Leadership (Abuja)
27 November 2011
editorial
Until recently, sports in Nigeria obeyed the assertion that honour lay in participating. The likes of Nojim Maiyegun, the first Nigerian to win a Commonwealth Games medal, Major Emma Ifeajuna, the late Richard Ihetu (a.k.a Dick Tiger) and Hogan Bassey all participated in sports for the honour and love of country. There are also other sportsmen and women who got only oranges and glucose for representing their fatherland and were satisfied.
Those gallant men and women lived in the era when honour, not material gains, was both the motivation and reward for winning medals for one’s country. The joy of being lifted shoulder high meant a lot and was enough, as against the money-spinning venture sports has become today. This category of sportsmen and women, patriots all, expected to be remembered by the same country they made proud when their strength is gone. Indeed, they have a right so to expect. But the contrary is the case. They have all fallen on hard times and neglected by the nation they served so well. Today, the only time we remember them is when their predicaments are made public.
The names Emmanuel Okala, Sam Ojebode, Felix Owolabi and many more ring a bell in football. But how much, in terms of respect, welfare and dignity, are they worth today? To a reasonable degree, this attitude towards past sports heroes is responsible for the decline in the nation’s sports fortunes. Its impact on sports development is so negative that the younger generation place material gains first. They see their compatriots who were sportsmen and women of yesterday and they vow to “make hare while the sun shines”. Patriotism can wait. They know that as soon as they are off the scene, no one remembers their heroics. Even when they sustain injuries, they are left to suffer alone. But who can blame them?
Unfortunately, the dejection sports heroes are subjected to appears to be institutional. For instance, we wonder how many of those recipients of this year’s national honours awards deserve them more than sportsmen and women who brought glory to this country. Yet, in countries like Brazil, the United States, Holland, Jamaica and England (where national honours are more credibly conferred), heroic sportsmen and women, not serving political officeholders, top national awards list. For instance, in Jamaica, Usain St. Leo Bolt became the youngest national awards recipient after his exploits at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In England, David Beckham was honoured as an officer in the Order of the British Empire by the Queen in 2003 for almost single-handedly qualifying England for the 2002 Japan/Korea World Cup.
The government should ensure that the portion of our national anthem which says, “The labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain…” is fulfilled by restoring to our sports heroes their place of pride in the society.
AllAfrica – All the Time
See more here:
Nigeria: Neglect of Sports Heroes