SAVING NIGERIA'S SPORTS FROM COLLAPSE

Everything at the moment points to the fact that Nigeria's sports are headed for the rocks, if nothing concrete is done to save it. The nation's performance has been on the downward flight since 1998, when it posted an impressive performance at the FIFA World Cup.

Generally speaking, sports is my second nature: I love it only next to Nigeria. I have lived sports, eaten sports, slept sports and desired sports all my life. My interest in sports began as a child in the commercial city of Aba. In those good old days, we played street soccer and participated in other sporting activities wherever and whenever we had the slightest opportunity. We carried the desire to our various schools. While at Government College, Umuahia, I was both the Labour Prefect and soccer coordinator. My tenure was the most memorable, as we won many trophies and set records difficult to break. Even at the university, I did not hide my passion for sports, especially soccer.

So, the opportunity to become a sports administrator and showcase my talent came when I was appointed into the National Sports Commission as a member. This was under the chairmanship of irrepressible Chief S. B. Williams. I wish to state, without any equivocation, that there is yet a commission whose performance would match Chief Williams'. He was a thoroughbred and no-nonsense sports administrator who turned around the fortunes of the nation's sports. His administrative acumen and courage had tremendous impact on my life. In fact, it was the vision of Chief Williams that propelled my first attempt to acquire the Enyimba Football Club during the then administration of Col. Moses Fasanya in Abia State.

However, the big leap came in 2003 when Enyimba won the CAF Championship for the first time for Nigeria in the 38 years of the competition. The team followed it up by winning it the second time in 2004. The two trophies were in addition to the national league and super cups it won previously.

I have given this brief resume to drive home the fact that I am very passionate about sports and ready to make any sacrifice to propagate it. During my tenure as governor, we promoted other sports such as basketball, judo, taekwando, and wrestling. In fact, at one time, I was appointed the chairman of Nigeria Judo Federation. It is my undiluted love for sports that makes me give titbits, from time to time, about sports in various newspapers in order to remind sports enthusiasts of those sports facts they have, hitherto, forgotten.

Therefore, you could imagine how pained I have been since Nigeria's fortunes in sports nosedived. Deep inside me, I am worried that Nigeria has continued to slide both in global and local rating and stature to such a point that everybody is ostensibly confused about the way round the problem. Why have things suddenly gone awry, when the whole world was looking up to us for quality performance in sports, particularly football? The situation has continued to deteriorate. It looks as if nobody has any answer to the sad development. Even the government has continued to experiment with different ideas to arrest the unfortunate development. But are we going to fold our hands and do nothing?

The importance of sports as a unifying factor is what has made the development very worrisome. There is no way we can afford to allow our sports system to collapse when we can do something to save it.

I have not forgotten that there was a time Nigeria ruled the world in various sporting events. Still remember when we ranked 5th in the world in FIFA rating? This was in April 1994. Where are we today in the rating? We are languishing at a miserable No. 44. Nonetheless, Nigeria's lowest FIFA ranking was in November 1999, when it occupied the No. 82 position.

Some commentators and analysts have been wondering what has gone wrong with Nigeria's sports. They feel this way, because there is no reason for a nation that won an Olympic gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympic, Nations Cup in 1980 and 1984, reached the Round of 16 in the 1994 and 1998 World Cup to plummet to such an abysmal level.

I recall with nostalgia that day in 1980 when Nigeria won the African Cup of Nations for the first time under Coach Otto Gloria. Will Nigeria ever assemble the kind of players it featured in that continental tourney? Look at some of the players that performed that rare feat: Chairman Christian Chukwu (Captain and ace defender), Mathematical Segun Odegbami, Sylvanus Okpala, Ogidi Ibeabuchi, Mudashiru Lawal, Henry Nwosu (the youngest player in the squad and he scored the winning goal), Emmanuel Okala (indefatigable goalkeeper), Adokie Amasiemeka, John Chiedozie, and Tunji Banjo, etc. These players were later to make individual contributions to the development of soccer. Christian Chukwu, who played for Enugu Rangers then, later became the national soccer coach. Sylvanus Okpala is now a coach of the national team, assisting Stephen Keshi.

IICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan brought great honours to Nigeria in continental championships in 1976 and 1978. Nigeria's senior football team also won a gold medal in the 2nd All-African Games. Chioma Ajunwa (the policewoman) won gold for Nigeria in the 1996 Summer Olympics. Here, we remember such other performers as Falilat Ogunkoya, Mary Onyali-Omagbemi, and Sunday Bada, etc.

