IF Nigeria’s outing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was virtually disastrous, its performance at the just concluded World Athletics U-20 Championships held in Nairobi, Kenya, was outstanding. Whereas the country won only two medals, namely a bronze and silver at the Olympics, emerging 74th on the overall medals table, its performance at the U-20 Championships was radically different. With a total haul of four gold and three bronze medals, it finished third on the medal table behind Finland (second) and Kenya, which took the top spot. Over 110 countries participated in the biennial junior track and field competition. The performance was the country’s best ever in the competition.

Nigeria’s 4x400m mixed relay team began the record haul with a record-setting performance (3:19.70CR) on the opening day of the competition. Then came the women’s 400m where the reigning U-17 quarter-miler in the world, 17-year-old Imaobong Nse Uko, gave Nigeria another gold with a new 51.55 record, recalling previous efforts by Fatimah Yusuf (1990), Bisi Afolabi (1994) and Folashade Abugan (2008). Nigeria got its third gold in the men’s 200m where Udodi Onwuzurike set a new 20.21 record. On their part, the women’s 4x400m relay team also put up a superlative performance: they set a new World-U20 record of 3:31.46 to give Nigeria another golden moment. The medal haul was cemented with a bronze medal in the men’s javelin through Chinacherem Nnamdi, and another bronze medal medal in the women’s 200m courtesy of Favour Ofili. Then there was the bronze medal on the final day of action courtesy of the women’s 4X100m relay.

Reacting to Team Nigeria’s performance, President Muhammadu Buhari congratulated the athletes for their outstanding performances. In a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Femi Adesina, the president commended the team and its handlers for showcasing to the world that Nigeria is blessed with some of the best talents in sports who, by dint of hard work and perseverance, could dazzle anytime and anywhere. According to him, with four gold and three bronze medals to finish third on the final medals table, Nigeria’s sports ambassadors in Nairobi and the entire contingent had every reason to celebrate their well-deserved laurels, while putting the track and field world on notice of their intentions to surpass their achievements in the nearest future.

The president thanked the victorious athletes for flying the country’s flag high at the competition, breaking new records from personal bests and national records, all the way to championship records. Similarly, President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Tonobok Okowa, while hailing the medalists, insisted that the future is very bright for track and field in Nigeria following the unprecedented feats achieved by the country’s young athletes in Nairobi, Kenya. He said: “The athletes and their coaches have done us very proud. They have achieved our best-ever performance in the history of the Championships.” This is a new beginning for athletics in Nigeria. We are confident these new set of athletes will be there in Paris, France in three years time to help us also achieve our best performance at the Olympics.” He added that the country’s inability to win a single medal in track and field at both the London (2012) and Rio de Janeiro (2016) Olympics was because the country’s youth were neglected.

We celebrate the athletes for bringing glory to Nigeria. With their performances, it is clear that they sacrificed a lot by way of personal comforts to put the world on notice about Nigeria’s sporting talents. To be sure, sporting talents have never been lacking in the country; the problem has been with the lack of good sporting facilities, which is part of the country’s poor sporting culture. The problem is worsened by incompetence and corruption by officials. Indeed, although Nigeria had a decent outing in Nairobi, the point cannot be forgotten that some of the athletes complained of neglect during the camping season. Thus, the good performance of Team Nigeria at Nairobi 2021 is due more to sheer resolve and discipline by the athletes than qualitative official input by the Ministry of Sports. Drawing from the lessons of previous outings, officials of the sports ministry need to work hard to put enduring structures in place to nurture raw talents in the country and transform them into world beaters. They must battle the culture of neglecting the youth, which the AFN boss alluded to, to a standstill.

The current chest-thumping by officialdom is groundless. There must be sober reflection and an action plan. Once again, we congratulate the athletes and their coaching crew and wish them greater successes in future.

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