As the dust settled on the election into the board of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria last Tuesday, incumbent  Solomom Ogba, could only heave a sigh of relief. It was like a marathon race that left all the contestants sapped of all energy.

In the saga that unfolded in Abuja, Ogba, perhaps was the proverbial cat with nine lives. He came face to face with the reality of the unending plot by a cross section of athletics buffs to unseat him as they can no longer  stomach his style of leadership. Since 2008 when he mounted the saddle at the AFN, those who felt that his ‘go-it-alone’ attitude will not get athletics anywhere, have never hidden their opposition to his reign.

In 2009  there was a plot to impeach the former Delta State commissioner for sports, but he survived the plot due to his political sauvity and it was the same maneuvering that made him retain his position in the hotly contested election. Critics, home and abroad, where already getting set to celebrate his ouster and it could have been a major upset had it happened.

However, just as Ogba had a multitude of opposition, he also had support in equal number and that was what manifested in the election in Abuja. Twice the polls were tied on 5-5 and there was no letting up by either sides. Violet Odogwu Nwajei, a former president of the federation who could have swung the vote to either side decided to make a forced absence. She faced a crisis of choice even as she pandered more to the opposition after she was initially omitted from the list of board members as her place was taken by Maria Wophil for the slot of international representatives. Odogwu-Nwajei is a vice-president of the Confederations of Africa Athletics CAA.

After it became apparent that  the election will remain deadlocked both parties went back to the ‘war chest’. It was even taking an ethnic shape, but at the end of the day two members of the opposition jumped ship to saved the day for Ogba.

“I knew that Ogba will win. But we really stretched him, it is clear to him now that he has to run an all encompassing board,” said a member of the board.

Ogba took the whole exercise in good faith and like a sportsman, he has extended his hand of fellowship to his opponents.

“Our board is united. What happened was necessary for us to have a new beginning,” said the AFN president.

His army of critics for now have developed an attitude of wait and see even as his supporters and sympathizers are giving him a high five.

But the big question of how Nigerian athletics could be revived remains to be answered by the new board. Ogba did his best to get the sport going and it appears that he has to redouble his passion and prove that he was the right choice for the job.

He has been talking about plans to go back to the grassroots. This is a programme that must be pursued with all vigour, because it is plain to see that there are a lot of  talents in the country. What is only needed is a sustainable programme that will churn out quality athletes.