Nigeria, again, shone like a million stars when it won the gold in the 1996 U-23 FIFA Soccer Championship. This was where players, such as Ausin Jay Jay Okocha, Emmanuel Amuneke, Kanu Nwankwo, Thompson Olisa, Finidi George, Daniel 'the Bull' Amokachi (now Super Eagles assistant manager), Monday Odiaka, etc., displayed extraordinary soccer dexterity. Prior to this feat, the 1994 Super Eagles had opened a new vista for Nigeria's recognition in FIFA-organised World Cup. Their performance in 1994 and 1998 has remained the best so far, Nigeria having withdrawn from the tournament in 1966. In the 1994 World Cup, the Super Eagles under Clemens Westerhof (the foresighted Dutch) reached the Round of 16 for the first time. It defeated Greece in the opening match, lost to Argentina 1-2 in the second, and beat Bulgaria in the third. On the whole, it won two matches, lost two, drew none, and scored a total of seven goals and conceded four. The exit of Nigeria at that stage was very painful, because it was edged out just two minutes to the end of the match between it and Italy for the quarterfinals ticket. Roberto Baggio was Nigeria's undoing, as he scored the goal that sent the match into extra time. He also scored the lone goal in the extra time which sent Nigeria packing.

The 1994 World Cup squad was the best the country has produced so far. It paraded such players as defence chiefs, Uche Okechukwu and Ben Iroha, Finidi George, Daniel Amokachi, Austin Jay Jay Okocha, Sunday Oliseh (the youngest player - he was just 19 years), Stephen Keshi (the Captain and oldest player in the squad - he was 32 years), Rashidi Yekini (scored the opening goal in the match against Greece), Aloysius Agu and Wilfred Agbonavbare (as goalkeepers), Austin Eguavon (now Coach of the U-23 national team), Thompson Oliha, Chidi Nwanu, Samson Siasia, Victor Ikpeba and Efan Ekoku,  etc. It was unfortunate that the squad could not be kept together to do other national assignments due to poor administration and ineptitude in the management of our soccer.

The 1998 squad coached by Multinovic also performed well. They reached the Round of 16, just as their predecessors, recording two wins and two losses, scoring six goals and conceding nine. Nigeria's performance after the 1998 outing has remained unimpressive. Members of the squad included Peter Rufai (in goal), Kanu Nwankwo, Uche Okechukwu, Finidi George, Mutiu Adepoju, Uche Okafor, Ben Iroha, Godwin Okpara, Wilson Oruma, Babayaro, Jay Jay Okocha and Tijani Babangida.

According to available records, Nigeria was kicked out of the 2002 edition at the Group stage, having played three matches: one win and two losses. It conceded three goals and scored only one. Nigeria was visibly absent in 2006 because it did not qualify. It featured again in 2010 in which South Africa played host and was eliminated at the group stage. Spain won the tournament eventually.

There is something instructive about the two teams that represented Nigeria in the 1994 and 1998 World Cups: they were star-studded and most of the players were drawn from teams in Europe, especially Belgium. The Belgium-based players that constituted a sizeable number of the squads were Stephen Keshi who played for Molenbeek, Austin Eguavon (Kortrijk), Chidi Nwanu (Anderlecht), Dan Amokachi (Club Brugge), Sunday Oliseh (F.C. Liege), and Aloysius Agu (F.C. Liege).

Let us look at the coaching crews that took Nigeria to the two best World Cup performances. Clemens Westerhof led the 1994 team, while Multinovic was in charge of the 1998 squad. Westerhof stood out, because he was the person that took the bull by the horns to go outside the country to recruit the best players to prosecute the World Cup. He was totally in command and gave the team the right training and attitude, which made it perform beyond expectation. Multinovic only built on the foundation Westerhof laid, and this was manifest in the calibre of players he recruited. They comprised mainly the same players that played in the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

The first foreign coach hired by Nigeria after independence was Jorge Penna, who called the shots from 1963 to 1964. He made a return to Nigeria in 1972 and was in control till 1974. His stint with the then Green Eagles was not very rewarding, because Nigeria's soccer was still in its infancy. The tenure of another Dutch, Jo Bonfrere (1995-1996), was short, but very effective. Though he returned in 1999 and left in 2001, he could not do much since he met an entirely new team and his stay was also short. Three other coaches made a return to the Super Eagles. They were Karl-Heinz Marotzke (1970-1971; 1974), Festus Onigbinde (1983-1984; 2002) and Austin Eguavon (2005-2007; 2010). The coach that made the highest number of appearances as a national coach of the Super Eagles was Amodu Shaibu. He was in charge on four occasions: 1994-1995, 1996-1997, 2001-2002, and 2008-2010.

