By Trigo Egbegi
Sometimes, it’s hard to accept the obvious, especially when it is expressed in such a blunt manner as to inflict sadness and pain on the innocent victim.

Such is the case with the boxing sport in Nigeria that has yet to come to terms with the sorry state it finds itself in. All because the drowning noble art either does not comprehend, or has flatly refused to acknowledge the fact that it is its own problem.

In our own context it becomes all the more complex. To begin with, the stereo-typical image of the Nigerian boxer (amateur or pro) who surrenders his destiny wholesale in the hands of an institution which, perhaps, does not even posses a superior logic, portends failure and doom waiting to happen.

When this same endangered personality graduates to become coach/trainee, manager or matchmaker to fresh set of pupils, it is clearly a case of the blind leading the blind through an alley way. Question is, just what kind of institution would we expect if this same personality further graduates to assume the office of administrator running the sport?

Darwin’s Bing Bang Theory – If, indeed, it is true – would be child’s play.
Fortunately, the hallowed office of administrator of the boxing sport is rarely held by the category of graduates listed above. Rather, it is held by persons of lesser melancholy traceable to extreme mental abuse. Understandably, these persons are, appropriately, labeled as intruders by the core graduates they lead.

Unfortunately, though, one is often constrained to take sides with the very core stakeholders who watch helplessly as the expectations of their sweat are flushed down the sewage by their supposed intruding partners. Truth is, intruders administering the sport in Nigeria take unfair advantage of the setting, and exploit the situation.

Through rubbing minds with some of my old reliable friends and ex-practitioners of the sport, I caught a glimpse of the pain inflicted by the woeful failure of the Nigerian squad at the recent Commonwealth Games boxing in New Delhi, India. I had the privilege of trading views with both Ngozika Ekwelum and Isaac Ikhuoria.

These two gentlemen are pained less by the inability to bring back a single medal through any one of the five boxers entered, than by the fact that the amateur boxing house did not as much as see the failure well in advance.

Going by the cacophony of excuses spewing forth from close aides of Rotimi George Taylor, it is clear the Nigeria Amateur Boxing Association is still at sea with the lingering problem. I see Nigeria attending the next All-Africa Games and Olympics worse prepared.

Two nights ago, John Martins, too, lent his voice to the matter. As expected; the Abuja-based FCT Head Instructor of boxing was unrelenting in his anger.

Surprised? Not me. John is the same Martins that NABA loves to persecute. Over the years, he has been labeled and certified as a rebel in the House for his outspokenness.

Martins, who clocked 60 – not out – October 7, has offered every bit of his very eventful life to the sport, having seen service first, in the Nigerian Army which he joined as a 16-year-old and left after 14 years, then as boxer/coach with both Oyo and old Bendel State Sports Councils. And from thence to FCT where he put in 17 solid years.

“I’m in love with boxing”, Martins would often say of a sport which, he says, has taken him to no fewer than 127 countries. He was captain of the National Team from 1978-1982.

John Martins believes the main problem in amateur boxing today is the stead manipulation, by the Administration, of coaches. According to him, boxing coaches are, on account of their ignorance, made subject to the wiles of administrators to the point of creating disunity in their ranks.

“What they do to us is likened to a housewife going to the late night market in the dark to purchase meat, pepper/tomatoes for soup. Of course, there’s a fat chance of buying cheap meat that is decayed”.

Martins accused succeeding NABA administrations of being greedy with what little funds are available to the association, but fail to carry out the primary objective of exposing boxers to competitions home and abroad, as well as coaches to up-to-date training techniques enjoyed by their colleagues, in other lands.

I can’t help but sympathize with the coaches over the manipulation that saw the emergence overnight of a Idika Nsofor as team technical adviser leading a couple of hand-picked  local assistants to both the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games this year. Predictably, neither trip yielded any fruits.

I have it on authority that the five boxers to New Delhi was picked after the only tournament of the year 2010 that was held in Akure. I wonder what magic George Taylor was expecting to enact that would have brought the medals flying out of the grasp of our better-prepared rivals from England, Australia, Canada, South Africa, and Jamaica, amongst others.

Which finally reminds me of the poser from Olympic medalist, Ikhuoria, who is calling on George Taylor to explain how come the NABA chairman places his personal International membership consideration above the well being of the local front.

In addition, my good friend is reminding George of the chairmanship campaign manifesto in which he pledged to secure sponsorship for local boxing tournaments, if elected.

Nigerians are waiting.