, table tennis, weightlifting and wrestling but only managed to win a bronze medal.

Of the 207 countries that participated in the Rio Olympics, 118 did not win any medals. Were it not for the heroic performance of the Dream Team VI, Nigeria would have been one of them. Although Team Nigeria ranked 75th out of 207 participating countries, Nigeria’s solitary bronze medal in football is disheartening when compared to huge potentials that abound in the country. 

The shoddiness in preparation and lack of proper planning has been the hallmark of Nigeria’s participation in the games. Team Nigeria was embroiled in several crisis and controversies before, during and after the events. The football team was stranded for several days at their training base in Atlanta before flying to Manaus in Brazil. It arrived there three hours to their opening match against Japan. Secondly, Team Nigeria’s official ceremonial outfits only arrived three days to the end of the games, forcing athletes to appear in tracksuits during the opening ceremony. 

A country doesn’t need to win any medal, but during the opening ceremony, it can show some swag and win an undeclared gold medal, just by its contingent’s appearance. Sadly, Nigeria was just not there. We appeared to be the most unprepared nation during the opening ceremony, the laughing stock of the entire world.

Thirdly, the row over bonuses reared its ugly head again, with Olympic football squad coach, Samson Siasia, joining players who threatened to boycott their quarter-final game against Denmark over unpaid bonuses. As if all that was not enough, the Nigerian House that was supposed to be the hub of Nigeria’s cultural and commercial activities at the Olympics was non-existent.

 Fourthly, Nigeria was the only country in the world whose contingent went to Rio, Brazil as a team of beggars. The football team got to Brazil through the philanthropy of Delta Airlines after being stranded for four days in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Many athletes who trained abroad could not get tickets to travel to Rio and went on social media begging for help.

Another national embarrassment ensued when Nigerian football officials failed to respect the statutory International Olympic Committee (IOC) quota rules. The IOC is only responsible for feeding, flights and accommodation for 25 accredited players and officials. The NFF had eight unaccredited persons -four players and four officials – with the team.  At one point hotel security blocked football players from leaving because of unpaid bills by unaccredited delegates, to the tune of a paltry $4,600.

Equally shameful was the brouhaha that arose between the NFF and Dream Team members over the sharing of a donation of $390,000 by a Japanese plastic surgeon, Katsuya Taksau, who was marveled at the team’s spirit and doggedness amidst unpleasant challenges. 

How can a country which lays claims to global prominence be having problems paying bonuses to players and athletes at international meets? What happened to the money that was voted for the Olympics? 

We hold strongly the view that Nigerians deserve a full disclosure on this Rio Olympics debacle. We suggest that President Muhammadu Buhari constitute an inquest into the monumental shame that heralded our Olympic fiasco. We demand for accountability; and if need be heads must roll.

Finally, going forward we should not simply focus on the next Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020, we must put emphasis on the sports industry and the structure. Over time, Nigeria has failed to implement a treasure trove of ideas for sports development articulated by experts. It is significant to note that none of our remarkable achievements was a result of deliberately designed system or template. They owed more to luck and the rugged determination of individual athletes. We must invest funds and engage past Olympic medalists to help in harnessing budding talents and inspire other athletes.