From the performance of the coaches, it is easy to see a definite occurrence: none of the coaches that had coached the national team stayed up to 10 years. Their tenures were short and, often, uneventful. From the records, the first indigenous national coach was Chief Festus Onigbinde. His engagement marked a remarkable shift from the usual pattern of hiring only foreign coaches. Onigbinde's tenure was very fruitful. This was because he brought into his job some maturity and discipline, which had far-reaching effects on the national team. Though he did not last, as he was removed due to undue politicisation, he still left indelible footprints for which he would be remembered.

Considering all the facts listed above, it is very instructive to observe that Nigeria's sports had a smooth sail between the 70s and 90s. The poor records in sports began after the outing of Nigeria in the 1998 World Cup, when its rating began to fall. The worst of it all is that since 1998 till date Nigeria has never won any major tournament - both soccer and athletics. Even the sports managers that used to exhibit some expertise in the handling of the teams have sudden developed clay foot. The Nigerian Football Association (NFA) that used to be the powerhouse in the administration of football in the country is now a shadow of itself. Its members no longer show the authority and flashes of brilliance that singled them out as refined and experienced administrators. What we have today is a proliferation of sports management teams, with little or nothing to show for their appointment or election. The biggest problem facing sports administration in Nigeria is infighting and poor leadership. This problem rears its head in the various sports management teams raised from time to time to administer sports in the country.

Now, a look holistically at our teams reveals something worrisome: they lack cohesion, discipline and focus. Which team will produce quality results when it lacks these basic ingredients that propel performance? The national teams before the 2000's were closely-knit, result-oriented and pragmatic. They had focus and worked strictly and assiduously to meet it. The product was heart-so heart-warming that they ignited the national consciousness and drove the citizenry to frenzy. Again, Nigerians were somewhat fanatical in their support for the national teams. But what do we have today: a citizenry whose psyche is skewed towards lackadaisicalness.

Their support is now for foreign teams and no longer for the local clubs. Though some persons may be tempted to blame these Nigerians for their seeming apathy, but I think the reason is very simple: our local league has lost its vibrancy. With the advent of social media and other communication channels, Nigerians now have wider choices. Why waste your time on a lacklustre local match, which outcome is already predetermined, when you can watch from a variety of bouquets offered by different service providers? The English, Italian, Spanish, French and German leagues offer a handful of matches every weekend for the delight of soccer buffs.

In any case, the immediate challenge is how to build a strong national team in those sporting events in which Nigeria does very well. In this category are sports such as weightlifting, soccer, boxing, table tennis, taekwando, swimming, athletics, handball and basketball. Let me single out soccer: what can we do to lift it? The ongoing beating-about-the-bush should give way to a more practical approach to the administration of football. In doing this, we should do away with pettiness and clannishness that rule our football. We should be able to introduce long-term techniques that will drive the game and restore our lost glory. Indigenisation of the coaching crew is not the only way out of the quagmire. We also need to ensure that whoever is entrusted with the responsibility of running the team must be richly talented and endowed in order to be able to produce impressive results.

It has been variously stated that the major problem of Nigeria's soccer, for instance, is the absence of talented midfielders. But to me, the problem goes beyond that. If you have all the key players you need and they lack discipline and focus what can you do? To build a cohesive team requires consensus-building, strong character on the part of the coaching crew, dedicated and experienced players, proper funding, motivation and discipline. When these factors are combined in appropriate doses, results ensue.

The Stephen Keshi-led Super Eagles can only perform, if the coaching crew and administrators work together to enforce discipline and order. A situation where the players squabble with and talk down on their coaches should never be tolerated. Any player's invitation to play for Nigeria is a call to national service and should be approached with equal zeal and patriotism. Samson Siasia's contract was short-lived, because he did not get the full cooperation of both the players and the administrators that appointed him.

It is high time we started making deliberate plans on how to rebuild our sporting teams to prepare them early enough for future competitions. The failed effort by Nigeria to qualify for 2012 nations Cup is something that should never be allowed to happen. We are the giant of Africa and should show this in every aspect of our national life.

One of the surest ways of reactivating our sports is to reignite the people's interest in local sports. It is only when we have regained the viewership that we can speak, in practical terms, about results.

Let the President step in right away and do what is needful to save our nation from further humiliation. President Jonathan, I am convinced, can bring his transformation agenda to bear on the sports sector, so that his name will be written in gold when the time comes.