Today, we conclude our story on sports since independence.

… former world wrestling champion, Atanda Musa, Rashidi Yekini, Stephen Keshi and Richard Owubokiri who have made the nation proud these 50 years.

In spite of these success stories, the country has suffered setbacks. Nigerian football suffered a major failure   in 1977 when   a Godwin Odiye’s own-goal stopped the country from attending her first World Cup in 1978. Other disappointments were in 1981 and 1989 when Nigeria was stopped by Algeria and Cameroon respectively.

In 1989, FIFA hammer fell on the country and she was subsequently banned for two years from participating in junior competitions due to discrepancies in ages of players who had played for Nigeria.

UNNING TO THE END… These athletes in their various state colours challenged for medals during the 17th National Sports Festival which draws to a close today in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The organisers are promising a spectacular Closing Ceremony. Photo by Chijioke Nwanpka

The Seoul Olympics of 1988 was another disaster for Nigerian athletes. Like in 1980, the athletes came back without a single medal. Worst still was the Green Eagles team which had gone to the Games as favorite but completely lost out. The death of Dele Udoh, Nigeria’s most promising 400m gold medal hope in 1979 took the sports   industry by surprise. He was killed by the police in a checkpoint in Lagos when he came to participate in an athletics meeting from the USA.

Also in 1979, a clash between supporters of IICC Shooting Stars FC of  Ibadan and Bendel Insurance of Benin after a Challenge Cup (now called Federation Cup) semi-final match in Lagos in which the Benin team lost 2-0 led to the death of 26 persons. Another tragedy that hit the soccer world was the death of a Sam Okwaraji who slumped and died at the National Stadium in Lagos, during a World Cup qualifier against Angola in August 1989. It was a horrifying experience as Nigerians had begun to appreciate not only the football skills of the late player but his patriotic zeal which were unparalleled.

Team Nigeria emerged third at the 10th All Africa Games held in Maputo, Mozambique. In athletics, the country’s contingent to the World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea, returned without a single medal.

At the level of maintenance, the country has ranked really low. Many notable facilities have been left to rot just like several other social amenities across the country. The Abuja National Stadium was rated one of the best ever built in Africa just some years back. Until just a couple of weeks ago, it fell to the spot of being a blot on the Abuja horizon as its facilities fell apart. But it has since been renovated by the NSC.

The Sports Minister will need to do more as the National Stadium in Lagos, the once glorious edifice that hosted the All Africa Games in 1973 and the Nations Cup in 1980, has rotted away . Several other facilities attached to the stadium are not receiving better treatment. The Olympic-size swimming pool is unfit for use. It is filled with green algae with several parts of it simply obscure.

The indoor facilities like the gym and basketball court, lack necessary equipment as they have been stripped to bare essentials over the years. The National Institute for Sports (NIS) in the stadium’s premises is no better. The hostels are falling apart, the classrooms too. The story is the same at other sporting facilities across the country.

This culture of letting facilities and systems fall apart has been the bane of the country’s sport industry since 1960. It has now come to the point that Nigeria now relies on facilities outside the country to train its athletes. Nigerian players have to play abroad to earn a shirt in the national team, the athletes have to be in US or UK-based to earn attention from national coaches and so much more.

The saddest part of it all is that Nigerians are not catching up fast with the times. People still expect the various sports teams to deliver as outstandingly as those that pay close attention to what Nigeria does not.

In all, the last 53 years have opened the eyes of Nigerians, who are now beginning to realize how far the country has fallen below the required standards for a good show. And it all began with little poor management, lack of maintenance and developmental culture. Indeed, remembering the great heights the country’s athletes reached in various sports between 1960 and 1990s and the fall from grace since then makes one realize that the problem had been there all along since 1960.

The question remains with the authorities. Do they have the skills and political will to change tings? Their actions so far have not shown this.