In the past, there were deliberate efforts by the Federal Ministry of Sports and some states (like Delta) to send some promising athletes abroad to enhance their athletics careers. The aim was to expose them to modern facilities and also to give them proper education so as to make them complete persons both on and off the field.

We are aware that former national athletes like Yusuf Alli, Falilat Ogunkoya, Mary Onyali, Sunday Bada (late), Chidi Imoh, Olapade Adeniken, Davidson and Osmond Ezinwa, Adewale Olukoju, Deji Aliu, Innocent Egbunike and Henry Amike were some of the beneficiaries of youth transition into stardom in Nigeria. We observed that the situation is not the same now as athletes struggle to find good fortunes for themselves in terms of competitions and quality living.

It is tough as some of these athletes compete not to boost their careers but to earn money in international meets and in the process some of them burn out before a major competition because they are trying to make ends meet. Only last week, Ese Brume put smiles on the faces of many Nigerians with her silver medal feat at the World Indoor Athletics meet in Belgrade, Serbia.

It did not come as a surprise because she has been very consistent in recent times. She won bronze for Nigeria at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics held last summer, and also won bronze at the World Championships in Doha in 2019. It’s a medal sweep for Brume across all major global meets. She is indeed a world-class athlete.

In her youth and junior years between 2013 and 2015, Brume was fantastic and till date still very focused to achieve more for herself and her country. We make bold to say Brume is a good product of transition but how many others can we point out in the same manner? She was never a product of well-planned transition but her focus, determination and hard work has propelled her to be among the best in her discipline today.

The country is fast losing its bragging rights in the sprints where the nation earns a clean sweep of gold, silver and bronze at continental level and still fight for medals by appearing in the finals of major global meets including the Olympic Games. Today, it is disturbing that the country struggles in sprints with Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and South Africa challenging if not better in both the male and female cadre. Enoch Adegoke Germany (PB- 9.98secs), Alaba Akintola USA (PB-10.16secs), Favour Ashe based in USA (PB-10.07secs) and Udodi Onwuzurike also based in the USA (PB-10.23secs) are the notables names in the male cadre with only Adegoke being a medal’s prospect.

Divine Oduduru has been plagued by injury in the past one year and not in the picture going forward. In the women’s cadre, Grace Nwokocha USA based (PB- 11.00secs), Nigeria based Joy Udo- Gabriel (PB-11.34secs), Rosemary Chukwuma USA based (PB- 11.07secs), Aniekeme Alphonsus USA based (PB-11.25secs) and Blessing Ogundiran, another Nigeria- based with a PB of 11.32secs are the people being looked upon for international meets. Apart from Nwokocha, none of these other athletes can do anything on the world stage.

It is important to appreciate the consistency of Tobi Amusan, who won the $30,000 Diamond League prize to set a new African record in the 100m hurdles event with a time of 12.42s in Zurich on September 9, 2021. That was just one week after the Olympic Games where she narrowly missed winning a bronze medal after placing fourth. The ministry of sports and the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) need to identify the prospective medal hope of the country and encourage them to get better in all aspects with constant grants and education to place the nation on the path of regaining its lost glory in athletics at both continental and global levels.

Undoubtedly, football is the number one sport in Nigeria because every football event at all levels, including age grade in both male and female cadres, are not only greeted with huge public discussion but often backed by support from both government and the private sector. Football is almost a religion in the country as people have different club affiliations at domestic level and internationally.

The fans throw banters at one another at will but when it comes to the national team, the fans of the game speak with one voice. So, it is evident that football unites the people such that even in time of national crises, football soothes the nerves of many to forget about the other matters disturbing them. Over the years, another sport that comes close in terms of peoples’ followership in the country is athletics. In the past, the All Nigeria Open, sponsored by an oil producing company, was a big deal because the National Stadium in Lagos would be full to capacity with fans eagerly hoping to see national athletes in action ‘live’.

It is important to note that the professionalism in football in which top national players feature for top teams abroad is also prevalent in athletics as most of the national athletes are based abroad in counties like the USA, Germany and other places. With the improved facilities and advanced training enjoyed abroad, the athletes often come back better and show what they have imbibed in national and continental competitions. This can be done again with the Tonobok Okowa board. The AFN should also make the National Sports Festival and the Youth Games count in concrete terms by having coaches at the venue to identify talents good enough to be groomed to world-class athletes in their respective disciplines. Besides, success in football only brings one gold medal; multiple medals can be won in athletics.

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